Subject: ACT UP/DC demands end to AID$ gravy train
From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2000 20:10:14 EST

For Immediate Release
March 2, 2000

Contact: Wayne Turner
ACT UP Washington, DC
Phone: 202-547-9404  
Email: [email-masked]
Web: <A HREF="http://www.actupdc.org/">ACT UP WASHINGTON DC</A> 
(www.actupdc.org)

               ACTIVISTS DEMAND AN END TO THE AID$ GRAVY TRAIN;

             SENATE BEGINS HEARINGS FOR RENEWED AID$ FUNDING

Washington, DC - The Ryan White CARE Act has become a cash cow for high paid 
AIDS executives and red tape loving bureaucrats, while patients continue to 
suffer and die.  AIDS activists demand accountability, Congressional 
oversight, and the end of trickle-down AIDS funding that merely subsidizes 
the lavish lifestyle of AIDS industry executives.

The following are some reform proposals supported by ACT UP Washington, DC 
members that they hope will be considered by Congress as the re-authorization 
process for Ryan White programs begins with a Senate hearing on March 2.

----CAP SALARIES, NOT SERVICES

1)  AIDS service providers receiving Ryan White funds may not provide a 
compensation/benefits package greater than the salary of the Chief Elected 
Official of the Emergency Management Area.
 
2)  The six figure salaries for executive directors of AIDS organizations 
often exceed the compensation paid to the mayors of large US cities, 
governors, and members of Congress.  A review of the IRS 990 tax forms of 
AIDS providers (available at <A HREF="http://www.accountabilityproject.com/">T
he AIDS Service Provider Accountability Proj...</A> 
www.accountabilityproject.com) reveals a nationwide trend of rising salaries, 
particularly among larger, well-established organizations. 

3)  While people living with AIDS are often forced to live at a subsistence 
level, placed on waiting lists for essential survival services like emergency 
rental assistance, or access to food banks, it is unconscionable that the 
executive directors subsidize their extravagant lifestyles using funds 
intended for AIDS care.

----FEEDING AT THE TROUGH

1) Ryan White Title I Planning Councils should be composed of no more than 
49% voting members who are employed or board members of organizations 
receiving Ryan White funds.
 
2)  Planning councils were first created to ensure AIDS client participation 
in local priority setting, and to provide community oversight in the 
allocation and spending of federal AIDS care dollars.  Title I Planning 
Councils are currently mandated to reflect the AIDS demographics of the 
Emergency Management Area, and must have a minimum 50% of members publicly 
identified as living with HIV/AIDS. 
 
3)  End the overwhelming majority of voting Planning Council members who are 
directly employed by AIDS service providers.  (On the Washington, DC council 
there are only three 'non-aligned' members who don't work for an AIDS 
charity, out of over 60 members).  
 
4)  The domination of service providers extends to nearly every aspect of 
Ryan White Planning Council functions, including:  the nominations process 
for new members, selection of the Chair, quality assurance protocols, 
priority setting, and fiscal oversight.  This must stop.
 
5)  Conflict-of-interest rules are rarely enforced and public disclosure 
statements poorly maintained.  The result has been a community planning 
process hijacked by providers, advocating for their own service categories, 
and ultimately salaries, often at the expense of client needs.
 
6)  Mandating that a majority voting membership of Planning Councils be 
'non-aligned' will help expand community and AIDS client participation when 
federal AIDS funds are allocated.  In addition, financial oversight over 
federal AIDS spending can be enhanced at the community level by empowering 
people with AIDS, and not just employees, in the monitoring of AIDS services.

----H.H.S. ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL

 A random sample of contractors, grantees, and sub grantees from all Ryan 
White CARE Act programs would be audited annually with any financial 
irregularities forwarded to the Justice Department for legal action. 
 
As far back as 1993, a member of the Puerto Rican legislature alerted Health 
and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala to the fraud and misuse of AIDS 
funds at the San Juan AIDS Institute, outlining substantial evidence of 
corruption resulting from his office's investigation.  Shalala did nothing as 
AIDS patients died without drugs and healthcare.  HHS officials testified 
that millions of federal AIDS dollars were funneled to the San Juan AIDS 
Institute without ever receiving an accounting of the funds.  The AIDS 
scandals in Puerto Rico are just the tip of the iceberg.

"The victims of AIDS industry abuses must raise their voices now that 
Congress is examining funding for Ryan White programs," said ACT UP 
Washington, DC member Wayne Turner.  "The AIDS executives must explain why 
their six-figure salaries are always taken care of, while people with AIDS 
across the nation go without vital services.  We demand increased audits and 
accountability from HHS and Congress regarding the billions of taxpayer 
dollars allocated for Ryan White CARE Act programs.<A 
HREF="http://www.actupdc.org/">"</A>

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