From: Hrccomm@aol.com Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 17:22:36 -0500 Subject: URGENT: Act Now to Save PWAs from Callous Disregard by Cong. Leadership _________________________________________________________________ ***URGENT*** Action Alert from the Human Rights Campaign 1101 14th Street NW Washington, DC 20005 email: communications@hrcusa.org WWW: http://www.hrcusa.org _________________________________________________________________ Action Alert FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November, 1995 ACT NOW TO SAVE PEOPLE WITH AIDS FROM CALLOUS DISREGARD BY CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP Urge Congress to Restore Medicaid, Move Ryan White CARE Act Through HRC's Online Action Center (http://www.hrcusa.org) People living with AIDS face new threats from Republican congressional leadership, which has turned its budget axe on Medicaid and stalled action on the Ryan White CARE Act -- demonstrating a callous disregard for the men, women, and children affected by this epidemic. Medicaid is the federal effort that makes health care available to 36 million low-income Americans. Nearly half of all Americans living with HIV and AIDS are served by Medicaid -- including more than 90 percent of children with the disease. The proposed dismantling of Medicaid is part of the Budget Reconciliation Act recently passed by Congress, which President Clinton has promised to veto. The expected veto would send the bill back to Capitol Hill to be reworked. You need to urge your representative and senators to restore Medicaid's guaranteed coverage for poor and disabled Americans after the bill is vetoed. The Budget Reconciliation Act as passed by the Congress would dismantle Medicaid and put millions of people's health at risk by: Eliminating guaranteed health coverage for all eligible Americans. Currently, Americans who meet the program's eligibility guidelines get the coverage they need for life-saving medical care. The Budget Reconciliation Act would end that guarantee, denying health care to the millions of Americans who need it most. Slashing $182 billion from Medicaid over the next seven years. Making states responsible for providing health care for the poor, while cutting the funds they need to do it. Cutting funding levels while the number of people who need AIDS care continues to rise. Raising the cost to taxpayers while lowering the quality of care, since millions of Americans would be forced to turn to expensive emergency rooms when they lose health coverage. In addition, House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) has stalled the Ryan White CARE Act by failing to appoint House conferees to the House-Senate conference committee that will hammer out the final version of the bill. The Ryan White CARE Act, which enables local communities to provide vital medical services to men, women, and children with AIDS, passed the Senate earlier this year by a vote of 97 to 3, and passed the House by a voice vote. Your voice is crucial as the Human Rights Campaign works with our coalition partners to defeat these threats to the health of low-income and disabled Americans in general, and men, women, and children with AIDS in particular. Denying health care to the most vulnerable Americans to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy is not the responsible way to balance the budget. You Can Help -- If You Act Now 1. Urge your senators and representative to restore Medicaid's guaranteed health coverage for poor and disabled Americans once the Budget Reconciliation Act is vetoed. Contact them through the Human Rights Campaign's World Wide Web site at http://www.hrcusa.org. You can also call them through the Capitol switchboard, even if you aren't sure who they are. Just ask the switchboard operator and you will be connected. Ask for their fax numbers and e-mail addresses as well: Call: U.S. Capitol (202) 224-3121 Write: The Honorable _________ U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510 or The Honorable _________ U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 2. Urge House Speaker Newt Gingrich to move the Ryan White CARE Act by appointing House lawmakers to the conference committee. Write to Speaker Gingrich at the above address or contact him by: Phone: 202-225-4501 Fax: 202-225-4656 E-mail: georgia6@hr.house.gov 3. Thank President Clinton for his commitment to veto the Budget Reconciliation Act, emphasizing the threat it would pose to people with AIDS by dismantling Medicaid. Call, write, e-mail, and fax the president: Write: The Honorable Bill Clinton The White House Washington, DC 20500 Phone: (202) 456-1111 Fax: (202) 456-2461 E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov 4. Give this action alert column to your friends and ask them to help too. 5. For more information, contact the Political Department of the Human Rights Campaign at political@hrcusa.org or (202) 628-4160. The Human Rights Campaign, the largest national lesbian and gay political organization, with members throughout the country, lobbies Congress, provides campaign support, and educates the public to secure equal rights for lesbian and gay Americans and ensure that they can live free from discrimination at home, at work, and in the community. To join, call (800) 777-4723. - 30 -