Subject: RYAN WHITE CARE ACT PASSES SENATE BY STRONG BIPARTISAN VOTE
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 15:07:38 -0400

*****************************************************************
PRESS RELEASE            PRESS RELEASE            PRESS RELEASE

               THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND                    

The Nation's Largest Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Political Group   
*****************************************************************
To contact the HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND, please call us at     
(202)628-4160, fax us at (202) 347-5323 or write to us at PO Box 
1396  Washington, DC  20013.  
*****************************************************************

For Immediate Release
July 27, 1995

      RYAN WHITE CARE ACT PASSES SENATE BY STRONG BIPARTISAN VOTE
                                     
          Helms' Anti-Gay Efforts Thwarted by Kassebaum/Kennedy

      WASHINGTON -- The Ryan White CARE Act Reauthorization of
1995 -- providing essential, life-sustaining medical and support
services to women, men, and children living with HIV and AIDS --
passed the U.S. Senate today by a vote of 97 to 3. Sen. Jesse
Helms (R-N.C.) offered several amendments designed to gut the
bill and keep gay people from receiving medical care. Helms'
anti-gay attack was reversed by an amendment offered by Sens.
Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.) and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.).

      "The vote on Senator Kassebaum's amendment was a victory
over Jesse Helms' efforts to gut the Ryan White CARE Act," said
Elizabeth Birch, Executive Director of the Human Rights Campaign
Fund. "Helms was stopped in his tracks. The Senate made a clear
choice by adopting language that does not single out anybody for
discrimination or exclude gay Americans from much needed medical
care."

      When the Ryan White CARE Act passes the House, the
legislation will go before a House-Senate conference committee,
which will reconcile the House and Senate versions. The
conference committee will be in a strong position to deliver a
bill solidly focused on providing treatment to men, women, and
children living with HIV and AIDS.

      A summary of amendment votes is listed below (bold
indicates the position of the Human Rights Campaign Fund and the
National Organizations Responding to AIDS):

1854 - Helms PROHIBITION/HOMOSEXUAL          YES: 54   NO: 45

Prohibits funds to be used for programs that directly or
indirectly "promote homosexuality," effectively denying medical
care to gay people.

1858 - Kassebaum REVERSES HELMS AMENDMENT    YES: 76   NO: 23

Prohibits programs that promote sexual activity or intravenous
drug use but protects the delivery of essential medical and
support services.

1855 - Helms FUNDING CAP                     YES: 32   NO: 67

Freezes Ryan White spending at FY '95 levels for five years
despite rapidly growing case loads and cuts spending below level
already approved by House Appropriations Committee and Senate
Budget Committee.

1857-Helms FUNDING LEVEL RESTRICTIONS          YES: 15   NO:84

Fails to acknowledge the epidemic nature of AIDS and the total
amount of federal spending on cancer.

1856 - Helms FEDERAL WORKPLACE TRAINING      YES: 99   NO: 0

Allows Federal employees to opt out of AIDS training.

1860 - Kassebaum FUNDING EQUITY              PASSED VOICE VOTE

Ensures that Congress considers all federal funds in ensuring
equity in spending for cancer and AIDS.

     "Jesse Helms' amendments were extreme and born of supreme
ignorance.  They were based on faulty and nonsensical
information. The programs Helms was attacking are not in the
business of promoting sexuality -- they are in the business of
saving lives," Birch said.

     The Ryan White CARE Act is the federal government's leading
program for providing care and treatment to more than 350,000
women, men and children living with HIV and AIDS. AIDS is the
leading cause of death among all Americans aged 25 to 44. A
bipartisan poll of American voters commissioned by the Human
Rights Campaign Fund found that 78 percent of voters support
maintaining or increasing federal funding for the care of
people with HIV and AIDS. The poll was cited during Senate debate
on the bill. HRCF lobbyists worked closely with other HIV/AIDS
advocates to gather bipartisan support for the bill and to turn
back Helms' amendments.

     "Today's Senate action bodes well for advancing this
legislation in the House," said Daniel Zingale, Political
Director of the Human Rights Campaign Fund. "The bipartisan
outcome of today's vote creates momentum for its final passage in
the House."

     The Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF), the nation's largest
lesbian and gay political organization, works to end
discrimination, secure equal rights, and protect the health and
safety of all Americans. With a national staff, and volunteers
and members throughout the country, HRCF lobbies the federal
government on lesbian, gay, and AIDS issues, educates the general
public, participates in election campaigns, organizes volunteers
and provides expertise and training at the state and local level.

                              - 30 -

     1101 14th Street, NW  Suite 200  Washington, DC  20005      
          phone:(202)628-4160      fax:(202) 347-5323