Subject: The San Francisco AIDS Fdtn. is not happy with Congress
From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 14:17:06 EDT

July 20, 2000

The Honorable Tom Bliley
Chairman, Committee on Commerce
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

RE: H.R. 4807, The Ryan White CARE Act and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation

Dear Chairman Bliley:

There is no legislative issue more important to the San Francisco AIDS 
Foundation (SFAF) this year than the successful reauthorization of the Ryan 
White CARE Act. We applaud recent efforts by you and members of the Commerce 
Committee to move swiftly in reauthorizing this critical program. However, it 
is essential that public policy decision be based on information that is 
factual and accurate. Unfortunately, during the July 11th and July 13th 
hearing and mark-up on H.R. 4807, the Ryan White CARE Act Amendments of 2000, 
several statements were made regarding SFAF that were both inaccurate and 
misleading. This letter is intended to correct those errors and provide you 
and members of the Commerce Committee with factual information regarding 
SFAF. 

SFAF is a non-profit, community-based organization that serves 130,000 
individuals affected by HIV and AIDS each year through an array of targeted 
and essential HIV services, including case management, treatment counseling 
and support, benefits counseling, housing assistance, substance abuse and 
mental health counseling referrals, women's and family services, HIV 
treatment publications, and the California AIDS hotline. SFAF's HIV 
prevention programs, community outreach and advocacy efforts reach nearly 1 
million more individuals affected by the disease.

Some members of the committee seemed to be under the mistaken impression that 
SFAF is completely reliant on government funds (and specifically Ryan White 
CARE Act funds) to provide these services. In reality, over 73% of our budget 
is privately raised, resulting in a low reliance on government funding. SFAF 
receives approximately $5 million in federal, state and local funds annually 
to provide a variety of HIV-related services and about $2.6 million of these 
funds come through the Ryan White CARE Act. CARE Act funds therefore make up 
only about 13% of our overall budget.  

Members on the Commerce Committee also asserted that the SFAF had a "$7 
million cash reserve fund." This is not true. The figure cited apparently 
came from an inaccurate article that was published recently in the San 
Francisco Bay Area Reporter in which our net assets were inaccurately 
described as our "cash reserve fund." A subsequent letter correcting this 
mistake has since been published in the same newspaper. The Board of 
Directors of SFAF does mandate an operating reserve in order to prevent harm 
to agency HIV services that could result from drastic changes in revenue, but 
the amount is far less than the $7 million cited. Our operating reserve is 
characterized on our most recent federal 990 non-profit tax return for the 
fiscal year ending 6/30/99 as "Investments - Securities" and amounts to $2.65 
million. This size reserve is entirely consistent with prudent financial 
management and in appropriate for an agency with a $19 million budget. A 
comprehensive and detailed overview of SFAF's fiscal status, including a 
complete copy of our most recent 990 federal tax filing and funding charts by 
source, can be obtained on our web site at www.sfaf.org/aboutsfaf/budget/.

furthermore, the financial position of SFAF has no bearing on the policy 
debate regarding the Ryan White CARE Act Title l formula and the hold 
harmless provision. SFAF is not the Title l grantee, but is simply one of 
dozens of community-based organizations that receive funding from the CARE 
Act to serve the thousands of individuals living with HIV and AIDS in the San 
Francisco Eligible Metropolitan Area (EMA). Last year, SFAF received 
approximately $2.6 million of the San Francisco EMA's Title l FY 2000 aware 
of $35.2 million; this represents only 7% of the total Title l  award for the 
San Francisco EMA. Regardless of SFAF's operating reserve, the fact remains 
that a 25% cut in Title l funding as proposed in H.R. 4807 would translate 
into dramatic cuts in CARE Act funded services to a continuum of 
community-based organizations, forcing a drastic reduction in access to 
medical care and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS in our 
community.

It is also important to correct factual errors regarding wages and salaries 
of staff employed by SFAF. Comments suggesting SFAF spent "$8 million in 
wages" that "aren't necessarily associated with treatment and care" are 
false. In fact, total agency payroll amounts are close to $6.2 million, 82% 
of which are salaries for HIV program services. The remaining 18% covers 
administrative and fundraising salaries, which is again well within standard 
non-profit operating principals, and is essential to ensuring SFAF is able to 
raise over $13 million annually from private donors. Claims that the SFAF's 
Executive Director's current salary is "well in excess of $200,000 per year" 
are also incorrect. Our Executive Director's salary is $175,000 per year and 
is paid from privately raised funds. SFAF's Board is confident that the 
Executive Director's compensation is commensurate with the duties, scope of 
responsibilities and performance in the position as well as the Bay Area 
labor market. Additionally, the March 2000 General Accounting Office (GAO) 
report reached a similar conclusion that salaries paid to executives at 
organizations that received CARE Act funds were comparable to other 
non-profit organizations.

Comments at the hearing also created the impression that the SFAF has misused 
CARE Act funds to donate $55,000 towards the efforts to defeat a state ballot 
initiative. The donation was entirely legal and was made from privately 
raised revenue. No Ryan White CARE Act money was used for this purpose. While 
two members on the Committee claimed the initiative "had absolutely nothing 
to do with HIV and AIDS" we believe that the opposite is true. The Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention and our own qualitative  research 
conducted with the Centers for AIDS Prevention Studies [of UCSF] demonstrate 
the link between HIV infection rates and homophobia. The initiative, banning 
legal recognition of same sex marriage, was discriminatory and contributed to 
an environment that devalues same-sex relationships and undermines the 
self-esteem of gay men. While members of Congress may criticize our 
contributions towards efforts to defeat this initiative, the scientific 
evidence linking homophobia and HIV transmission is clear. Our mission to end 
the AIDS pandemic can be realized if we oppose racism, homophobia and other 
forms of discrimination that feed the spread of HIV. As leaders in the fight 
against HIV and AIDS, we can do no less.

Finally, any suggestion that the San Francisco EMA has too much Ryan White 
CARE Act resources and can easily absorb a 25% cut in funding over the next 
five years is absolutely false. No EMA, including San Francisco, has 
sufficient resources to address the growing need for medical care and support 
services for the increasing number of people living with HIV/AIDS. SFAF 
strongly opposes the hold harmless provision -- it will cause considerable 
destabilization of systems of care for individuals living with HIV and AIDS 
in the Bay Area.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with additional information 
about our agency. If you or other members of the Commerce Committee have 
additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact Fred Dillion, 
Director of Public Policy for SFAF at 415-487-3080.

Sincerely,
Lonnie Payne
Chair, Board of Directors
San Francisco AIDS Foundation

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