Senate fails to
reauthorize Ryan White Act

The Senate failed to reauthorize the controversial Ryan White Act before it adjourned for the season. The reauthorization measure, which passed the House of Representatives on September 28, did not make it to a Senate vote.

The Ryan White Act mandates the distribution of $2 billion in federal funds for care, treatment, and services to those with HIV/AIDS. The reauthorization bill would have changed the way the money is distributed and would most likely have led to rural areas receiving more funds than they had previously. Many Democratic legislators from states with large cities, including New York senator Hillary Clinton, opposed the reauthorization.

"Health care and treatment access for one low-income uninsured group should not be provided at the expense of the other," said San Francisco AIDS Foundation executive director Mark Cloutier in a statement. Cloutier believed that San Francisco, which has the highest per capita caseload of people with AIDS in the country, would have lost millions of dollars if the reauthorization had passed. (The Advocate)