In observation of World AIDS Day on Thursday, December 1, AIDS Action staff organized a bi-partisan delegation of House and Senate staff members, which spent the day visiting organizations that provide HIV services in the Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD area. All six of the delegation members are currently working on reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act, yet the majority of them had never toured an organization funded through the legislation.

(from l-r) Rufus Caine, Legislative Assistant for Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD); David Haltiwanger, Ph.D., Director of Clinical Programs and Public Policy for Chase-Brexton; David Shippee, Executive Director of Chase-Brexton; Michelle Dirst, Professional Staff Member for Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY), HELP Committee; and Christina Johnson, staff of Rep. Cummings

“We are very pleased that Congressional staff members were able to take time from their busy schedules working on reauthorization to accompany us on this tour of Ryan White funded facilities and programs,” stated Bill McColl, political director for AIDS Action.

He continued, “As Congress weighs the issues of reauthorization—like how to ensure equitable distribution of funding, continual access to comprehensive care and treatment services, and prioritization of local control—it will be critical for them to have a clear idea of who is served by the CARE Act, how its programs are run, what its programs are doing well, and where they need to be strengthened. The best people to convey this information are CARE Act service providers and clients, and the best place to receive this information is in a CARE Act setting.”

About the CARE Act
The CARE Act has four principle components, referred to as Titles (Title I, II, III, and IV) and a section known as Part F. Characterized by their different funding capacities, the CARE Act Titles and Part F are designed to addresses specific jurisdictions and populations heavily impacted by HIV.

About the Organizations
In order to give delegation members an understanding of how CARE Act funding is distributed and what kinds of services are provided through the legislation’s Titles and Part F, AIDS Action selected five organizations that collectively represent the full array of CARE Act funding capacities.

The organizations visited by AIDS Action and the Congressional delegation (or Codel) are as follows: 1) Food and Friends (funded by Title I); 2) Baltimore Pediatric HIV Program, Inc. (funded by Title IV); 3) Chase Brexton Health Services, Inc. (funded by Titles I, II, III, and Part F’s SPNS); 4) Health Education Resource Organization, Inc. (funded by Titles I, II, III, and IV); and 5) Pennsylvania-Mid-Atlantic AIDS Education and Training Center (funded by Part F’s AETC)

This article provides coverage of the Congressional delegation's visits to these Ryan White CARE Act programs.