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May 12, 2004 NORA
Releases 12th Annual Federal Appropriations Recommendations: (Washington, DC) The National Organizations Responding to AIDS (NORA) coalition released its annual federal appropriations recommendations today in Washington, D.C. Fiscal Year 2005 HIV/AIDS Appropriations Recommendations comprehensively examines and provides funding recommendations for all of the major federal programs that provide critical funding for HIV/AIDS related services – including care, treatment, research, prevention, housing, substance abuse and mental health treatment and services, and other medical and social support services. Members of the NORA coalition will be on Capitol Hill today delivering copies of the Appropriations Recommendations to Members of Congress and their staff. "The demographic spectrum of people infected with HIV in the United States changes every year,” said Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH). “As the face of HIV/AIDS changes, the resources provided to states and communities must keep pace and Ryan White funding is critical to making this happen." Each year, in an effort to ensure an appropriate federal response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, NORA assembles and distributes this book, which includes appropriation requests based on the needs for HIV/AIDS programs in the upcoming fiscal year as determined by a consensus of NORA members. "The gravity of the AIDS epidemic demands that we invest in programs that address this devastating disease,” noted Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD), House Democratic Whip. “I am grateful to organizations like NORA who are fighting to ensure continued bi-partisan support within Congress to fund these important initiatives, both at the domestic level and internationally. Their efforts are helping to make a substantial impact in the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals." This year’s book, subtitled [Our] Nation Must Build on Successes in HIV/AIDS, reflects the coalition’s belief that the U.S. government has made significant progress in its attempts to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in this country, and it expresses a desire to ensure that the U.S. not fall back from that progress. Thousands of people are living longer, healthier lives because of federally funded initiatives that have prevented new infections and led to the development and delivery of effective medical treatments and support services. However, funding levels for key programs have stagnated recently – and as a result, infection rates have remained at 40,000 new cases a year, and HIV positive people are having more and more difficulty accessing the medical care and treatment services that they need. For the first time ever, the NORA book includes a recommended “Need” appropriation number in addition to the NORA Coalition’s appropriations request for FY 2005. While the request number takes into account budgetary and political considerations, the need number works as a companion number, showing the amount of funds needed for FY 2005 to address the unmet need in all HIV programs. For FY 2005, NORA has calculated that the funding needs for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HIV prevention programs is $2 billion, for the Ryan White CARE Act Program at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is $3.1 billion (which provides funding for treatment, care, and medications), and for AIDS research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is $3.327 billion. “For 12 years the NORA coalition has helped shape the federal response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by providing accurate, up-to-date funding information,” stated Jim Harvey, Executive Director of the HIV Community Coalition and co-chair of the NORA Executive Committee. “This year, as we’ve seen increases in the number of people needing life-saving medications and AIDS drugs, we are presenting for the first time ever ‘need’ estimates to Congress, allowing them to continue to take the lead in working to ensure that people living with HIV have access to needed medical treatment and support systems.” In addition to suggested funding levels for the various programs that make up the HIV/AIDS portfolio, the NORA book contains a comprehensive overview of the mission of each program, it’s programmatic and funding history, and a comparison of the NORA recommended funding level with that contained in the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2005 budget request. To read the FY 2005 NORA recommendations click here. (PDF Format) National Organizations Responding to AIDS (NORA) is a diverse coalition of national organizations responding to the AIDS epidemic. NORA's mission is to engage in concerted federal advocacy on national public policy on HIV and AIDS. The Coalition provides a forum for the discussion of emerging legislative, policy and programmatic issues surrounding the AIDS epidemic and for the comprehensive analysis of pending legislation and regulation for the purpose of determining priorities for legislative and administrative action. |
