July 28, 2009
Equality California Calls Governor’s Veto of Critical AIDS Funding Shortsighted, Immoral
Sacramento – Governor Schwarzenegger today line-item vetoed $52.133 million in funding in the 2009 Budget Act to the State Office of AIDS. These essential funds support many life-saving programs such as education and prevention, therapeutic monitoring, counseling and testing, early intervention, home and community based care, and housing. This reduction is in addition to the $8 million General Fund compromise cut approved by the state legislature.
“These cuts are both fiscally short-sighted and immoral, given the grave human cost,” said Geoff Kors, Executive Director of Equality California (EQCA). “People will die from AIDS younger or have a harder time managing their disease because we are not investing in early intervention, testing, or counseling. People will lack support in their homes and communities, where they often receive the best and most culturally competent care and treatment. More residents will be at risk of infection because of these dramatic cuts to education and prevention efforts and low-income people living with HIV and AIDS will be more likely to become homeless. The Governor is dismantling a proven model of wrap-around care for HIV that has made California a leader. The Governor must not solve California’s fiscal crisis on the backs of our state’s most vulnerable citizens,” Kors said.
Although Californians living with HIV and AIDS will still havecontinued access to lifesaving medications through the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, it is believed that these cuts will further jeopardize California's ability to meet its federal Ryan White Maintenance-Of-Effort requirement for 2010-11, amounting to a further hit to local jurisdictions and organizations throughout the state of $128 million in federal support of ADAP and other important programs.
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