\n\tGrace Abels, PolitiFact<\/span><\/p>\n

Republicans in Congress are \u201ctrying to wipe out federal funding to end the HIV epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Joe Biden on Oct. 14, 2023, in remarks at the 2023 Human Rights Campaign National Dinner. <\/p>\n

Are Republicans threatening to stop spending federal money to end one of the world\u2019s most pressing public health epidemics? That\u2019s what President Joe Biden said during a dinner hosted by an LGBTQ+ advocacy group.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the United States Congress, extreme MAGA Republicans are trying to undo virtually every bit of progress we\u2019ve made,\u201d Biden said Oct. 14<\/a> at the Human Rights Campaign event. \u201cThey\u2019re trying to wipe out federal funding to end the HIV epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Programs to treat HIV and fight its spread have enjoyed bipartisan funding support in recent years, experts said, so Biden\u2019s portrayal signals a significant departure.<\/p>\n

When we asked the White House what Biden was referring to, it pointed us to reports<\/a> of budget recommendations from House Republicans that call for large cuts to the Ending the HIV Epidemic<\/a> initiative, a Trump administration-era program designed to reduce new HIV infections in the U.S., as well as other programs.<\/p>\n

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed<\/a> a separate spending plan<\/a>. The recommendations will be subject to negotiation as the House and Senate face a Nov. 17 deadline to pass another spending bill.<\/p>\n

We found that although Republicans are recommending significant cuts to HIV prevention efforts across a number of public health agencies, the proposal keeps core funding intact. Meanwhile, political differences are eroding bipartisan support for global HIV-prevention funding.<\/p>\n

Despite great strides in prevention and treatment since HIV was first reported in the U.S. in the 1980s, HIV remains at epidemic levels in the U.S. today, with approximately 1.2 million people<\/a> living with HIV and around 30,000 to 35,000 new infections each year. Experts said cases are rising in the South and in rural areas, and new infection statistics show it is disproportionately affecting Black and Hispanic populations.<\/p>\n

What Are the Proposed Cuts?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The AIDS Budget and Appropriations Coalition, a group of more than 100 public health advocacy organizations that track changes<\/a> in HIV-related federal spending, said a majority of the proposed cuts to domestic HIV funding stem from House Republicans\u2019 effort to eliminate the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative.<\/p>\n

The program started in 2019<\/a> with the goal of reducing new HIV infections in the U.S. by 75% by 2025 and 90% by 2030. The program so far worked regionally, targeting areas<\/a> that have the highest rates of HIV cases for funding.<\/p>\n

In 2023, about $573 million<\/a> was allocated for the program across various agencies, according to KFF\u2019s funding tracker.<\/p>\n

\n
$220 million to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
$165 million to the Ryan White HIV\/AIDS program. (It was named for a 13-year-old diagnosed with HIV in 1984 and is overseen by the Health Resources and Services Administration.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
$5 million to the Indian Health Service.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
$26 million to the National Institutes of Health for research.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
$157.3 million to community health centers, which have treated around 200,000 HIV patients annually.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The program lags<\/a> its goals as it approaches the 2025 benchmark. \u201cIt\u2019s well designed, well planned, it has targets that makes sense,\u201d said Jeffrey Sturchio, a lead researcher on a Center for Strategic and International Studies<\/a> report.<\/p>\n
Sturchio said the problem is not a fault of design, but funding, adding, \u201cCongress has never fully funded the initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sturchio pointed to a range of local and state \u201cbureaucratic hurdles.\u201d Jurisdictions that have pulled together<\/a> sufficient resources have seen \u201ctremendous progress,\u201d he said, and overall indicators<\/a> seem to be moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n
But covid-19 reduced HIV testing and may have diverted public health efforts, CDC administrators said<\/a>. KFF Health News reported in April<\/a> that stakeholders saw progress but worried that it won\u2019t be enough to make the 2030 deadline.<\/p>\n
Democrats appear to share this concern. The spending bill proposed by the Democratic-controlled Senate Appropriations Committee maintained or slightly increased funding levels to all HIV-related programs. The committee requested<\/a> more data about the program, describing its \u201clack of quantifiable data showing outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The House has not yet passed the bill out of committee. We know of some proposed cuts from the bill<\/a>, which the Republican-led House Appropriations Subcommittee released in July.<\/p>\n
It outlines a $1.6 billion cut to the CDC, including a $220 million reduction in \u201cHIV\/AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis prevention\u201d and a $238.5 million cut from the Ryan White HIV\/AIDS program<\/a>. The Ryan White program provides medical care<\/a> and support services to low-income HIV patients and serves more than half<\/a> of those diagnosed in the U.S.<\/p>\n
The bill also proposes cutting funding to the Minority HIV\/AIDS fund<\/a> by more than half \u2014 from $60 million to $28 million. According to HIV.gov, the fund supports prevention and care projects<\/a> targeting disparities that affect communities of color.<\/p>\n
Additional details about how these cuts could affect programs are detailed in a committee report that has not been made public. PolitiFact and some advocacy organizations obtained copies of the report, but the House Appropriations Committee did not respond to questions about it. The report<\/a> we saw recommended cutting all funding for the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative.<\/p>\n
And House Democrats<\/a>, advocacy organizations<\/a>, and KFF Health News<\/a> have each reported that the Ryan White program and CDC cuts result from a plan to eliminate the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they cut funding, it\u2019s going to have a dramatic and draconian impact on the ability of all of the people who are working in these jurisdictions to improve public health,\u201d said Sturchio, the researcher.<\/p>\n
Although the cuts would be dramatic, experts said, they would not eliminate all domestic HIV funding.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is certainly a demonstration and a commitment to some of the core HIV programs, but there are millions of dollars of proposed cuts in other areas,\u201d said Lindsey Dawson, associate director for HIV policy at KFF. \u201cThese cuts would have a meaningful impact on the ability of programs to provide lifesaving interventions for both HIV care and treatment, as well as prevention.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cuts would mean a 16% cut to the CDC\u2019s division of STD prevention, a 9% cut to the Ryan White HIV\/AIDS program, and a 53% cut to the Minority HIV\/AIDS Fund from fiscal year 2023 to 2024.<\/p>\n
These funding cuts are only proposals. They require a vote from the full appropriations committee and would have to pass the House and be negotiated with a Democratic-controlled Senate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve heard for a long time that HIV is a bipartisan issue. But what some people forget, is that that bipartisanship was hard fought for over the first decade of the HIV epidemic,\u201d said Dawson.<\/p>\n
Other Challenges to HIV\/AIDS Spending<\/strong><\/p>\n
The U.S. commitment to global HIV prevention, meanwhile, is also under scrutiny. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) challenged reauthorizing<\/a> the President\u2019s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, also known as PEPFAR<\/a>, without first making some changes. Started in 2003 by President George W. Bush<\/a>, the program distributes funds<\/a> in more than 50 countries for HIV testing, prevention, treatment, and medications. It also strengthens health care systems to fight AIDS.<\/p>\n
Funding for the program has grown over the past 20 years, totaling more than $110 billion. The program reported<\/a> 25 million lives saved by medical intervention.<\/p>\n
Smith, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Global Health, has expressed concerns that money is being given to nongovernmental organizations that support abortion rights and access.<\/p>\n
U.S. law prohibits<\/a> the direct use of overseas funding to provide abortions or to lobby for access to abortions. This has been the case since 1973<\/a>. However, organizations<\/a> that receive U.S. funding<\/a> can do so with their own non-U.S. funding.<\/p>\n
An official from the State Department, which runs the program, confirmed to PolitiFact that PEPFAR is legally restricted from funding abortion or lobbying for abortion access; the official cited the training of staff and partners and the monitoring of procedures to ensure compliance.<\/p>\n
Other anti-abortion groups<\/a> have favored a \u201cMexico City Policy,\u2019<\/a>\u2018 which has required foreign nongovernmental organizations to certify that they would not perform or promote abortion with funds from any source to be eligible for U.S. government funding. Trump applied the policy to PEPFAR, but Biden rescinded it.<\/p>\n
The failure to reauthorize<\/a> PEPFAR would not eliminate the program, and Congress can continue to fund the program without reauthorization, but it could cause some provisions to lapse over the next few years.<\/p>\n
The lack of a reauthorization would have significant symbolic impact, said Kellie Moss, KFF\u2019s associate director of global health and HIV policy. \u201cIt could make the program more vulnerable during funding discussions without a clear signal of bipartisan support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although reauthorization is being held up, funding has progressed. On Sept. 28, the House passed<\/a> a State Department and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which would fund PEPFAR for another year but implement a Mexico City-like policy provision on all global health funding. This bill would also extend the lapsing provisions for another year.<\/p>\n
Our Ruling<\/strong><\/p>\n
Biden said that Republicans in Congress are \u201ctrying to wipe out federal funding to end the HIV epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n
A subcommittee of House Republicans has proposed cutting some HIV prevention programs anywhere from 53% to 9% in fiscal 2024, depending on the program.<\/p>\n
A committee\u2019s draft report cited by advocacy and policy groups shows these cuts stem from the elimination of the Trump-era Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, although the committee did not respond to questions about that.<\/p>\n
Taken together, these cuts would not eliminate \u2014 or \u201cwipe out\u201d \u2014 all federal domestic HIV spending, but they do represent a significant cut.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the House has not moved ahead to reauthorize PEPFAR, which supplies U.S. dollars for global HIV prevention, over Republican concerns about where organizations that receive the money stand on abortion access. But the House has passed one year of PEPFAR funding with some conditions about how it is distributed, which it can do without reauthorizing the program.<\/p>\n
Biden\u2019s statement is partially accurate in that significant funding cuts have been proposed by House Republicans, but he exaggerates by saying these efforts would \u201cwipe out\u201d federal funding.<\/p>\n
We rate this claim Half True.<\/p>\n
KFF Health News Southern correspondent Sam Whitehead contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n
Our Sources<\/h4>\n
Email interview with a White House spokesperson, Oct. 17, 2023\u00a0<\/p>\n
Email interview with a State Department official, Oct. 18, 2023\u00a0<\/p>\n
Email interview with Michael Finan, communications director for Rep. Chris Smith, Oct. 16, 2023<\/p>\n
Interview with Kellie Moss, associate director of Global Health & HIV policy at KFF, Oct. 17, 2023<\/p>\n
Interview with Lindsey Dawson, associate director of HIV policy at KFF, Oct. 18, 2023<\/p>\n
Interview with Nick Armstrong, manager of advocacy and government affairs at the AIDS Institute, Oct. 18, 2023<\/p>\n
Interview with Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute, Oct. 18, 2023<\/p>\n
Interview with Jeffrey Sturchio, senior associate of the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Oct. 25, 2023<\/p>\n
AHEAD, \u201c The Six EHE Indicators \u2014 Incidence<\/a>,\u201d accessed Oct. 31, 2023<\/p>\n
AIDS United, \u201c The HIV Safety Net Is Under Attack<\/a>,\u201d accessed Oct. 31, 2023<\/p>\n
The Associated Press, \u201c Republican Opposition to Abortion Threatens Global HIV\/AIDS Program That Has Saved 25 Million Lives<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 11, 2023<\/p>\n
Center for Family and Human Rights, \u201c Dear Colleague, President Biden has hijacked PEPFAR, the $6 billion a year foreign aid program designed to mitigate<\/a>,\u201d June 6, 2023<\/p>\n
Center for Family and Human Rights, \u201c PEPFAR Coalition Letter<\/a>,\u201d May 1, 2023<\/p>\n
Center for Strategic and International Studies, \u201c Can the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. Initiative Succeed?<\/a>\u201d Aug. 26, 2022<\/p>\n
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, \u201c Core Indicators for Monitoring the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative<\/a>,\u201d Oct. 17, 2023<\/p>\n
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, \u201c Dear Colleagues: What\u2019s New | About the Division of HIV\/AIDS Prevention<\/a>,\u201d May 24, 2022<\/p>\n
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, \u201c EHE Accomplishments<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 21, 2023<\/p>\n
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, \u201c Transgender Women Urgently Need More HIV Prevention and Treatment Services, New CDC Data Show<\/a>,\u201d April 15, 2021<\/p>\n
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, \u201c 2021 HIV Incidence | NCHHSTP Newsroom<\/a>,\u201d May 23, 2023<\/p>\n
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, \u201c Estimated HIV Incidence and Prevalence in the United States, 2017-2021: National Profile<\/a>,\u201d May 23, 2023<\/p>\n
Congress.gov, \u201c Senate Appropriations LHHSE Committee Report<\/a>,\u201d July 27, 2023\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fox News, \u201c Biden Administration \u2018Hijacking\u2019 George Bush AIDS Program to Push Abortion in Africa: GOP Congressman<\/a>,\u201d June 10, 2023<\/p>\n
HIV.gov, \u201c Ending the HIV Epidemic<\/a>,\u201d Aug. 1, 2023<\/p>\n
HIV.gov, \u201c Expanding PrEP Coverage in the United States to Achieve EHE Goals<\/a>,\u201d Oct. 18, 2023<\/p>\n
HIV.gov, \u201c HIV & AIDS Trends and U.S. Statistics Overview<\/a>,\u201d Oct. 3, 2023<\/p>\n
HIV.gov, \u201c Minority HIV\/AIDS Fund in Action<\/a>,\u201d May 16, 2023\u00a0<\/p>\n
HIV.gov, \u201c What Is the Minority HIV\/AIDS Fund?<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 25, 2019<\/p>\n
House Appropriations Committee, \u201c FY24 LHHSE Appropriations Bill Summary<\/a>,\u201d July 13, 2023<\/p>\n
House Appropriations Committee, \u201c House Approves H.R. 4665, The Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 28, 2023<\/p>\n
House Democrats Appropriations Committee, \u201c House Republican Funding Bill Kicks Teachers Out of Classrooms, Takes Away Job Opportunities, and Harms Women and Children<\/a>,\u201d July 13, 2023\u00a0<\/p>\n
KFF, \u201c PEPFAR Reauthorization: The Debate About Abortion<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 21, 2023<\/p>\n
KFF, \u201c PEPFAR Reauthorization 2023: Key Issues<\/a>,\u201d March 13, 2023<\/p>\n
KFF, \u201c The Mexico City Policy: An Explainer<\/a>,\u201d Jan. 28, 2021<\/p>\n
KFF, \u201c The U.S. Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) Initiative: What You Need to Know,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0Feb. 9, 2021<\/p>\n
KFF, \u201c The U.S. Government and International Family Planning & Reproductive Health: Statutory Requirements and Policies<\/a>,\u201d Oct. 27, 2023<\/p>\n
KFF, \u201c The U.S. President\u2019s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)\u00a0<\/a>,\u201d July 26, 2023<\/p>\n
KFF, \u201c U.S. Federal Funding for HIV\/AIDS: Trends Over Time<\/a>,\u201d March 5, 2019<\/p>\n
KFF Health News, \u201c In Move to Slash CDC Budget, House Republicans Target Major HIV Program Trump Launched<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 8, 2023<\/p>\n
KFF Health News, \u201c US Officials Want to End the HIV Epidemic by 2030. Many Stakeholders Think They Won\u2019t,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0April 24, 2023<\/p>\n
National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, \u201c FY2024 Appropriations for Federal HIV\/AIDS Programs<\/a>,\u201d July 28, 2023<\/p>\n
NBC News, \u201c How Tennessee Axed Millions in HIV Funds Amid Scrutiny From Far-Right Provocateurs<\/a>,\u201d Feb. 2, 2023<\/p>\n
NBC News, \u201c Tennessee Blocked $8 Million for HIV, Now Ends Up With $13 Million, Stunning Advocates<\/a>,\u201d April 21, 2023<\/p>\n
NBC News, \u201c U.S. Progress in HIV Fight Continues to Trail Many Other Rich Nations<\/a>,\u201d May 23, 2023<\/p>\n
NPR, \u201c What\u2019s Behind the Debate to Re-Authorize PEPFAR, the Widely Hailed Anti-HIV Effort?<\/a>\u201d Sept. 29, 2023<\/p>\n
Planned Parenthood, \u201c The Quickie: Tennessee to Pull Federal Funding for HIV Prevention to Avoid Giving Grants to Planned Parenthood<\/a>,\u201d Jan. 27, 2023\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reuters, \u201c US State Dept Slams Congress for Failure to Renew Anti-AIDS Program<\/a>,\u201d Oct. 3, 2023<\/p>\n
Roll Call, \u201c PEPFAR Reauthorization Debate Highlights Splits in GOP<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 21, 2023<\/p>\n
Ryan White HIV\/AIDS Program, \u201c Available Care & Services | Ryan White HIV\/AIDS Program<\/a>,\u201d Feb. 2022<\/p>\n
Ryan White HIV\/AIDS Program, \u201c Home page<\/a>,\u201d accessed Oct. 31, 2023<\/p>\n
Ryan White HIV\/AIDS Program, \u201c Ryan White HIV\/AIDS Program Annual Client-Level Data Report 2020<\/a>,\u201d December 2021<\/p>\n
San Francisco AIDS Foundation, \u201c Devastating Cuts Proposed to Federal HIV Budget <\/a>\u2014<\/a> San Francisco AIDS Foundation,\u201d\u00a0 July 14, 2023<\/p>\n
The Heritage Foundation, \u201c Reassessing America\u2019s $30 Billion Global AIDS Relief Program<\/a>,\u201d May 1, 2023<\/p>\n
The New Yorker, \u201c Abortion Opponents Are Targeting a Signature G.O.P. Public-Health Initiative<\/a>,\u201d Aug. 24, 2023<\/p>\n
The New York Times, \u201c Tennessee\u2019s Rejection of Federal Funds to Curb HIV Alarms Prevention Groups<\/a>,\u201d March 24, 2023<\/p>\n
The Washington Post, \u201c Lifesaving PEPFAR Program Faces a New Threat: U.S. Abortion Politics<\/a>,\u201d July 29, 2023<\/p>\n
The Washington Post, \u201c Opinion | George W. Bush: Michael Gerson\u2019s Words Make the Case for Saving PEPFAR<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 13, 2023<\/p>\n
The White House, \u201c Remarks by President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the 2023 Human Rights Campaign National Dinner<\/a>,\u201d Oct. 14, 2023<\/p>\n
U.S. Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.), \u201c Biden Has Hijacked PEPFAR to Promote Abortion<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 28, 2023<\/p>\n
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, \u201c FY 24 LHHS Report<\/a>,\u201d July 27, 2023<\/p>\n
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, \u201c Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Defense, Interior-Environment, LHHS, and Homeland Security Bills<\/a>,\u201d July 27, 2023<\/p>\n
U.S. State Department, \u201c Results and Impact <\/a>\u2014<\/a> PEPFAR,\u201d accessed Oct. 31, 2023<\/p>\n
U.S. State Department, \u201c The United States President\u2019s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief<\/a>,\u201d accessed Oct. 31, 2023<\/p>\n
YouTube, \u201c Biden Has Hijacked PEPFAR to Promote Abortion<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 28, 2023<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Grace Abels, PolitiFact Republicans in Congress are \u201ctrying to wipe out federal funding to end the HIV epidemic.\u201d President Joe Biden on Oct. 14, 2023, in remarks at the 2023 Human Rights Campaign National Dinner. Are Republicans threatening to stop spending federal money to end one of the world\u2019s most pressing public health epidemics? That\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1976"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1978,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1976\/revisions\/1978"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}