This morning President Obama signed into law two bills that will improve health for people living with HIV and help erase stigma that often surrounds HIV infection. This is the culmination of years of advocacy on behalf of people living with HIV and AIDS.
The president removed the ban on HIV-positive individuals entering our country, putting an end to years of discrimination and blatant disregard of science. The president also signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act, reauthorizing the cornerstone federal program promoting health for uninsured and underinsured people living with HIV and AIDS.
Bay Area residents can take special pleasure in this news. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representative Barbara Lee were actively involved in moving this legislation forward. You can be very proud that you’ve supported years of advocacy in Washington, D.C.
I was personally delighted that the president invited my colleague Ernest Hopkins, the Foundation’s Director of Federal Affairs, to participate in the signing ceremony. In the attached photo, Ernest, wearing a matching tie, stands directly behind the president and is joined by Speaker Pelosi, Representative Lee and Jeanne White Ginder, Ryan White’s mother, among other Foundation allies.
Ensuring access to health care through Ryan White and eliminating the scourge of bigotry from our immigration policies are signs of promise that the Foundation has an ally in the White House poised to support the Foundation’s commitment to reduce new HIV infections and improve health for people living with HIV.
For your critical role in this work, I offer my deepest thanks.
