Last week, President Obama released his Fiscal Year 2010 budget request. Unfortunately, his budget still includes the language that bans the use of federal funding for syringe exchange programs, despite their proven effectiveness in preventing new HIV and hepatitis C infections.
In response, the Community AIDS and Hepatitis Prevention Act of 2009 (HR 179), has been re-introduced in Congress.
This act would eliminate all laws which prevent federal funding from being used by state and local jurisdictions for syringe exchange.
This is a critical time - if we speak up NOW, we can still lift the ban this year!
Urge your US Representative to Co-Sponsor HR 179, the Community AIDS and Hepatitis Prevention Act of 2009!
Click HERE to take action on this issue
What's At Stake?
Each year, approximately 12,000 Americans contract HIV/AIDS and approximately 19,000 Americans contract the hepatitis C virus directly or indirectly from sharing contaminated syringes.
Making clean, sterile syringes available is a simple, cost-effective method of saving lives and providing care to hard-to-reach populations.
But since 1988, there has been a Congressional ban on the use of federal funds for Syringe Exchange Programs nationwide. Last year, Congress lifted the ban that forbid Washington D. C. from using its local tax dollars to support syringe exchange in the city itself.
Now we need the ban lifted on federal funding for the whole nation!
To see the full text of HR 179, please click here.
This action alert brought to you by Lifelong's Communities in Action Network.
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