Topics in the News: HIV-AIDS
Joe Biden on HIV-AIDS:
(Abortion Jan 28, 2021)
Rescind Mexico City Policy "global gag rule"
PROMISE MADE: (2020 campaign website JoeBiden.com): Just as the Obama-Biden Administration did, rescind the Mexico City Policy that Pres. Trump reinstated & expanded. This rule currently bars the US federal government from supporting
important global health efforts--including for malaria and HIV/AIDS--in developing countries simply because the organizations providing that aid also offer information on abortion services.PROMISE KEPT: (Time magazine, 1/28/21): Biden
will rescind the Mexico City policy--sometimes called the "global gag rule"--in another rollback of a Trump policy that will bring major changes to reproductive health and rights around the world.
OnTheIssues ANALYSIS: The Mexico City
Policy has been instituted and rescinded by Executive Order each time the president's party changed. Reagan initiated the policy in 1985; Clinton rescinded it in 1993; Bush reinstated it in 2001; Obama rescinded it in 2009; Trump reinstated it in 2017.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Time Magazine on Biden Promises
Ron DeSantis on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Oct 13, 2020)
New Yorkers were bringing COVID to Florida
In late March, the number of cases in New York was spiking but remained low in most of the country. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida complained that New Yorkers were bringing the virus to Florida. Florida is a key electoral state for President Trump, and
DeSantis is very much a Trump supporter. In fact, to secure a political advantage, Trump had just changed his residency from New York to Florida. After DeSantis's statements , the president's aids started to talk about limiting
New Yorkers' ability to travel. At first, we didn't take them seriously, but within a Trump White House you have to be constantly on guard because they were capable of anything. There was also a White House driven theme emerging that COVID was a
Democratic state problem, not a Republican state problem. DeSantis's remark was another manifestation of this theme, and it was conceivable that targeting New York would be advancing his political narrative.
Click for Ron DeSantis on other issues.
Source: American Crisis, by Andrew Cuomo, p.186-187
Donald Trump on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care May 30, 2020)
1993: Falsely claimed you may get AIDS from kissing
Trump's long history of spreading medical misinformation about disease outbreaks stretches back as far as 1993 during the HIV/AIDS crisis. While discussing his sex life on an episode of The Howard Stern Show,
Trump said, "I saw a report the other day, you may get AIDS by kissing." In one syndicated column from December 1992, Fauci carefully noted it was "extraordinarily unlikely" that healthy individuals can transmit the disease through kissing.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: CNN K-File FactCheck on 2020 Trump Administration
Mike Pence on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Feb 26, 2020)
Smoking doesn't kill; 90% of smokers don't get lung cancer
On public health: "Despite the hysteria from the political class and the media, smoking doesn't kill. In fact, two out of every three smokers do not die from a smoking-related illness and nine out of 10 smokers do not contract lung cancer,"
Pence said in 2000. Additionally, Pence has advocated teaching creationism in American public schools and, as governor of Indiana, had an HIV outbreak explode on his watch because he moved too slowly on approving needle exchanges.
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: The Daily Beast on 2020 Veepstakes
Elizabeth Warren on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Feb 7, 2020)
Reduce the cost of commonly-used prescription drugs
I think we need to think about healthcare a little differently and that is, 36 million Americans last year couldn't afford to have a prescription filled and that includes people with health insurance. On day one,
I will defend the Affordable Care Act and I will use march in orders to reduce the cost of commonly used prescription drugs like insulin and HIV, AIDS, drugs and EpiPens.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Elizabeth Warren on HIV-AIDS:
(Drugs Feb 5, 2020)
Opioid crisis has stigma like AIDS & needs increased funding
q: How do you plan to address the opioid problem?WARREN: The estimate I've seen is that 193 people die every day from addiction and overdoses. [I realized two parts about] the opioid crisis and how much it looked like the AIDS crisis. One is a lot of
stigma, so people don't like to talk about it; people don't come for help. And the other part is, the resources we need, our federal government, was always just an hour late and a dollar short.
Q: N.H. has twice the national average of opioid deaths.
What is your plan?
WARREN: A little boy named Ryan White said that he had AIDS and Congress said, "This is it." We put the resources into the research, and brought down the number of deaths. Why not do the same thing with the opioid crisis?
And that is put in the real resources. It will take a lot of money, about $10 billion a year for the next 10 years. But think of what we're losing every day. The best estimate is it's costing us $50 billion a year, this crisis. Put the money in.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: CNN N. H. Town Hall on eve of 2020 N. H. primary
Donald Trump on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Feb 4, 2020)
Eradicate AIDS epidemic by the end of this decade
We are coordinating with the Chinese government on the Coronavirus outbreak in China. We have launched ambitious new initiatives to substantially improve care for Americans with kidney disease, Alzheimer's, and those struggling with mental health
challenges. And because the Congress funded my request, we are pursuing new cures for childhood cancer, and we will eradicate the AIDS epidemic in America by the end of the decade.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2020 State of the Union address to Congress
Elizabeth Warren on HIV-AIDS:
(Free Trade Oct 10, 2019)
Countries want to trade with us; so push for human rights
Q: The current administration maintains financial relationships with countries that have terrible human rights records--what's your stance on working with these countries?WARREN: Our responsibilities are not just to each other in this country.
Our responsibilities run worldwide. And that's true whether we're talking about the AIDS epidemic or it's true whether we're talking about human rights violations. I believe what we need to do as a country, we need to bring more pressure to bear.
On trade policy: Everyone around the world who has something to sell wants to get to the American consumer. Why? Because we buy a lot of stuff. We need to use that leverage to say, "if you want to come and sell here, then you have to meet some basic
standards." Now, some of those are going to be labor standards, what you pay people. You can't be producing these products with prison labor. We want to use the leverage of our markets to raise human rights standards all around the globe.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Tom Steyer on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Oct 10, 2019)
Directly fund academic research to find cure for AIDS
Q: Pharmaceutical companies have no incentive for them to develop a cure because they continue to profit from people that have HIV for the rest of their lives. As president, how would you finance the science of developing a cure so that we can scale
back the avarice of the pharmaceutical industry?STEYER: The way that we can go after that is by directing science through universities, through research to solve the problem. So if you look at what Mr. Trump has done,
he has cut research funding across the board in every one of his different budgets. I think that's the exact wrong thing to do. What we should be doing in a case like trying to come up with solutions to AIDS, with cures for
AIDS, is going directly to the best scientists and funding them as much as necessary, as much as conceivably effective to make sure that we solve this problem.
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Pete Buttigieg on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Oct 10, 2019)
Good care for all and affordable prevention for all
Q: What is your plan for reducing HIV contractions among the African American population? BUTTIGIEG: I propose Medicare for all who want it. But whether you're on that public plan or on a private plan, we require that everyone be treated with equity.
That includes not just treatments for HIV, things that can be done to prevent the transmission of HIV. It's why we need a prescription drug plan like the one I'm putting forward that caps the amount that anybody would have to pay.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Beto O`Rourke on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Oct 10, 2019)
Distribute PrEP to everyone, at reduced cost
We have absolutely failed our fellow Americans in making sure that we prevent the spread of HIV in America. Though we know that Truvada, the brand name for PrEP, has up to a 99% effectiveness rate in stopping the spread of HIV for those who are taking
it, of the 1.3 million of our fellow Americans who are at risk today, less than 10% are regularly taking Truvada. And though you and I, as the U.S. taxpayer, invested in the research and development, the clinical trials, the purchase of those
Medications [costs] up to $2,000 per month for one person, which helps to explain why we have absolutely failed in making sure everyone gets that care. Forty thousand new cases of HIV just last year in 2018. We can do something about this. And as
president I will. We will bring down that cost. If Gilead fails to honor their commitment to the taxpayer, to our fellow Americans, we will take over that patent and we will make sure that PrEP is distributed to every person in America who needs that.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Kamala Harris on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Oct 10, 2019)
Federal funding for PrEP to prevent HIV/AIDS
Q: I was diagnosed with HIV when I was 20 years old. What will you do to combat the rate of HIV diagnosis in the communities that are most impacted, like mine, black gay men?HARRIS: Gay black men are twice as likely to contract HIV and AIDS.
One of the issues also that is relevant to this point is the affordability of medications such as PrEP, which is extremely expensive. I have been a leader in the US Senate to say that it should be covered by insurance and money should not be the
barrier to access to PrEP, which is obviously a life-saving drug. In terms of HIV-AIDS rates among black men in particular, it is still much higher because the hierarchy still exists within the community around access to health care, housing,
employment, and things of that nature. So I will, as president, I commit to you, deal with all of those, but also we need to deal with it in the context of having a commitment, which is my commitment, that within a generation we will end HIV-AIDS.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Amy Klobuchar on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Oct 10, 2019)
Take on Big Pharma, to make drugs more affordable
Q: Young black gay men are the most impacted population affected by HIV and AIDS. What are remedies? KLOBUCHAR: Make sure the HIV community can get the drugs they need. That means the PrEP drug and that means to take on pharmaceutical companies
to make drugs more affordable. The second thing is to make sure we keep the protections of the Affordable Care Act. Make it easier for the generics to get online. Bring in less expensive drugs from other countries to start competition.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Cory Booker on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Oct 10, 2019)
Forbid charging more for drugs in U.S. than elsewhere
Q: A drug called Truvada provides almost absolute protection against becoming HIV-positive. A monthly supply costs less than $6 to make. However, its manufacturer charges more than $1,600. What actions would you take to address this cost barrier?
BOOKER: We're going to use Medicaid, Medicare to negotiate down prices, taking patents away from companies that unjustly raise their prices, creating a law that you cannot raise the price of drugs higher in this country than you're selling in others.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Elizabeth Warren on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Oct 10, 2019)
AIDS drugs should be available at cost for all
Q: Would you commit to calling for funding increases to end the AIDS pandemic? WARREN: Yes. I want to see us bring down the cost of drugs that are generic. This drug will be off-patent by then.
And I commit that in my administration we will let out a government contract to produce that drug and make that drug available at cost both here in the United States and all around the world.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Joe Biden on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Oct 10, 2019)
By 2021, ACA says insurance must pay for expensive HIV drugs
Q: With the high prices of prep and other drugs that help prevent HIV, what is your plan to make it more accessible, particularly to those in the most vulnerable communities and those without insurance? BIDEN: Under the Affordable Care Act,
there is a provision that by 2021, it will be available to anyone who has insurance, and all will be eligible for insurance. It will be available and the insurance companies must pay for it.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Tom Steyer on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Oct 10, 2019)
Big Pharma charges Americans 10x what they charge abroad
Q: Truvada and similar prophylactic treatments are not a cure for AIDS. How do we deal with the ongoing high expense? STEYER: We have a group of corporations led, really, by the drug companies who've bought our government. If you look at how we're
being treated under law by those companies, it is somewhere between infuriating and scary. They charge us more than they charge any other people in the whole world, sometimes 10 times more for the same drugs. And in this case, they're actually working
to preserve long-term extremely valuable monopolies for themselves. But it's much bigger than that. These companies are controlling what's going on in the government. They charge us what they want. We can't go to Canada to buy the same drug much
cheaper. And in fact, the government is prevented legally from negotiating with them. What's going on here is we're going to have to break ultimately the power of these corporations to own our government and to control what happens to us.
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Beto O`Rourke on HIV-AIDS:
(Immigration Oct 10, 2019)
Why do we check for HIV at the border and no other diseases?
Q: Will you support legislation calling for the review of all HIV criminal laws and take action to end the criminalization of Americans based on HIV status, especially Latino HIV+ people like me?
O'ROURKE: You're right that there is discrimination against our fellow Americans, as well as discrimination against those who are coming to this country.
I think about asylum seekers, families who are separated based on the HIV status of a single family member. We don't do that for families who come here with the flu or other health care challenges right now in this country.
We've singled out a population in America. And end the discrimination against those who have HIV in America today.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Tom Steyer on HIV-AIDS:
(Immigration Oct 10, 2019)
Trump's border policy is a crime against humanity
Q: LGBT asylum-seekers are being denied parole in detention centers. Two have died in ICE custody due to lack of access to HIV care. At least 24 immigrants have died in ICE custody. What will you do?STEYER: What we've seen from ICE in terms of
inhumanity, this is a perfect example, but it's not the only example. I think it's absolutely critical for the USA to treat people in a humane and decent fashion. It's very obvious that this president and this administration has chosen to not only
break the international laws in their treatment of asylum-seekers, but to break the basic laws of humanity. When I think about why I started the "Need to Impeach campaign" two years ago--yeah, he's a criminal; he more than has earned impeachment;
but it goes much beyond this, and it goes to exactly this kind of issue. The president of the United States committing crimes against humanity like this, in our name, is something that we should end right now, certainly the first day of my presidency.
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
John Delaney on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Jul 30, 2019)
Medicare-for-All creates a two-tier market for healthcare
Sen. Bernie SANDERS: Medicare-for-all is comprehensive -- it covers all healthcare needs. For senior citizens it will finally include dental care, hearing aids and eyeglasses.DELANEY: The bill that Senator Sanders drafted, by definition will lower
quality in healthcare, because it says specifically that the rates will be the same as current Medicare rates. And the data is clear, Medicare does not cover the cost of healthcare, it covers 80% of the costs of healthcare in this country.
And private insurance covers 120%, so if you start underpaying all the healthcare providers, you're going to create a two tier market where wealthy people buy their healthcare with cash, and the union people will have that healthcare plan taken away;
they will be forced into an underfunded system.
SANDERS: Hospitals will save substantial sums of money because they're not going to be spending a fortune doing billing and other bureaucratic things.
DELANEY: I've done the math, it doesn't add up.
Click for John Delaney on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Bernie Sanders on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Jul 30, 2019)
Comprehensive care including dental, hearing aids, & eyecare
Rep. Tim RYAN: This Medicare-for-All plan that's being offered by Senator Sanders will tell Union members that they're going to lose their healthcare because Washington's going to come in and tell them they got a better plan.SANDERS: It will be
better because Medicare-for-all is comprehensive -- it covers all healthcare needs. For senior citizens it will finally include dental care, hearing aids and eyeglasses.
Rep. Tim RYAN: But you don't know that, Bernie.
SANDERS: I do know it;
I wrote the damn bill. And many of our union brothers and sisters are now paying high deductibles and copayments when we do Medicare for all, instead of having the company putting money in to healthcare, they can get decent wage increases, which
they're not getting today.
RYAN: Senator Sanders does not know all of the union contracts--the only thing they have is possibly really good healthcare. And the Democratic message is going to be, "we're going to take it and we're going to do better."
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Joe Sestak on HIV-AIDS:
(Abortion Jun 23, 2019)
Enshrine a woman's right to choose, in case Roe overturned
[My priorities include securing] reproductive rights and reproductive health services for all women. - As a Congressman, I voted to make contraception a free preventive service for women.
- I co-sponsored legislation to fund family-planning
programs and help teenagers and rape survivors access emergency contraception.
- I also co-sponsored legislation attempting to reduce adolescent pregnancy, HIV rates, and other sexually transmitted diseases through better sex education programs.
As President, I will urge Congress to finally pass a law enshrining a woman's right to choose an abortion, for that is a decision that should be between a woman and her doctor, and regardless of whether or not the
Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, all women across the country must have access to safe and affordable reproductive health care.
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website JoeSestak.com
Kamala Harris on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care May 12, 2019)
Supports Medicare for All, even undocumented aliens
Q: What about Medicare-for-All?A: I support Medicare-for-All, and the vision of what it will be includes an expansion of coverage. Medicare-for-All will include vision. It will include dental. It will include hearing aids.
Q: You support giving universal health care to people in this country illegally?
A: I'm opposed to any policy that would deny in our country any human being from access to public safety, public education, or public health, period.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: CNN SOTU 2019 interview of presidential hopefuls
Bernie Sanders on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Apr 22, 2019)
Single payer will transform health care for the better
Over a four-year period we're going to transform our health care system. First year, we go from 65 years of age for eligibility to Medicare down to 55, and we cover all of the kids in the country. And, despite what President Trump says, we expand
benefits for senior citizens. Medicare doesn't cover dental care. It doesn't cover eyeglasses. It doesn't cover hearing aids. We do that. Health care is a human right, not a privilege, and the best way is through a single-payer program.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall 2020: 5 candidates back-to-back
Bernie Sanders on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Feb 25, 2019)
Elective procedures can be covered by private insurance
[My proposed] Medicare card will allow them to go to any doctor that they want, to any hospital they want. If they are seniors, we are going to expand Medicare benefits to cover dental care, which is not covered for seniors, hearing aids and eyeglasses.
There will be comprehensive health care. Our bill covers all health care needs. All. If people want cosmetic surgery, for example, yes, of course, they can get private insurance. But our bill covers all comprehensive health care needs.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall on 2020 Democratic presidential primary
Donald Trump on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Feb 5, 2019)
Eliminate HIV/AIDS epidemic within 10 years
No force in history has done more to advance the human condition than American freedom. In recent years we have made remarkable progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Scientific breakthroughs have brought a once-distant dream within reach.
My budget will ask Democrats and Republicans to make the needed commitment to eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years. Together, we will defeat AIDS in America.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2019 State of the Union address to United States Congress
Gina Raimondo on HIV-AIDS:
(Education Jan 15, 2019)
Replace freeze with major investment repairing schools
One of the first things I did as Governor was to end the previous administrations' freeze on school construction. Let's make a once-in-a-generation investment in our schools. Let's commit to investing $1 billion over the next five years to fix &cour
public schools. We have a detailed plan that outlines how we can invest more and do it smarter so that we protect taxpayers at the same time. Every year we wait, we waste millions of dollars putting band aids on our crumbling schools.
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Source: 2019 State of the State address to Rhode Island legislature
Gina Raimondo on HIV-AIDS:
(Education Jan 16, 2018)
Major investment to repair crumbling schools
Let's make a once-in-a-generation investment in our schools. Together with our cities and towns, let's commit to investing $1 billion over the next five years to fix our public schools. Don't let anyone tell you we can't afford to do this. We can.
We have a detailed plan that outlines how we can invest more and do it smarter so that we protect taxpayers at the same time. Every year we wait, we waste millions of dollars putting band aids on our crumbling schools. So let's act now.
Click for Gina Raimondo on other issues.
Source: 2018 Rhode Island State of the State address
Mike Pence on HIV-AIDS:
(Principles & Values Oct 4, 2016)
Clinton Foundation is platform for Clintons' world travel
PENCE: The Trump Foundation is non-profit. The Trump Foundation is a private family foundation. They give virtually every cent in the Trump Foundation to charitable causes. Less than ten cents on the dollar in the
Clinton Foundation has gone to charitable causes. It has been a platform for the Clintons to travel the world, to have staff. KAINE: The Clinton Foundation provides AIDS drugs to 11.5 million people.
Hillary as secretary of state took no action to benefit the foundation. But let's compare this with the Trump organization. His sons have said that the organization has a lot of business dealings in Russia.
And the Trump organization is not a non-profit. It's putting money into Donald Trump's pockets, whereas the Clinton Foundation is a non- profit and no Clinton family member draws any salary.
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: 2016 Vice-Presidential Debate at Longwood University
Donald Trump on HIV-AIDS:
(Civil Rights Aug 23, 2016)
1980s: personal lawyer gay & closeted & Trump kept secret
In the Fall of 1984, Roy Cohn fell ill, maintaining that he had liver cancer. But he was suffering from the effects of HIV infection. Trump had always known that Cohn was gay. Cohn was "invariably with some very good-looking young man,"
Trump wrote in his first book. "But Roy never talked about it. He just didn't like the image. He felt that to the average person, being gay was almost synonymous with being a wimp." If someone brought up gay rights,
Trump noted, "Roy was always the first one to speak out against them."As Cohn's health deteriorated, his unethical behavior as a lawyer caught up to him. A host of luminaries rose to defend Cohn's good character, including
Trump, returning to his friend's side and inviting him to visit Mar-a-Lago.
In 1986, Cohn was disbarred. He was fifty-nine. His friends held a memorial service for him. Trump attended, standing silently in the back.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Trump Revealed, by Michael Kranish & Mark Fisher, p.111-2
Mike Pence on HIV-AIDS:
(Drugs Sep 24, 2015)
Signed legislation allowing needle exchange
Officials report the HIV outbreak has mainly been fueled by individuals sharing needles used to inject prescription painkillers. John Gregg finds Gov. Pence's initial hesitation to address the issue troublesome. Pence signed legislation in May which
allowed the installation of a needle-exchange program, but by that time, the number of infected people already had reached 150."You know, that's asinine," Gregg said. "I mean, we've got to realize there's a drug problem.
And to say that we would not do a needle exchange, that's irresponsible. They're going to be using the drugs, and we might as well see to it that that's a great way to stop the HIV virus.
His attitude on that is akin to people who don't want to talk about sex education because if we don't talk about it, then, you know, the kids won't be procreating. I mean, how do you think we all got here?"
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: Kokomo Tribune on 2016 Indiana Gubernatorial race
Cory Booker on HIV-AIDS:
(Foreign Policy Nov 3, 2013)
Development funds via international organizations for Africa
The story of Africa is one of transformation: local populations, partnered with international organizations and American international development funds, have done enormous good increasing standards of living and improving public health.
In few areas has this been truer than the fight against HIV/AIDS, where millions of lives have been saved. Of course, much work remains to be done, particularly when it comes to helping governments drive out corruption and enforce the rule of law.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: 2013-2014 New Jersey Senate campaign web CoryBooker.com
Barack Obama on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Feb 12, 2013)
An AIDS-free generation is within our reach
Progress in the most impoverished parts of our world enriches us all. In many places, people live on little more than a dollar a day. So the US will join with our allies to eradicate such extreme poverty in the next two decades: by connecting more
people to the global economy and empowering women; by helping communities to feed, power, and educate themselves; by saving the world's children from preventable deaths; and by realizing the promise of an AIDS-free generation.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2013 State of the Union Address
Barack Obama on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Sep 21, 2011)
Commit to UN WHO dealing with public health pandemics
To stop disease that spreads across borders, we must strengthen our system of public health. We will continue the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. We will focus on the health of mothers and of children. And we must come together to
prevent, and detect, and fight every kind of biological danger -- whether it's a pandemic like H1N1, or a terrorist threat, or a treatable disease.This week, America signed an agreement with the
World Health Organization to affirm our commitment to meet this challenge. And today, I urge all nations to join us in meeting the WHO's goal of making sure all nations
have core capacities to address public health emergencies in place by 2012. That is what our commitment to the health of our people demands.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Speech to the United Nations General Assembly
Nikki Haley on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Jan 19, 2011)
Let Medicaid buy generics for AIDS, cancer, & mental health
The majority of prescription drugs issued by Medicaid are generic, with three large exceptions: AIDS, cancer, and mental health. We propose that we remove the proviso prohibiting the use of generic medications to treat those three afflictions.
I realize that this may sting pharmaceutical companies, and some lobbyists, but it is an option that will allow us to realize real savings without compromising the quality of care for our patients.
I ask that we strike the proviso prohibiting the HHS Director from setting rates paid to providers through Medicaid.
South Carolina is the only state in the nation that doesn't give our Medicaid director that flexibility, and with all due respect, we can't be the only state that has it right.
Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.
Source: 2011 South Carolina State of the State Address
Barack Obama on HIV-AIDS:
(Civil Rights Jan 11, 2010)
2008 speech on race expedited by Rev. Wright fiasco
On March 13, ABC News aired a story about his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, using [controversial] excerpts from videotapes of Wright's sermons that were for sale at his parish, Trinity United Church of Christ. Obama's initial attraction to the parson
sprang from its commitment to the social gospel: day care programs; encouragement of HIV testing--all appealed to a young community organizer. He had lifted the title of "The Audacity of Hope" from one of Wright's sermons. And although Obama considered
the words that were causing the current controversy beyond the pale, he well understood the context--generational, cultural, and social--by which Wright had come to the views that animated them.The idea of doing a big race speech had been on Obama's
mind for months. Convinced that he would be the nominee, Obama wanted to start dealing with issues he was destined to confront in the general election, of which race was plainly one. The Wright fiasco has simply sped up the timetable on the speech.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Game Change, by Heilemann & Halpern, p.234-237
Barack Obama on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Jan 11, 2010)
Advocated condom use to avoid AIDS at Saddleback Church
In Dec. 2006 Obama took part in an event at the Saddleback megachurch. It was World AIDS Day, and Obama appeared alongside Sen. Sam Brownback (R, KS). Brownback remarked, "Welcome to my house," prompting peals from the crowd. When Obama's turn came, he
remarked, "There is one thing I've gotta say: This is my house, too. This is God's house." He quoted Corinthians and advocated the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV. The huge crowd of conservative Evangelists awarded him a standing ovation.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Game Change, by Heilemann & Halpern, p. 69
Barack Obama on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Aug 1, 2008)
CDC estimate: a half million would follow Obama's AIDS test
In a staged public event at the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Kisian, Obama and his wife took an AIDS test, to demonstrate to the local people in a public forum that the test was safe. At the door of a mobile AIDS testing facility provided by the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Obama was photographed with a microphone, speaking to the assembled crowd. The primary message of the AIDS event was a universal message, namely, that AIDS testing is safe: "One of the reasons we are here today is becaus
HIV/AIDS has ravaged the community," Obama told the assembled crowd. "Too many people, too many children have gotten sick. So one of the things we're going to do here in front of this van today is that my wife and I are going to get tested for
HIV/AIDS, because if you know your status, you can prevent illness." The Centers for Disease Control suggested to Obama that as many as a half-million Kenyans would take the HIV/AIDS test after they saw him and his wife safely do it themselves.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Obama Nation, by Jerome Corsi, p. 95
Mike Pence on HIV-AIDS:
(Foreign Policy Jul 30, 2008)
$48B to Africa for AIDS program is a moral calling
In a rare display of bipartisanship in an overheated election-year, members of both parties and the White House joined forces to enact a five-year, $48 billion reauthorization and expansion of Pres. Bush's global AIDS program.
The measure was signed into law July 30. "We have people who can't take care of their own health needs and are at risk of losing their homes, and we are going to spend $50 billion in Africa?" asked Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA).
Pence, a fiscal conservative who supported the bill, saw it differently. "I believe
it's possible to be responsible to our fiscal constraints while being obedient to our moral calling," he said.
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Source: CQ Almanac 2008, "Global AIDS Programs Expanded"
Barack Obama on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Apr 13, 2008)
Use whatever works with AIDS, including teaching abstinence
Q: The ministry called True Love Waits, has been credited with lowering the AIDS infection rate in Uganda dramatically from 30% to 6%. It is an abstinence-based program--what is your opinion?A: When Michelle and I were traveling in Kenya, we took an
AIDS test. I compliment George Bush on the PEPFAR program [President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief]. My view is that we should use whatever the best approaches are, the scientifically sound approaches are, to reduce this devastating disease. Part of
that should be a strong education component and I think abstinence education is important. I also think that contraception is important; I also think that treatment is important; I also think that we have to do more to make antiviral drugs available to
people who are in extreme poverty. So I don’t want to pluck out one facet of it. Now, that doesn’t mean that non-for-profit groups can’t focus on one thing while the government focuses on other things. I think we want to have a comprehensive approach.
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Source: 2008 Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College
Hillary Clinton on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Apr 13, 2008)
Decrease generic drug costs for developing countries
Q: Current US trade policies toward developing countries make it sometimes extremely difficult for poor people to access inexpensive, generic drugs for the treatment of AIDS and other sicknesses. How would you shape this policy?A: I believe that our
government must do so much more to get generic drugs and low-cost drugs to people suffering. Not only from HIV/AIDS, but the range of diseases that affect disproportionately the poor. Our great pharmaceutical companies invent the compounds and put them
together that the generics then are able to copy. But we need to do much more to get our pharmaceutical companies to work with us to get the drug costs down and to open the pathway for generic drugs. And that’s going to take presidential leadership.
I commend Pres. Bush for his PEPFAR initiative [President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief]. It was a bold & important commitment, but it didn’t go far enough in opening up the door to generics and getting the costs down. And as president, I will do that
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Source: 2008 Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College
Barack Obama on HIV-AIDS:
(Drugs Feb 11, 2008)
Look at needle exchange; and expand treatment
Q: D.C. has the highest infection rate. How can we address that?A: I think it is important that we are targeting HIV/AIDS resources into the communities where we’re seeing the highest growth rates.
That means education and prevention, particularly with young people. It means that we have to look at drastic measure, potentially like needle exchange in order to insure that drug users are not transmitting the disease to each other.
And we’ve got to expand on treatment programs. And all of that is going to cost some money and some time. But again, if we think about the enormous costs of homelessness, or the enormous cost of
HIV/AIDS, over the long term, as people visit emergency rooms, etc. The more we are investing in that ounce of prevention the better off we’re going to be.
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Source: 2008 Politico pre-Potomac Primary interview
Hillary Clinton on HIV-AIDS:
(Government Reform Feb 11, 2008)
Get D.C. full voting rights, plus more direct federal funds
Q: The District of Columbia--it’s the nation’s capital, but a lot of residents here feel quite disconnected and alienated from the national government. How can you improve the lives of the residents of DC?A: When I was first lady,
I fought to increase their Medicaid match so that they would get more money in the district. It is the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic, unfortunately, right here in D.C. I worked to make sure that the adoption and foster care system was improved so that
we could get more kids into permanent homes. When I helped to pass the Children’s Health Insurance Program, we made sure that D.C. would be well taken care of. So I’ve already produced results for the people of this district, and I intend to do a lot
more as president. I want to get full voting rights for D.C. I think it is an injustice that has to be remedied. I want to be a better partner in working with the district on everything from its transportation challenges to its health care problems.
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Source: 2008 Politico pre-Potomac Primary interview
Hillary Clinton on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Dec 1, 2007)
Pledges to support $50B for AIDS relief in US and world
Today is World AIDS Day. All of us have committed to supporting $50 billion for global AIDS relief, which I am very excited about. But let’s not forget that AIDS now is growing again in our own country, particularly among African American and
Latino women. The leading cause of death for African American women between the ages of 25 and 34 is AIDS. So I want to ask all of my fellow candidates here if they would join me, not only in a pledge for what we’re going to do globally to address the
AIDS pandemic in Africa and Asia and elsewhere, but will you join me in a pledge that we’re going to do everything we can once again to address the AIDS pandemic right here in the US, and to put the money in that will provide the services and the
treatment and the prevention that our own people deserve to have. Because frankly we have turned our backs, we have frozen the amount of money, and I am very worried about what is happening to countless numbers of Americans when it comes to HIV and AIDS.
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Source: 2007 Iowa Brown & Black Presidential Forum
Mike Gravel on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Aug 9, 2007)
Need to do better job on treating Americans with HIV
Q: Nearly 50% black, gay and bisexual men in some of America ‘s urban cities may already be infected with HIV. I’m wondering what can we be doing a better job of to tackle this problem.
A: The obvious answer is that we need to do a better job on health care. We need to do a better job with respect to how we treat Americans. I feel very deeply.
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Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues
Barack Obama on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Aug 9, 2007)
We need condom distribution to deal with the scourge of AIDS
I’m somebody who is willing to talk about these issues, even when it’s hard, in front of black ministers. I’m willing to talk about AIDS at Saddleback Church to evangelicals and talk about why we need to have condom distribution to
deal with the scourge of AIDS. So that’s the kind of political courage that I hope all of you recognize is going to be necessary in order for us to create the kind of America that we all want.
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Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues
Joe Biden on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Jun 28, 2007)
Got tested for AIDS after blood transfusion; no shame in it
Q: African-Americans, though 17% of all American teenagers, are 69% of the population of teenagers diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. What is the plan to protect these young people from this scourge?BIDEN: You’re asking, how do we prevent these 17-year-olds from
getting HIV? All the things that were said here [by the other candidates] are good ideas; but they don’t prevent that. There’s neglect on the part of the medical and the white community focusing on educating the minority community out there. I spent last
summer going through the black sections of my town, trying to get black men to understand it is not unmanly to wear a condom, getting women to understand they can say no, getting people in the position where testing matters. I got tested for AIDS.
I know Barack got tested for AIDS. There’s no shame in being tested for AIDS.
OBAMA: I got tested with my wife Michelle, in public, when we were in Kenya.
BIDEN: And I got tested to save my life, because I had 13 pints of blood transfusion.
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Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University
Barack Obama on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Jun 28, 2007)
Homophobia prevents talking about HIV/AIDS
One of the things we’ve got to overcome is a stigma that still exists in our communities. We don’t talk about HIV/AIDS. We don’t talk about it in the schools.
Sometimes we don’t talk about it in the churches. It has been an aspect of sometimes homophobia that we don’t address this issue as clearly as it needs to be.
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Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University
Barack Obama on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Jun 28, 2007)
Got tested for AIDS, with wife, in public, in Kenya
Q: African-Americans, though 17% of all American teenagers, are 69% of the population of teenagers diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. What is the plan to protect these young people from this scourge?BIDEN: You’re asking, how do we prevent these 17-year-olds from
getting HIV? All the things that were said here [by other candidates] are good ideas; but they don’t prevent that. I spent last summer going through the black sections of my town, trying to get black men to understand it is not unmanly to wear a condom,
getting women to understand they can say no, getting people in the position where testing matters. I got tested for AIDS. I know Barack got tested for AIDS. There’s no shame in being tested for AIDS.
OBAMA: I just got to make clear--I got tested with
Michelle, when we were in Kenya in Africa. I don’t want any confusion here about what’s going on.
BIDEN: And I got tested to save my life, because I had 13 pints of blood transfusion.
OBAMA: I was tested with my wife. In public.
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Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University
Hillary Clinton on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Jun 28, 2007)
Outcry if AIDS were leading disease of young whites
Q: African-Americans, though 17% of all American teenagers, are 69% of the population of teenagers diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. What is the plan to stop and to protect these young people from this scourge? A: Let me just put this in perspective. If
HIV/AIDS were the leading cause of death of white women between the ages of 25 and 34, there would be an outraged outcry in this country.
I’m working to get Medicaid to cover treatment. I’m working to raise the budget for Ryan White, which the Bush
administration has kept flat, disgracefully so, because there are a lot of women, particularly, who are becoming infected in poor rural areas as well as underserved urban areas in states where, frankly, their state governments won’t give them medical
care.
So this is a multiple dimension problem. But if we don’t begin to take it seriously and address it the way we did back in the ‘90s, when it was primarily a gay men’s disease, we will never get the services and the public education that we need.
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Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University
Mike Bloomberg on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care May 2, 2007)
Prioritize city healthcare on HIV, diabetes & hypertension
Bloomberg is passionately interested in public health. He has donated millions of dollars to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Under Bloomberg, the city Health Department has made HIV, diabetes and hypertension priorities.
Bloomberg extended New York City’s smoking ban to all commercial establishments, including bars and nightclubs. In Dec. 2006, New York became the first city in the US to ban trans-fat from all restaurants. It will go into effect in July of 2008.
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Source: Wikipedia.org entry, “Michael_Bloomberg”
Barack Obama on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Mar 27, 2007)
Curing AIDS must be all-hands-on-deck effort
We are all sick because of AIDS and we are all tested by the crisis. Neither philanthropist nor scientist; neither government nor church can solve this problem on their own.
AIDS must be an all hands on deck effort.
I don’t think we can deny that there is a moral and spiritual component to prevention--I heard stories of men and women contracting HIV because sex was no longer part of a sacred covenant but a mechanical physical act. Having said that,
I also believe that we cannot ignore that abstinence--may not be the reality. If condoms and potentially microbicides can prevent millions of deaths, they should be made more widely available.
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Source: In His Own Words, edited by Lisa Rogak, p. 10
Hillary Clinton on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Nov 17, 2006)
Increase America’s commitment against Global AIDS
Sen. Clinton continues to work to increase access to health care. She authored legislation that has been enacted to improve recruitment and retention of nurses, to improve quality and lower the cost of prescription drugs, and to protect our food supply
from bioterrorism. She sponsored legislation to increase America’s commitment against Global AIDS, and is now leading the fight for expanded use of information technology in the health care system to decrease administrative costs & reduce medical errors.
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Source: PAC website, www.hillpac.com, “Biography”
Barack Obama on HIV-AIDS:
(Foreign Policy Oct 17, 2006)
Visited Africa in 2006; encouraged HIV testing & research
Pro’s and Con’s: Obama visited African in 2006 and went to South Africa, Chad, and Kenya. Pro: He is a mensch. Here on a few things he did on his summer vacation:
- Attended a ceremony for the 200 people who died in the 1988 bombing of the
US Embassy.
- Encouraged the South African government to respond more effectively to HIV.
- Urged Kenya’s government to end corruption.
- Along with his wife, took a public HIV test.
-
Visited a malaria research institute.
- Visited a program helping children orphaned by AIDS.
- Visited his grandmother.
Con: Who cares? It is Africa. If we are going to go with a
President from a non-European background, let’s go with one whose relatives are from a country whose friendship will help us, like China or India.
Pro: Kenyans love him.
Con: Who cares? It’s Kenya.
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Source: Should Barack Obama be President, by F. Zimmerman, p. 27-28
Hillary Clinton on HIV-AIDS:
(Abortion Apr 30, 2006)
Partial birth exceptions for life-threatening abnormalities
In 2003, Sen. Hillary Clinton [commented] about the anatomically correct drawings I used to demonstrate the partial birth abortion procedure:CLINTON: The visual aids show a perfectly formed fetus, and that is misleading. We should have a chart that
demonstrates the tragic abnormalities that confront women forced with this excruciatingly difficult decision.
SANTORUM: Do we consider a child who may have an abnormality to be less of a child?
CLINTON: Does the Senator's legislation make exceptions
for serious life-threatening abnormalities or babies who are in such serious physical condition that they will not live outside the womb?
SANTORUM: No, if--
CLINTON: That is the point.
SANTORUM: Do you want to create a separation in the law between
those children who are perfect and those children who are not? The Americans with Disabilities Act says we treat all of God's children the same.
CLINTON: I value every single life and every single person.
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Source: It Takes A Family, by Sen. Rick Santorum, p.258-261
Deval Patrick on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Sep 15, 2005)
Invest in prevention
When diagnosed early, many illnesses can be managed at far lower cost than if left until they breed more serious health problems. To keep our citizens healthy, I will invest in a robust public health delivery system. I will place a special emphasis on
adequate childhood immunizations, effective drug & alcohol abuse education, HIV/AIDS prevention & care, and early cancer detection programs. Common sense prevention programs like these reduce system-wide costs, which saves money for insurance ratepayers.
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Source: Moving Massachusetts Forward, Patrick’s policy booklet, p.12
Deval Patrick on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Sep 15, 2005)
Focus on prevention and wellness programs
I envision Massachusetts as a model for public health stewardship, a state that gets healthy and stays healthy-emphasizing disease prevention and wellness programs that help reduce the total cost of illness, injury and disability.
We will have effective programs to assure childhood immunizations, and to address drug and alcohol addiction, mental health needs, gun safety and other violence prevention, and HIV/AIDS screening, treatment and prevention.
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Source: Campaign policy booklet, “Moving Massachusetts Forward”
Barack Obama on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Jul 12, 2004)
Lead global fight against AIDS
[The US should] lead the global fight against the AIDS virus. The US must give its fair share to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to avoid both a humanitarian and economic crisis. President Bush’s budget this year actually cuts the
U.S. contribution to the Global Fund by 65 percent. As Senator, I will hold President Bush to his word and fully fund our commitment to the war on AIDS. We must also increase the availability of generic drugs to AIDS victims around the world.
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Source: Press Release, “Renewal of American Leadership ”
Hillary Clinton on HIV-AIDS:
(Education Jul 5, 1999)
Entire school staff should focus on school safety
Too many children bring guns to school, too many children believe that violence & aggression is the way to solve problems. Teachers & principals need help. Everyone who works in a school-from the custodians, or the counselors, or the teacher’s aids-
everyone needs help in knowing how to target those children who need extra help & make sure they get it; to diffuse difficult situations; to provide cooling off periods; and to remove from schools those students who are disrupting the learning of others.
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Source: Remarks to NEA in Orlando, Florida
Howard Schultz on HIV-AIDS:
(Civil Rights Jan 6, 1999)
Support AIDS programs and employee AIDS walks
Community events and sponsorships became an ongoing part of our marketing work, in part to build awareness but also because we believe it's the right thing to do. In addition to our support of CARE, we try to be sensitive to local issues, with our main
emphasis on supporting AIDS programs; children's causes, especially children's hospitals; the environment (clean water); and the arts. For the past several years, 300 to 400 Starbucks partners and customers have marched in Seattle's annual AIDS walk.
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Source: Pour Your Heart Into It, by Howard Schultz, p.255-256
Howard Schultz on HIV-AIDS:
(Health Care Jan 6, 1999)
Offer employee coverage for terminal illnesses
The true value of our health-care program struck me most deeply in 1991, when we lost one of our earliest & most devoted partners, Jim Kerrigan, to AIDS. Jim started as a barista in 1986 and rose to the position of store manager.Then one day, Jim came
into my office and told me he had AIDS. It took incredible courage. I had known he was gay but had no idea he was sick. His disease had entered a new phase, he explained, and he wouldn't be able to work any longer.
Starbucks had no provision for
employees with AIDS. We had to make a policy decision. Because of Jim, we decided to offer health-care coverage to all employees who have terminal illness, paying medical costs in full from the time they are not able to work until they are covered by
government programs, usually 29 months.
After his visit to me, I spoke with Jim often and visited him at the hospice. Within a year, he was gone. I received a letter from his family afterward, telling me how much they appreciated our benefit plan.
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Source: Pour Your Heart Into It, by Howard Schultz, p.128-129
Howard Schultz on HIV-AIDS:
(Welfare & Poverty Jan 6, 1999)
Donates 8-day-old coffee beans to food banks
Starbucks managers have the power to allocate donations to local causes like ballet and opera companies, AIDS organizations, food banks, schools, and PTA's. In every city, all eight day old coffee beans are donated to food banks.
Store managers also provide coffee for fund-raisers. One store in Seattle gives half its profits to the Zion Preparatory Academy, an African-American-run school for inner-city children. In fiscal 1996, we gave away more than
$1.5 million in cash and kind, equaling about 4 percent of our net earnings. Since we don't exploit these actions for public relations, a lot of our customers don't even know about them.
Community giving is a policy to which we've been committed since we began in business. We do it because it's right and because it makes Starbucks partners proud to work here.
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Source: Pour Your Heart Into It, by Howard Schultz, p.281
Barack Obama on HIV-AIDS:
(Government Reform Aug 1, 1996)
Campaign race baiting works in both directions
Black politicians discovered what white politicians had known for a very long time: that race-baiting could make up for a host of limitations. Younger leaders, eager to make a name for themselves, upped the ante, peddling conspiracy theories all over tow
-the Koreans were funding the Klan, Jewish doctors were injecting black babies with AIDS. It was a shortcut to fame, if not always fortune; like sex or violence on TV, black rage always found a ready market. Nobody I spoke with in the neighborhood seemed
to take such talk very seriously. As it was, many had already given up the hope that politics could actually improve their lives, much less make demands on them. To them, a ballot, if cast at all, was simply a ticket to a good show. Black had no real
power to act on the occasional slips into anti-Semitism or Asian-bashing, people would tell me; and anyway, black folks needed a chance to let off a little steam every once in a while-what do you think those folks say about us behind our backs?
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Source: Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama, p.186
Page last updated: Mar 01, 2022
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