On September 30, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved, by voice vote, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act (as-yet-unnumbered), after adopting, by unanimous consent, a substitute amendment by Chair Tom Harkin (D-IA). The bill would reauthorize programs under the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act (P.L. 101-381). The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on the CARE Act on September 9 (see The Source, 9/11/09).
The measure would authorize $2.35 billion in FY2010, $2.47 billion in FY2011, $2.59 billion in FY2012, and $2.72 billion in FY2013 for all HIV/AIDS programs. Within those amounts, HIV/AIDS-related programs for communities, schools, and centers would receive $50 million in FY2010, $52.6 million in FY2011, $55.2 million in FY2012, and $58 million in FY2013. The overall funding levels also include authorizations for the Minority AIDS Initiative: $146 million in FY2010, $153.4 million in FY2011, $161 million in FY2012, and $169.1 million in FY2013.
The bill also would require the Department of Health and Human Services to establish by January 2010 a national testing goal of five million individuals each year.
