WASHINGTON – Today, Representative Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03) introduced the HIV Medication Act to Expand Access to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to ensure that all at-risk populations receive HIV prevention treatments through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and reverse the Trump Administration’s ideological restrictions that limits the program’s effectiveness.
“We’re never going to eradicate HIV by limiting who we treat for ideological reasons. That’s why I am so proud to introduce the HIV Medication Access Act. This bill would prevent the Trump Administration’s ideological attacks on PEPFAR and resume its full spectrum of services,” said Rep. Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03).
According to new reporting by The New York Times, the Trump Administration has quietly drafted plans to shut down PEPFAR, the bipartisan program that has helped save millions from AIDS worldwide—despite its budget being decided by Congress, not the Executive Branch.
SUPPORT FOR ANSARI’S HIV MEDICATION ACT
Ansari’s HIV Medication Act is cosponsored by Representatives Steve Cohen (TN–09), Andre Carson (IN-07), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Pablo Jose Hernandez (PR), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Darren Soto (FL-09), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12).
Ansari’s HIV Medication Act is endorsed by Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), AVAC, The Council for Global Equality, AIDS United, Health GAP, NMAC, PrEP4All, National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), Partners In Health (PIH), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and SisterLove.
“HIV prevention programs are essential to end the global AIDS epidemic, yet we’ve seen the Trump administration do nothing but attack these lifesaving programs and the communities that depend on them. Everyone deserves access to the health care they need, including HIV prevention information and services. We thank Rep. Ansari for the introduction of the HIV Medication Access Act, a key piece of legislation that aims to remedy some of the Trump administration’s cruel and shortsighted actions to shut down HIV prevention programs and withhold effective prevention medication from all communities who need them. This bill acknowledges what we all know to be true: everyone deserves access to health care, no matter who you are or where you live,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
“When HIV prevention and access to the fruits of science are dictated by politics rather than evidence, we paralyze progress. Investments are stalled; manufacturers pull back while generics stay out of reach, and the opportunity of prevention impact is squandered. The HIV Medication Access Act is essential legislation, ensuring that the most effective options for HIV prevention can be scaled up everywhere they are needed. It’s a win for the whole world,” said Mitchell Warren, Executive Director for AVAC.
"A revolution in HIV prevention has been taking place over the past decade thanks to PrEP. With groundbreaking new technologies like long-acting injectable PrEPs and the dapivirine ring, we're on the edge of unprecedented progress in the fight to end the spread of this devastating virus across the world. For decades the US has been investing in the global HIV response waiting for precisely this kind of moment; limiting global access to PrEP through PEPFAR now is like forfeiting the game when we're on the one yard line,” said Jeremiah Johnson, Executive Director for PrEP4All.
"At a moment when PrEP, and soon long-acting injectable PrEP, are some of the greatest advancements in HIV prevention globally, the Administration has directed explicit discrimination in its use. Excluding LGBTQI+ people and other key and vulnerable populations from PEPFAR's PrEP programming is both inefficient and immoral because it undermines proven public health strategies to reduce HIV and deliberately denies life-saving care to those most at risk. We welcome the necessary and timely HIV Medication Access Act,” said Beirne Roose-Snyder, Senior Policy Fellow for the Council for Global Equality.
“Public health innovation has transformed HIV into a preventable and manageable condition. The HIV Medication Access Act is vital, restoring access to proven treatments that helped PEPFAR become one of the most effective global health programs in U.S. history. For the millions who lost coverage this year, this legislation marks an urgent course correction. We commend Congresswoman Ansari for her leadership in advancing this cost-effective, life-saving policy,” said Harold Phillips, Deputy Executive Director for NMAC.
View text of Rep. Ansari’s HIV Medication HERE.
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