October 30, 2009

Obama Signs Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act

On October 30, President Barack Obama signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act into law, authorizing a 5 percent increase in federal support for HIV programs during the next four years, CNN reports.

According to the article, funding under the extension act is scheduled to increase from about $2.5 billion in the 2010 fiscal year to nearly $3 billion in 2013.

In addition, this extension of the Ryan White CARE Act—first passed nearly 20 years ago—will continue funding the Minority AIDS Initiative, designed to draw necessary attention to the epidemic among minority and ethnic groups.

“We face a serious HIV/AIDS epidemic,” Obama said, thanking those who worked hard in both houses of Congress to get this legislation passed. “This is a battle that’s far from over.”

The legislation is named after a hemophiliac Indiana teenager who contracted HIV through contaminated blood products in the 1980s. He died in 1990. His mother, Jeanne White-Ginder, attended the signing and was moved to tears during the ceremony.

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Duane Wade, Charlotte, NC, 2009-11-03 15:22:17
Truly this is a great moment, President Obama has shown he is serious in his deeds. I had the pleasure of meeting Ryan White's mother when she attended the AIDS walk here in Charlotte, NC. Truly a woman of strength, a moment i shall not soon forget. We all need to one way or another volunteer in this fight, especially those of us whom benefit from these programs.