Showing posts with label Washinton D.C.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washinton D.C.. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

ObamaCare… Like a Restaurant Where the Owners, Chefs, Workers and Their Families Refuse to Eat…

I Won't Eat My Vegetables Royalty Free Stock Photos - Image: 19746098

ObamaCare… Like a Restaurant Where the Owners, Chefs, Workers and Their Families Refuse to Eat…

By Marion Algier – Ask Marion

Would you really eat in a restaurant, trusting their food or service, where the owners, chefs, workers and their families refuse to eat?  Of course you wouldn’t.  Nobody would, but that is what the Democrats, some GOP establishment career politicians and the Obama administration and their staffs are asking you to do.

They are asking, no mandating, that you to sign up and subject yourself and your family’s health, and in many cases losing better coverage, for healthcare coverage that they refuse to sign up for and be covered by themselves.

The so-called tea party Republicans, who are following their constituents wishes, but have now pretty much backed away from all their demands about the budget and upcoming debt ceiling raise, in what seems like their 20th compromise when the left has refused to negotiate or compromise on anything, were willing to pass and extend the budget and debt ceiling negotiations for several months with a clean bill, except for one provision… The Republicans attached the Vitter amendment (DeSantis bill in the House) which would demand that the House of Representatives, the Senate, the White House and their staffs and federal appointees would have to sign up for and live under the same ObamaCare bill that we all will have to suffer under, without any extra provisions or exemptions.  The Democrats’, RINOs’ and administration’s response:  NO…!

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) (KEVIN DIETSCH/UPI/Newscom)

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) (KEVIN DIETSCH/UPI/Newscom)

The Vitter Amendment on Obamacare: Senate Liberals’ Curious Complaint

The Foundry:

Last week (mid-September) Senator David Vitter (R–LA) proposed an amendment that would end exemptions for White House political appointees and stop illegal taxpayer subsidies for Congress and staff enrolled in Obamacare’s new health insurance exchanges. In other words, political appointees, Members of Congress, and their staffs would receive the same coverage and be eligible for subsidies available to every other American enrolled in the exchanges. No special deals.

On September 17, Senator Dick Durbin (D–IL) charged that Vitter’s proposed amendment was “unfair” because it would eliminate the employer payment for Members of Congress and 16,000 congressional staffers.

But this is a curious complaint. In 2010, Senator Durbin and all other Senate Democrats voted—lockstep—for final passage of Obamacare, which included Section 1312, which ended Members’ access to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and instead placed them into the Obamacare health insurance exchanges. Without access to employer coverage, there is no employer subsidy—not for Congress and not for any other worker dumped out of job-based coverage into the exchanges. That’s the law.

Durbin also tries to use Vitter’s vote for an amendment (Amendment No. 3564) offered by Senator Chuck Grassley (R–IA) during debate over Obamacare to undermine his current efforts. Yes, Vitter voted for the amendment. The amendment would have put the President, his appointees, Congress, and staff into the exchanges but would have preserved the government contributions for Congress and staff in the new exchanges.

Here’s the catch: Senator Durbin voted against the Grassley amendment, as did Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV), Senator Barbara Boxer (D–CA), and 53 other Senate Democrats. (See The Congressional Record, March 24, 2010, p. S1996.) In other words, these Senators voted to protect the President and his appointees from their own law but also voted to remove the employer contribution to Congress and their staff. Yet these Senators now oppose it.

Senate liberals say they like Obamacare. If that’s the case, it is only reasonable for them to want to make sure they get what they like on the same exact terms and conditions as every other American enrolled in the exchanges, as put forth by Senator Vitter.

So why wouldn’t the Democrats from both Houses of Congress (as well as the Establishment RINO GOP) vote for the Republican’s compromise and embrace ObamaCare on the same terms the American people are getting… the terms they voted for?  And if they aren’t why should the American people?

Why?  Because our politicians know it is a bad plan, bad coverage, certainly worse and more expensive if you compare apples to apples, than they have now, and it opens them up to the same IRS mandates and access into all their records and information.  It also opens them up to having a non-medically trained review board tell them which services they will and will not get… essentially death panels.  But although they don’t want it, it is good enough for the rest of us in their book.  After all what better advertisement for his signature program would there have been than President Obama and Vice President Biden signing themselves and their families up for all to see for the ObamaCare exchanges the day the program opened on October 1st?

Don’t be fooled by the propaganda being fed us through the mainstream media. ObamaCare was never about healthcare, and definitely not about better healthcare, it was always about ideology and control… about the federal government controlling you… all of us!

Just like President Obama and Harry Reid’s refusal to negotiate with the Republicans has nothing to do with what is good for the country or even the budget, or even the truth for that matter, it is about demonizing the Republicans so that the Progressive Democrats win the next election… so they can maintain their control of you!!

Do your homework and then you be the judge… But in my kitchen, the cook eats his own food and no matter how the present shutdown ends... Our politicians still don't want to eat theirs!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Woman Who Could Not Afford ObamaCare Tries to Kill President

Live Updates: Shots Fired Near Capitol

Photo Credit – The Blaze

After the initial report of mayhem in Washington D.C. and the originally reported shooting of a guard in the Capitol, it changed to that a woman, with a baby in her car, tried to ram the barriers in front of the White House in an attempt to kill the president after not being able to afford ObamaCare… an ever disappointing promise for many.

The facts on this event have been a disorganized moving target, but it now appears that the woman did not have a gun, that the car chase by police after the unarmed suspect led to the Capitol where it was reported that a guard or policeman was shot by a stray police bullet.

Capitol has re-opened within about an hour after shots were fired but the actual events are still evolving.

*The latest update is that the suspect tried to get through a check point at the far southern point of what is now considered White House grounds, blocks away from the actual White House.  The President was never in danger.  It seems that the suspect was hit and killed, but that is not verified, and the baby was not hit and is fine.  It also now appears that the formerly reported shooting of the guard or policeman was a false reporting and that the policeman injured himself in the police car crash below… one police car hitting another.

*(4:22p.m.) It has now been confirmed that the suspect, who appears to be an African-American, is dead and although the officer was hurt during the impact of their cars, no officers were killed.  A witness reports that she was shot in the head; not confirmed.  It appears that the suspect backed into a police vehicle at one point, but short of trying to escape she did not appear to be violent or have any weapons. So did the police over-react? Was there excessive force used?

*(4:52P.M.) The questions are now surfacing… Why are there no photos of the baby or of a baby being removed from the car.  If there was a baby, with the back windows of the car blown out, was that baby injured?  Could this situation have been accelerated by bad judgment?  Why is any normally released information not being released, yet nobody bothered to blur out the the victim’s car license plate number on many photos?  Why was it originally reported that this was a reaction to the woman’s disappointed with ObamaCare and now that fact has already been buried?

What this incident does do is add a whole new dynamic to the ObamaCare debate and perhaps a glimpse into the reality for many who will find themselves in the same place as this woman… feeling duped by the President’s promises surrounding ObamaCare. 

At this point there is much speculation, but there seem to be more questions than answers. 

AskMarion~

Blaze Report: Shots Fired Outside U.S. Capitol; One Officer Injured (Live Updates HERE

Related: 

A woman driving a black Infiniti with a young child inside tried to ram through a White House barricade Thursday, then led police on a chase toward the Capitol, where police shot and killed her, witnesses and officials said.

Tourists watched the shooting unfold on Constitution Avenue outside the Capitol as lawmakers inside debated how to end a government shutdown. Police quickly locked down the entire complex temporarily, and both houses of Congress went into recess.

Read our previous posts and updates below to see how it all unfolded.

UPDATE 7:25 p.m. ET: Via the Hartford Courant:

A Stamford dental hygienist with a history of mental health issues was killed after a chase and shooting near the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, a source with knowledge of the investigation said.

The source said Miriam Carey, 34, was the woman who was driving the black Infiniti coupe with Connecticut license plates that tried to pass a security check point at the White House, led police on a chase through central Washington and died after being shot near the U.S. Capitol.

UPDATE 6:06 p.m. ET: Police would not reveal any information on the female suspect, but they did confirm that she has been “pronounced” dead.

There were two officers injured during the pursuit, and both are in good condition, police said.

The child who was traveling in the suspect’s car is reportedly in protective custody.

UPDATE 5:35 p.m. ET: The Washington Posts says that the suspect involved in the incident was a woman in her 30s and that a child taken from the car could be as young as one. The Post also cites two sources who say the woman did not have a gun.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told Fox News the woman was “African-American.”

UPDATE 5:15 p.m. ET: Eyewitnesses describe the frantic scene in the aftermath of the incident.

“I didn’t really have time to think; if I had I probably wouldn’t have gone outside,” one witness told TheBlaze’s Oliver Darcy.

“I really didn’t know what to think. I heard the seven or eight shots. There were dozens of officers. So much so that you really couldn’t even see what was happening. There were officers in police vehicles on every side, swarming, and more coming in every second.”

Read more in our separate post.

UPDATE 5:33 p.m. ET: Suspect’s, now said to be, 1-year-old child is said to be in protective custody and doing fine.

UPDATE 5:06 p.m. ET:  An onsite reporter said that all witnesses were removed from the area after her shooting, including one who said the suspect appeared to be just a scared woman…

UPDATE 5:06 p.m. ET:  The report of a baby in the car has now been changed to a 3 to 5 year old; still no photos or reported citings of the child?!?

UPDATE 4:42 p.m. ET:  Sen. Richard Blumenthal (R-Conn.) tells NECN that the black car involved in Thursday’s police chase had Connecticut plates.

NBC Connecticut is also reporting that the “car involved in the incident outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday is owned by a Connecticut resident, NBC News learned.”

Report: Shots Fired Near U.S. Capitol

WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 03: A police officer checks out a car on grass with his canine near the U.S. Capitol October 3, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The US Capitol and the White House were placed on lockdown after an ‘active shooter’ situation was reported. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

UPDATE 4:26 p.m. ET: Fox News’ Chad Pergram reports that the female suspect involved in the car chase near the U.S. Capitol is deceased.

Tweeter: Chad Pergram @ChadPergram -  Capitol Hill sources confirm suspect in WH/Capitol incident is deceased.  -  1:19 PM - 3 Oct 2013

UPDATE 4:25 p.m. ET: New video of a late model black (possibly G-35 Sports Coup) car involved in the incident has emerged

UPDATE 4:05 p.m. ET: Executive Director of the American Center for Law and Justice Jordan Sekulow witnessed some of the chaos that unfolded on Thursday and recalled the surreal incident in an interview with TheBlaze.

Sekulow says he could see the crime scene outside his office window in Washington, D.C. He also said there were sirens before gun shots rang out.

“Then we hear, ‘boom, boom, boom!’ and someone said, ‘that’s gunfire, everybody needs to get down,’” he recalled. “There was what I can only describe as an army of police responding at what is literally our intersection.”

UPDATE 4:00 p.m. ET: New video obtained by NBC News shows people running away after shots were fired outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday.

UPDATE 3:51 p.m. ET: Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer is now telling a local Fox affiliate that the incident split into two locations. In other words, there are two crime scenes that police are investigating.

That seems to be corroborated by TheBlaze’s own Oliver Darcy, who reports Capitol Police have told him they have “multiple crime scenes.”

Gainer said there were shots fired at both locations and the suspect sped away from the first incident and fled to the second crime scene.

Reports indicate that the female suspect rammed a security barricade near the White House before speeding away and being stopped by police at the second crime scene.

UPDATE 3:44 p.m. ET: TheBlaze’s Oliver Darcy reports live from Washington, D.C.:

View image on TwitPic website

UPDATE 3:30 p.m. ET: Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer told a local Fox affiliate that the incident does not appear to be related to terrorism and is an isolated incident.

He also said it appears that shots were fired by law enforcement. It’s unclear if the suspect involved in the incident ever fired shots or if all shots were fired by police.

The child who was reportedly in the suspect’s car was taken to the hospital but she was not believed to be injured, Gainer said.

During a press conference, the police chief said it appears that no officers were shot in the incident. Injuries sustained by one officer after reportedly being struck in his squad car are not believed to be life threatening.

UPDATE 3:24 p.m. ET: TheBlaze’s Oliver Darcy is on the scene at the U.S. Capitol. We will continue bringing you breaking updates.

Tweet:  Oliver Darcy@oliverdarcy: Capitol police tells me they have "multiple crime scenes" they are trying to secure near Capitol.  -  12:22 PM - 3 Oct 2013

UPDATE 3:06 p.m. ET: Fox News confirms that a female driver tried to ram the security barrier at the White House with her car. Ed Henry reports Capitol Police then chased the suspect toward the Capitol.

Fox also reports the woman had a child in the car, whose status is unknown.

In addition to ABC News, WJLA is also reporting that a female suspect was shot and killed. There are also conflicting reports saying that the female suspect has been taken into custody.

 

Executive Director of the ACLJ Jordan Sekulow tweeted the following picture that shows a black car surrounded by police:

View image on Twitter

Tweet: Jordan - Sekulow@JordanSekulow -  This appears to be the vehicle that crashed in police station at 2nd/Constitution #capitolhillshooting  -  11:52 AM - 3 Oct 2013

Police have reportedly lifted the lockdown at the U.S. Capitol.

There are reports of shots fired near the U.S. Capitol, according to several news organizations. There are unconfirmed reports of one officer injured and possibly others.

The shots came from outside not inside the U.S. Capitol, Reuters reports. Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) also reported hearing shots fired.

Police say the U.S. Capitol had been put on a security lockdown since reports of possible shots fired outside the building emerged. However, the lockdown was lifted at around 3 p.m. ET.

Several news organizations are reporting that one suspect is in custody.

Another source tells ABC News that a female suspect is reportedly dead on scene at U.S. Capitol.

Report: Shots Fired Near U.S. Capitol

Credit: Tampa Bay Times reporter Alex Leary (@learyreports)

Fox News is reporting that the shooting may have been the result of a high-speed car chase that began outside the U.S. Capitol.

People standing outside the Supreme Court across the street from Congress were hurried into the court building by authorities.

In a notice distributed by email, the U.S. Capitol Police advised everyone to “close, lock and stay away from external doors and windows.The notice said gunshots have been reported on Capitol Hill. There are unconfirmed reports of an officer injured.

Executive Director of the ACLJ Jordan Sekulow was able to capture a photo of at least one person being carried out on a stretcher following the reports of shots fired.

Report: Shots Fired Near U.S. Capitol

Source: Twitter, @JordanSekulow

en. Bob Casey, D-Pa., told reporters he was walking from the Capitol to the Senate Russell Office Building across the street when he noticed several police officers driving fast up Constitution Avenue on motorcycles.

“Within seconds of that,” Casey said, “we heard three, four, five pops,” which he assumed were gunshots. He said police ordered Casey and nearby tourists to crouch behind a car for protection.

In about two minutes, he said, the officers moved everyone into the Capitol.

FBI agents rushed to the scene and Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer confirmed: “There are reports of injuries.

This is an evolving story… so check back for updates.

Marion Algier – Cross-Posted at Ask Marion

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Dr. Gosar Condemns Abortion Genocide: Disgusted at Congress’ Failure to Protect the Unborn and Ban Pain Capable Abortions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 31, 2012

CONTACT: Apryl Marie Fogel - AprylMarie.Fogel@mail.house.gov

Dr. Gosar Condemns Abortion Genocide: Disgusted at Congress’ Failure to Protect the Unborn and Ban Pain Capable Abortions

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Dr. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) released the following statement after the House failed to pass the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, (H.R. 3803), legislation that would ban abortion in the District of Columbia after 20 weeks of gestation. Currently, the nation’s capital makes the procedure legal for any reason during any stage of pregnancy.

“I am deeply saddened and disgusted that this simple, humane and moral bill failed to pass the House today. I find it deplorable that our nation’s capital allows the genocide of its unborn children,” said Dr. Gosar. “These procedures undeniably rob the world of a human life in a most cruel fashion – and can often cause severe complications and health risks for the child’s mother. It is worth noting that these procedures are more lucrative to the abortion industry, however. The right thing to do is to ban these procedures.”

“Just yesterday, a federal judge upheld Arizona state law to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, unless the mother’s life is at risk. As a father and a health care provider, I applaud Arizona in protecting the unborn from ending their short precious lives in excruciating pain. I hope that those in Congress who supported the District of Columbia’s genocide can one day join me and other pro-life members of Congress in banning these gruesome and inhumane procedures, which have no place in a civil society.”

The District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act is backed by extensive evidence that unborn children can feel pain by 20 weeks of pregnancy. A common method of performing an abortion on a child at this stage is draining amniotic fluid from the mother’s uterus and using a metal clamp to dismember the child limb by limb – severing the head last. The Arizona federal court upheld the prohibition of abortions after this time frame based chiefly on new scientific evidence showing that in fact, children at this fetal stage were “pain capable.” Arizona now joins six other states in limiting or banning late term abortions based on fetal pain.

Congressman Gosar has served as a dentist and health care provider for over 25 years. As a pro-life member of Congress, Gosar believes in protecting the unborn and upholding the sanctity of life.

###

Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act

Protecting the unborn from the pain of abortion

Even those who believe that abortion in most cases is morally permissible should agree that we must not inflict needless suffering on other living things. To do so is cruel and inhumane. We do not consider treating animals in the barbaric way that abortion treats pain-capable unborn human beings. People on both sides of the abortion debate should agree that the gratuitous suffering of the human fetus is incompatible with a decent and humane society.

"Without question, [abortion at 20 weeks] is a dreadfully painful experience for any infant subjected to such a surgical procedure."
— Dr. Robert J. White Neurosurgeon, Case Western Reserve University

The evidence

A wealth of anatomical, behavioral and physiological evidence shows that the developing unborn child (i.e., the human fetus) is capable of experiencing tremendous pain by 20 weeks post-fertilization.

Anatomical: Pain receptors are present throughout the unborn child’s entire body by no later than 16 weeks after fertilization, and nerves link these receptors to the brain’s thalamus and subcortical plate by no later than 20 weeks. For unborn children, says Dr. Paul Ranalli, a neurologist at the University of Toronto, 20 weeks is a “uniquely vulnerable time, since the pain system is fully established, yet the higher level pain-modifying system has barely begun to develop.” As a result, unborn babies at this age probably feel pain more intensely than adults.

Behavioral: By 8 weeks after fertilization, the unborn child reacts to touch. By 20 weeks post-fertilization, the unborn child reacts to stimuli that would be recognized as painful if applied to an adult human—for example, by recoiling. Surgeons entering the womb to perform corrective procedures on unborn children have seen those babies flinch, jerk and recoil from sharp objects and incisions. In addition, ultrasound technology shows that unborn babies at 20 weeks and earlier react physically to outside stimuli such as sound, light and touch.

Physiological: The application of painful stimuli is associated with significant increases in the unborn child’s stress hormones. During fetal surgery, anesthesia is routinely administered to the unborn baby and is associated with a decrease in stress hormones compared to their level when painful stimuli is applied without such anesthesia. More evidence and complete documentation of fetal pain is available at www.doctorsonfetalpain.com.

The pain of abortion

The most common abortion procedure used after the first trimester of pregnancy, including at 20 weeks, is dilation and evacuation (D & E). This method involves dismembering the unborn child. The U.S. Supreme Court (in its 2007 Gonzales v. Carhart decision) describes the D & E procedure as follows: “The doctor grips a fetal part with the forceps and pulls it back through the cervix and vagina, continuing to pull even after meeting resistance from the cervix. The friction causes the fetus to tear apart. For example, a leg might be ripped off the fetus as it is pulled through the cervix and out of the woman. The process of evacuating the fetus piece by piece continues until it has been completely removed.”

"The neural pathways are present for pain to be experienced quite early by unborn babies."  — Dr. Steven Calvin, Perinatologist, Chair of the Program in Human Rights and Medicine, University of Minnesota

Fetal pain acknowledged in Minnesota law

Woman's Right to Know requires women considering abortion to be informed that "some experts have concluded that the unborn child feels physical pain after 20 weeks gestation."

requires women considering abortion after 20 weeks gestation to be informed "whether or not an anesthetic or analgesic would eliminate or alleviate organic pain to the unborn child caused by the particular method of abortion to be employed."

Legislation is necessary

The fact of fetal pain is already established in Minnesota law, but pain-sensitive unborn children remain unprotected.

The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would prohibit abortion after 20 weeks from fertilization in order to protect pain-capable unborn children from excruciating deaths. (There are exceptions when abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother or to avert a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.)

Similar legislation was passed and signed into law in the state of Nebraska in 2010. To date, the Nebraska law has not been challenged in court.

Join MCCL in defending human dignity by working to pass the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

Read more at:  Stand True

“A society will be judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members – the last, the least, the littlest.” Abortion,... We will be judged as individuals by what  we did and did not do!

Sunday, July 8, 2012

AHF: Obama Appears to Be M.I.A. for D.C. International AIDS Conference

D.C. Press Conf. Monday, July 9th, 10:30am

Two weeks prior to opening of International AIDS Conference in Washington—held in the U.S. for the first time in over 20 years—White House gives no indication that Obama will address the conference, which includes over 25,000 leading AIDS scientists, researchers, medical providers, patients and advocates

AIDS advocates say Obama should NOT address conference if he comes empty handed; demand he ends patient waiting lists for the U.S. AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP) and restore funding for the respected global AIDS treatment program, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two weeks prior to the opening of the International AIDS Society’s XIX International AIDS Conference, in Washington, DC, Sunday, July 22, 2012, which is being held in the United States for the first time in more than 20 years, advocates from AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and other groups are expressing surprise and dismay that the White House has given no indication whatsoever if President Obama will address the conference, which is being attended by over 25,000 leading AIDS scientists, researchers, medical providers, patients and advocates from around the world. The conference, which takes place every two years, will feature presentations of important new scientific research and opportunities for dialogue on the major challenges facing the global response to AIDS.

“Frankly, it might be better if President Obama does not address the AIDS Conference, if he plans on coming empty-handed”

And therein probably lies the answer… The first time the International AIDS Conference is held in the U.S. in over 20-years an the president is not attending… because in the end it is all about him and his re-election, so he does not want to spend time of funds on this issue at this time; should make the gay and lesbian coalition and other sufferers from HIV/AID think twice!

WHAT:

PRESS CONFERENCE & TELECONFERENCE – President Obama appears M.I.A. on AIDS and for upcoming International AIDS Conference in D.C.

WHEN:
Monday, July 9th - 10:30am

WHERE:

the offices of

Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Symms Associates

517 C Street NE, (cross street: 6th St)

Washington D.C. 20002

HOW:

In Person or via Teleconference—Dial in: 1-877-411-9748  FREE 1-877-411-9748 Access Code: 7134323

WHO:

Tom Myers, Chief of Public Affairs & General Counsel, AIDS Healthcare Foundation

Omonigho Ufomata, Director of Global Policy & Advocacy, AIDS Healthcare Foundation

Barbara Chinn, Program Manager, Public Health Division for AHF’s Blair Underwood Clinic

Michael Weinstein, President, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (via telephone)

AHF CONTACTS:
D.C. – Tim Boyd, Public Affairs Manager, AHF (213) 590-7375 

L.A. – Ged Kenslea, Communications Director, AHF (323) 791-5526 

By historic precedent, heads of state and leaders of host countries formally address conference attendees during the opening night ceremony of the conference, which takes place this year at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. Only once has a head of state failed to appear: In 2006, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to stay away from that year’s XVIII AIDS conference that was held in Toronto drew widespread notice—and criticism.

“It is telling, unfortunately, that at this late a date, President Obama, as head of state for the U.S., has not committed to appear and is found nowhere among the speakers listed for any event at the upcoming International AIDS Conference in Washington, which takes place at the Convention Center, barely a mile from his home at the White House,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which provides free HIV/AIDS medical care to over 166,000 people in the U.S. and 25 other countries abroad. “However, the president and his re-election team regularly and publicly announce his schedule of community and fundraising appearances in cities and towns in swing states and others around the country, so it seems unlikely that his decision not to appear at the AIDS conference could be due to security concerns—the Secret Service must clearly be able to adequately secure his safety at the Convention Center. Meanwhile, former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, former First Lady Laura Bush and Bill Gates have all committed to speaking at the event. It appears the President does not want to engage the AIDS communities—and with good reason.”

“Frankly, it might be better if President Obama does not address the AIDS Conference, if he plans on coming empty-handed,” said Tom Myers, Chief of Public Affairs and General Counsel for AHF. “There are two things he can do immediately to show his commitment to HIV/AIDS, which has fallen far short of past administrations. First, for the United States, he can authorize the transfer of funds to immediately end waiting lists for the AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP), the network of programs that provide AIDS drugs to low-income Americans living with HIV/AIDS. Currently, nearly 2,000 Americans in need of access to lifesaving AIDS medications are languishing on ADAP waiting lists in nine states. Second, he should restore funding for the respected global AIDS treatment program, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), that his administration is seeking to cut.”

Earlier this year, the Obama administration, which—in a shocking repudiation of nearly thirty years of progress against the global AIDS pandemic—unveiled a global AIDS budget that took the unprecedented step of reducing AIDS funding by approximately $214 million in fiscal year 2013. Never before has a president sought to actually reduce America’s commitment to fighting the AIDS epidemic globally.

In Fiscal Year 2012, the federal funding for global AIDS is $6.63 billion. President Obama’s fiscal year 2013 budget proposes spending $6.42 billion. In human terms, this difference represents 640,000 people with HIV/AIDS that could receive lifesaving AIDS treatment for one year.

The proposed budget came shortly after, and is directly at odds with, the President’s December 2011 announced goals of putting 2 million more people (50% more than the current number of approximately 4 million) on treatment by the end of 2013, and of creating an “AIDS free generation.”

“Actions speak louder than words,” added AHF’s Weinstein. “Defunding PEPFAR and ignoring ADAP waiting lists merely confirm what people with HIV/AIDS and their advocates have long suspected—that the President is not seriously committed to fighting AIDS. Without increasing PEPFAR funding to the levels already authorized by Congress, just holding steady against the epidemic—let alone achieving an ‘AIDS-free generation,’—as the president made great fanfare about, is simply empty rhetoric and is likely to fall on deaf ears at the AIDS conference.”

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to more than 166,000 individuals in 26 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare.

Contacts

WASHINGTON AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Tom Myers, 323-860-5259  [office/cell]

General Counsel - Tom.myers@aidshealth.org

or Luna Media Group
Brad Luna, 202-812-8140  [cell] brad@lunamediagroup.com

or

LOS ANGELES - AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Ged Kenslea, +1-323-308-1833  [work]
Communications Director +1-323-791-5526 gedk@aidshealth.org

Source: Business Wire

Related:

George W. Bush Focuses On Quiet Service After Presidency - In Zambia, Bush and his wife Laura also visited an orphanage where many of the children were born with HIV. The children are alive today because of President Bush's 2003 AIDS initiative in Africa that provided billions of dollars for retroviral drugs and treatment.