US House Proposes Cuts in HIV Funds

From Erie County Department of Health

Recently, the US House Appropriations Committee advanced on a party-line vote a legislative package that would slash funding for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for fiscal 2025 by $7.5 billion, or 6.4 percent, below the fiscal 2024 level. The bill cleared the committee 31 to 25 and now heads to the full House, which is scheduled to vote on it before August. The House's proposal drastically reducing funding to Title X, the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, and other critical programs, as well as the House's inclusion of language restricting access to abortion, limiting care for LGBTQ individuals, and drastically restructuring the National Institutes of Health. This bill would cut the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) injury prevention program and its opioid overdose prevention and surveillance initiative.

The US Senate is expected to mark up its version of the Labor-HHS bill before August and has allocated additional funds for non-defense discretionary funding compared to the House. The final negotiations on the Fiscal Year 2025 Labor-HHS bill are not expected until after the November elections this year. When the current fiscal year ends on September 30th, programs will likely be funded under a continuing resolution at the current Fiscal Year 2024 levels through sometime in December late this year. While work is progressing to reduce the number of HIV infections in the US, taking away money from valuable programs makes it harder for people working in HIV care and prevention to continue making improvements.

The Erie County Department of Health uses Federal and State funding to provide free testing for STIs and HIV. We can help you learn about treatments here in Erie County. Would you like some FREE condoms? We provide free condoms and lubricants to clients in our Sexual Health Clinic. Weekly clinic is Tuesdays 9 am-11 am and Wednesdays 1 pm-3 pm. For more info, call us at the Erie County Department of Health at 814-451-6700.