Posted: October 30, 2009

Now is the Time to Thank Our Allies in Congress for Program Extension and Push for Increased Funding

With today's signature of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009 by President Obama, the campaign to safeguard Ryan White Program services has come to a successful conclusion. We would like to again offer thanks to all who organized, called, wrote, and faxed to your Members of Congress in support of Ryan White Program extension. The sustained, broad support was felt in Congress and certainly contributed to the outcome and to the bill that we have today.

Please take a few minutes to thank your members of Congress for their support and urge their support for increased resources in FY 2010. See below for details on these two messages.

Thanking Our Congressional Allies
Please thank your Senators and your House member for supporting the extension with a call, email or faxed letter. If you are represented by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), or Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA), please make a special effort to thank them for their leadership on the issue.

Nine House members voted against extension - Reps. Kevin Brady (R-TX), Paul Broun (R-GA), John Duncan (R-TN), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Ron Paul (R-TX), and Ted Poe (R-TX). If you are in one of those districts, you may wish to express your disappointment in their vote.

You can be connected to your members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard, 202-224-3121. Members of Congress can also be contacted through their web sites, which are accessible at www.senate.gov and www.house.gov. If you are unsure who your House member is, input your zip code in the "Find Your Representative" tool on the upper left corner of the www.house.gov home page.

Advocate 2010 Funding Increases
At the moment, it appears that Congress will not act on the FY 2010 budget until December, which provides a window of opportunity to continue advocating for funding increases for all Ryan White Program services. Please contact your members of Congress and ask that they support the community request for all components of the Ryan White Program, including CAEAR Coaliton's request numbers:

** Part A: + $103M
** Part B/ADAP: + $268.6M
** Part C: + $66.4M
** Part F/AETC: + $15.6M

Talking points can be found here and the funding chart showing CAEAR Coalition's request, the House passed numbers, and the Senate numbers can be found here.

In your conversations and communications with Congressional offices, be sure to mention that the new Ryan White legislation contains a renewed emphasis on testing, with a goal of testing 5 million people in traditional and non-traditional settings. Jurisdictions and health care clinics will require additional resources to provide the testing and the services to those people living with HIV who are identified through that initiative.

Please contact the CAEAR Coaliton Office with any questions or if you need additional materials or support - info@caear.org, 202-789-3565.

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Posted: October 14, 2009

A first-time CAEAR Coalition advocate and fellow CAEAR Coalition members Larry Lehman (far left) and Jacqueline Muther (far right) meet with U.S. Representative John Lewis.

First-time Advocate's Experience on Capitol Hill Highlights the Power of Grassroots Action

"Thanks to my new friends, Larry Lehman and Jacqueline Muther, who are members of CAEAR Coalition, I was invited to travel with them to Washington, DC, September 13th through the 16th, 2009. This will be an experience that I will always cherish!

"The purpose of the trip was to meet with [members of Congress and their staff] to get their support to extend the time for the Ryan White Program, [which expires] on September 30, 2009. So it was crucial for us to have these meetings with the representatives from our home state to put some fire under their seat.

"We had to wear comfortable shoes for our long walks from office to office. My feet were hurting every now and then, but it was all worth it considering how important it was to fight for those who are living with HIV/AIDS. If the grant expires, the medication and resources will not be available for them. And I would hate to see the aftermath that will take place on the people living with HIV/AIDS if we cannot get the support needed from [Congress].

"I had the pleasure of meeting Congressman John Lewis. [He] was so humble and incredible. He took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to show me some of his pictures and to take some pictures on his balcony outside his office. It was such a WOW!!! moment the whole time we spent in his office. The feeling of history surrounded him as he shared stories of when he was a teenager marching on the bridge in Alabama with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and time he spent with Ted Kennedy. Even as a teenager the Congressman was a powerful speaker as well as an advocate for human rights.

"I know that God answers prayers. So with all I've shared about the Ryan White Program, please pray for the extension of the program and that Congress will support this issue before the end of September 2009."