ACT UP Memorandum
June 5, 2000
To: United States Congress members
Re:
Ryan White CARE Act Re-authorization, "ACT UP San Francisco" and the
AIDS crisis
Dear Congressperson:
We are writing on behalf of ACT UP New
York and ACT UP Philadelphia in response to the recent correspondence you
received from the group calling itself "ACT UP San Francisco."
Attached you will find a press release our
organization sent out yesterday, along with a statement about who we are.
ACT UP Philadelphia and ACT UP New York
are not in any way affiliated with the group calling itself "ACT UP San
Francisco" or any of its members.
We believe that HIV plays a role in
causing the syndrome known as AIDS and, unfortunately, we spend every single
day of our lives surrounded by the cold, hard fact that AIDS is still a crisis.
Please feel free to contact us about the
information contained in this packet. Also, let this serve as a reminder that
the AIDS crisis is a global crisis. Support access to lifesaving medications.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely, (on behalf of ACT UP
Philadelphia and ACT UP New York)
Julie Davids
Paul Davis
Asia
Russell
Katie Krauss
Jennifer Flynn
Bob Lederer
Emmaia
Gelman
SharonAnn Lynch
Mark Milano
Press Release
For Immediate Release
ACT UP Philadelphia and New York
Denounce Group Calling Itself "ACT UP San Francisco"
ACT UP supports full funding for AIDS
care, prevention, research and treatment, in the US and worldwide, including
full funding for the Ryan White CARE Act.
ACT UP chapters across the globe were
founded as grassroots, non-violent, all volunteer AIDS activist groups. ACT UP
New York, ACT UP Philadelphia, ACT UP Boston, ACT UP Golden Gate (recently
renamed "Survive AIDS"), ACT UP Los Angeles, ACT UP Washington and
ACT UP Paris all recognize the overwhelming evidence that HIV causes the
syndrome known as AIDS.
Since 1987, our organizations have
effected wide-ranging advances in research and the rights of people living with
HIV/AIDS. Each of these chapters has no affiliation with the group of
individuals using the name ACT UP San Francisco. Rather than providing real
solutions to the very real AIDS crisis, So-called "ACT UP San
Francisco" is using the ACT UP name to piggyback on years of diligent
advocacy of legitimate ACT UP chapters.
ACT UP Advises:
That all members of Congress reject the
positions of so-called "ACT UP San Francisco," a group most noted for
putting people with AIDS in physical danger -- specifically, by strenuously and
publicly advocating the following scientifically untenable positions:
.
0.
"ACT UP San Francisco" belives
that HIV testing is meaningless and should be stopped -- which would leave many
people unaware of their infections and at serious risk for advancing illness;
0.
"ACT UP San Francisco" belives
that "safer sex" and "clean needle" campaigns are useless,
because the disease is not caused by a virus and therefore is not infectious --
which directly counters the well-researched,= diligent and successful work of
the public health community that has reduced disease levels using these
demonstrated prevention tools;
0.
"ACT UP San Francisco" belives
that all anti-HIV medications and preventive drugs against infections are not
only worthless, but dangerous and can themselves cause AIDS -- despite evidence
that, although= these drugs certainly have side effects, in many cases the
medications have dramatically extended life.
The current policy actions of so-called
"ACT UP San Francisco" -- most recently advocating a cut in
Congressional funding for life-extending direct services for people with HIV
and AIDS -- are jeopardizing the lives and health of people with HIV.
REAL ACT UP chapters demand:
Full and expanded funding of the Ryan
White Care Act and other federally funded services;
Full funding of CDC and other prevention
programs, based on epidemiology derived from anonymous unique identifiers, not
names. Non-named based systems have proven more effective than disease tracking
by name;
AIDS medicine for all poor nations,
including an expansion of the President's recent executive order that blocks
enforcement actions when medication patent protection exceeds the requirements
of the already restrictive WTO agreements on intellectual property. The
executive order must be expanded to all developing and least-developed nations,
rather than being limited to sub-Saharan African nations;
An immediate repeal of Senator Jesse
Helm's federal funding ban on syringe exchange. Needle exchange is firmly
proven as the most effective way of dramatically reducing new infections in
heavily impacted areas without increasing illegal drug use;
Expanded funding for Housing Opportunities
for People with AIDS (HOPWA) until every person with HIV has safe, affordable
housing; and
Massive increases in contributions to AIDS
treatment and prevention efforts in poor countries.
ACT UP Urges Congress to:
Oppose any calls to force pregnant women
-- and all others -- to undergo mandatory HIV testing. Public health research
indicates that forced testing would most likely deter pregnant women from
prenatal care, increase rather than decrease the risk of HIV transmission from
woman to fetus.
Implement the Bayh-Dole laws, utilizing
the rights retained on pharmaceutical products where substantial federal
funding was involved. These drugs should be made available at-or-below
manufacturing cost to poor countries, and at fair prices in the United States;
Prioritize microbicide research.
Woman-controlled HIV prevention methods are long overdue, and could have
dramatic public health benefits, domestically and abroad.
--30--
Statement of ACT UP Philadelphia regarding
"ACT UP San Francisco"
March 2000
ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power)
Philadelphia was founded in 1988 and remains a grassroots, non-violent,
all-volunteer AIDS activist group based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ACT UP
Philadelphia does not accept funding from the pharmaceutical industry or the
government.
ACT UP Philadelphia, as well as ACT UP New
York, Golden Gate, Paris, Washington DC, Los Angeles, and Boston are not
affiliated with the group calling itself "ACT UP San Francisco".
As active members of the Health GAP
(Global Access Project) Coalition, ACT UP Philadelphia has worked to challenge
US government trade policies that have blocked access to essential medication
in countries confronted with the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
ACT UP Philadelphia recognizes the
overwhelming evidence that HIV causes the syndrome known as AIDS. We recognize
that certain medications, including those that prevent and treat opportunistic
infections, have been life-extending for millions of people living with HIV.
ACT UP Philadelphia recognizes the side
effects and toxicities of current anti-HIV therapies, and call on industry and
governments to conduct targeted research to fully understand these effects and
to develop safer treatments that will be effective and tolerated for many
years.
Further, ACT UP Philadelphia recognizes
that these treatments are not a cure. In addition to calling for continuing
research toward a cure for those infected with HIV, we call for increased,
ethical research on microbicides to develop an effective and safe HIV
prevention method for women and men worldwide. We support increased, ethical
research on a vaccine or vaccines that will be effective against all types of
HIV.
ACT UP Philadelphia condemns
pharmaceutical research, marketing, and pricing standards that hold profits
above all other factors and limit access to, and knowledge of, the most
effective use of anti-HIV therapies.
ACT UP Philadelphia calls for full access
to essential medications for all preventable or treatable health conditions
worldwide.
example of so-called " Act Up/San
Francisco" perverted lobby efforts:
Dear Congressional Colleague:
I understand that ACT UP (AIDS Coalition
To Unleash Power) has taken a new position regarding the federal funding of
AIDS. For your review their letter follows. Sincerely, Gary G. Miller, Member
of Congress [see bio below]
---------------
Congressman Gary G. Miller
1037
Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515-0541
May 15, 2000
Dear Representative Miller:
Greetings from ACT UP San Francisco -- the
AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power. Our organization was formed in 1988 as a
diverse collective of individuals united in anger and committed to ending AIDS
through militant direct action.
We are forwarding the enclosed information
to bring an urgent matter to your attention: the growing realization that AIDS
is a tragic medical mistake, not a new viral epidemic. Our position is that
current services based on the erroneous hypothesis that HIV causes AIDS are
fundamentally flawed. Therefore, ACT UP requests your vote to eliminate all
federal funding of AIDS-related programs including the Ryan White CARE Act and
the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).
Two decades since strange sicknesses
appeared in certain gay men, it is obvious that past predictions of a looming
epidemic have not materialized. AIDS has not behaved like other sexually
transmissible diseases and the syndrome has affected few Americans. Since 1980,
more people have died each year in car accidents, and four times more Americans
have been killed by prescription drugs than from AIDS. According to a 1998
ranking of U.S. fatalities, AIDS was number seventeen with 16,685 deaths
compared to heart disease (725,790 deaths), diabetes (62,332) or Alzheimer's
disease (22,527).
Despite the small number of cases and
deaths, federal funding for AIDS has been disproportionately excessive compared
to other ailments that kill more Americans. For example, the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) allocates $2,400 per patient in research money to
AIDS compared to $230 for breast cancer, $108 for heart disease, and $28 for
diabetes. Moreover, under the pretext of a growing pandemic, those with AIDS
unfairly receive special emergency funds through the Ryan White CARE Act and
ADAP that people with other diseases do not. (Disease Politics, ABC News 20/20,
10/11/99)
As AIDS cases and deaths have plummeted
over the past decade, the Ryan White CARE Act has ballooned to over $1.5
billion annually. Taxpayer dollars intended to house, feed, and care for sick
people -- in the absence of any real emergency -- are being squandered on the
overhead costs and salaries of thousands of well-funded AIDS groups. Millions
more are wasted subsidizing expensive anti-HIV treatments that cause death,
deformity and side effects identical to the symptoms of AIDS.
The facts are clear: AIDS is not an
emergency or a threat to national security because this collection of diseases
is not caused by HIV. Congress must eliminate the Ryan White CARE Act, fairly
prioritize NIH research funding and launch an immediate investigation into the
U.S. AID$ scam.
Sincerely yours,
David Pasquarelli, on behalf of the
general body of ACT UP San Francisco
Brief Bio of Congressman Gary Miller: Born
in Arkansas, but grew up in Whittier, California. In his early twenties Gary
started his first company, the G. Miller Development Company. During that time
Gary met his wife Cathy and they were married in 1972. Gary and Cathy soon
started a family and raised three sons and a daughter. As his family grew, so
did his business. G. Miller Development expanded from building single family
homes and custom homes to eventually developing planned communities.
In 1982, Gary was asked to serve on the
Board of Directors of Sonrise Christian School. His service to the community
was expanded in 1988 when he was appointed to the Diamond Bar Municipal
Advisory Council. Upon the incorporation of the City of Diamond Bar in 1989,
Gary Miller was elected to its first city council and served as Mayor in 1992.
On May 16, 1995, Gary Miller was elected
to the California State Assembly. There he served as Chairman of the Budget
Committee and the Banking and Finance Committee, as well as Vice-Chairman of
the Transportation Committee. His distinguished State Assembly career is
highlighted by 24 bills signed into law, successfully negotiating funding of
the first Class Size Reduction program, and a balanced budget that reduced the
business tax rate to 1973 levels while maintaining a $310 million reserve.
On November 3, 1998, Gary Miller was
elected to represent California's 41st District in the U.S. House of
Representatives. He serves the House as a Freshman Whip and has been appointed
Vice-Chair of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the House Science and
Technology Committee. In addition, Mr. Miller serves on the Subcommittees on
Aviation and Surface Transportation as a member of the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee and is a member of the House Budget Committee.
Congressman Miller's legislative priorities
for the 106th Congress include continued funding for the Alameda Corridor East
Project and Ontario International Airport. Always a tax fighter, Congressman
Miller has authored H.R. 1234 which would eliminate a 3% excise tax on phone
services created initially to help fund the Spanish American War over 100 years
ago. Congressman Miller has also proposed real Social Security reform with H.R.
1268, which would replace $756.9 billion worth of non-marketable government
IOUs in the Social Security Trust Fund with negotiable, interest bearing bonds.
2. H.RES.239 : Expressing the sense of the
House of Representatives with regard to obscenity and sexual objectification in
the United States. Sponsor: Rep Miller, Gary - Latest Major Action: 7/13/1999
Referred to House subcommittee Committees: House Judiciary
4. H.R.1268 : To amend title II of the
Social Security Act to ensure the integrity of the Social Security trust funds
by requiring the Managing Trustee to invest such trust funds in marketable
obligations of the United States. Sponsor: Rep Miller, Gary - Latest Major
Action: 3/24/1999 Referred to House committee Committees: House Ways and Means
source: http://www.house.gov/garymiller/Biography/biography.html
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