Thursday, July 09, 2009
AIDS activists shut down US Capitol rotunda over Obama reversal on AIDS policy
by John Aravosis (DC) on 7/09/2009 12:35:00 PM
UPDATE: That White House Web site pledge to support repeal of the federal ban on needle exchange? It appears to be gone.Woah. Joe and I got wind of this last night. (Great picture on the home page of Roll Call.)
A group of 26 AIDS activists chained themselves to each other in the Capitol Rotunda on Thursday morning, startling visitors, shutting down the landmark area and prompting their arrest by Capitol Police.The group, which was protesting President Barack Obama’s failure to get rid of a ban on funding needle exchange programs, arrived at the Rotunda around 10 a.m.
Obama, during the primary campaign, pledged his support of needle exchange programs to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS. When he took over the White House, the administration website affirmed: "The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users."Yet Obama's budget includes language that bans spending federal money on needle-exchange programs.White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said the administration isn't yet ready to lift the ban - but Obama still supports needle exchange."We have not removed the ban in our budget proposal because we want to work with Congress and the American public to build support for this change," he said.
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