On July 18, Republicans on the House Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee approved a bill that would significantly reduce HIV funding, according to a National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) statement. If the bill passes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention will lose $105 million in funding—almost 10 percent of its total budget—and increases to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program would be achieved by cutting $114 million from other programs funded by the Ryan White CARE Act. In addition, the bill would hamper efforts to reduce HIV transmission by cutting $85 million from the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative, eliminating family planning funding from Title X, prohibiting the expenditure of federal funds on Planned Parenthood or needle exchange, and defunding the recently established Prevention and Public Health Fund. However, the bill does offer millions of dollars to abstinence-only education programs.

To read the NMAC statement, click here.