Senate Democrats Remove STI Language From Stimulus Bill

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs;  Public Health
Article Date: 04 Feb 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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During debate over a proposed economic stimulus bill, Senate Democrats removed language that would have explicitly allocated $400 million for preventing HIV and sexually transmitted infections, the AP/Boston Globe reports. President Obama on Monday said that "very modest differences" between the House and Senate versions of the legislation should not delay the passage of the $885 billion package in the Senate (AP/Boston Globe, 2/3). The House last week passed its version of the stimulus package, which included $355 million for STI prevention efforts (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/29).

Obama has teamed up with Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R), vice chair of the National Governors Association, to secure bipartisan support for the bill. Douglas said that the package "might look a little different" if he had written it, but added that "the essence of a recovery package is essential to get the nation's economy moving." According to the AP/Globe, Douglas is among several Republican governors who have expressed support for the bill. However, many Senate Republicans have pressured Democrats to reduce the amount of spending in the legislation, calling instead for more mortgage relief and tax cuts. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said his Republican colleagues might seek to change the bill but do not intend to reject it. "Nobody that I know of is trying to keep a package from passing," McConnell said (AP/Boston Globe, 2/3).

Related Opinion Piece

Although "Congress is being lambasted" for including provisions that would fund HIV and STI prevention in the economic stimulus package, addressing these diseases is "not just about the work. It's about the workforce," Cheryl Wetzstein, Washington Times columnist and reporter, writes in an opinion piece. Wetzstein cites data from the 2007 book titled "Behavioral Interventions for Prevention and Control of Sexually Transmitted Diseases," which suggests that STI prevalence will increase as a result of a growing sexually active population and recent increases in poverty and inequality. She writes that although STIs in the U.S. are "spreading in all directions," the "nation is stingy" in allocating funds for efforts to curb these diseases. According to Wetzstein, STIs and HIV are "deadly" for individuals, "devastating" for families and "costly" to governments; however, the federal government last year spent only $1 billion for STI efforts, of which two-thirds targeted HIV/AIDS initiatives. Wetzstein writes, "Does fighting [STIs] create jobs? Probably a few, but not that many." However, she concludes, "if Congress cares about reducing national health care costs and keeping workers healthy and productive, stuffing a little [STI] prevention money in the package might be a wise thing to do" (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 2/3).

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