Grace Napolitano: “Mr. Chairman, I certainly want to thank my colleagues from New York and Connecticut for proposing this amendment to…”

“Mr. Chairman, I certainly want to thank my colleagues from New York and Connecticut for proposing this amendment to restore the funding for this very important program, the housing opportunities for people with AIDS, to its 1999 level of $225 million. I hope that all my colleagues will help and support this Nadler-Crowley-Shays amendment, which will shift $10 million from the National Science Foundation's $3.7 billion to HOPWA, where it is so sorely needed. To me it is a matter of people versus science. I do not like it, but it is my only choice. HOPWA is a program where every single dollar counts. 75,000 people across the Nation currently depend on HOPWA for their housing. This program provides essential assistance with rental and mortgage payments, utility bills, obtaining information about affordable housing opportunities, and also provides technical support for the community residences for people with AIDS. Any cut in HOPWA funding will kick, literally kick sick people onto our streets. We have enough of those people already in our streets. We do not need additional ill people. Survival with AIDS requires taking expensive medication and following a very special diet. When someone is already faced with a daunting challenge of coping with AIDS, the last thing they need is to worry about their housing.”