Hilda L. Solis: “I am not reluctant to vote against this bill. I voted against it in committee because it is not the right measure we…”

“I am not reluctant to vote against this bill. I voted against it in committee because it is not the right measure we should be approving today. In fact, I supported some of our alternative amendments that were presented by folks on our side of the aisle. For my community, this is devastating. We see an increase in communities like East Los Angeles, the hub of the Hispanic community in the San Gabriel Valley, that fought over 20 years to combat this disease, yet it continues to be on the rise. Yet you want to take away very important funding and reappropriate it to other parts of the country. We need to expand the pie. We need to make sure people are covered everywhere. And I am glad to hear from my colleagues that while we know that this is not a good solution, but we are really working toward a deadline of October 1, we should hold off, make some rational decisions, and when we come back in November do the right thing for those afflicted by this disease. I am very concerned, because a large number of Latinas, almost 20 to 25 percent, are now faced with this disease, and it is through heterosexual relationships.”