Political Quotes

“if passed, H.R. 3717 would needlessly impose a permanent ban on the use of Federal funds for needle exchange programs even though they are scientifically proven to save lives and do not increase drug use. The research speaks for itself. Three comprehensive reviews of the scientific literature done by the United States General Accounting Office, the National Research Council, the Institute of Medicine and the University of California at San Francisco all found that needle exchange programs are an effective component of comprehensive community-based HIV prevention programs. In March 1997 the National Institutes of Health published a report which concluded that needle exchange programs did not cause an increase in drug use. In fact, needle exchange programs linked to drug treatment and other services actually led to a decrease in drug use. Mr. Speaker, we have got to get our heads out of the sand. The statistics speak for themselves. Thirty-three Americans are infected each day with HIV because of injection drug use. Nationwide, IV drug use accounts for more than 60 percent of the AIDS cases, over 70 percent of HIV infections among women of childbearing age, and more than 75 percent of babies diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Every hour seven Americans are infected with HIV. Three of these seven are African-American. As many of us know, minorities are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS.”