Peggy Flanagan: “I rise in support of the Shays amendment and commend my colleague, Congressman Christopher Shays, for his leadership on…”

“I rise in support of the Shays amendment and commend my colleague, Congressman Christopher Shays, for his leadership on this issue. Mr. Chairman, I have volunteered as a counselor for PWA's at the Howard Brown Memorial Center in Chicago. I have seen those suffering from this devastating disease die. I have seen those unfortunate enough to have contracted AIDS ostracized and abandoned by family and friends alike. I know the cruelty of AIDS and how that cruelty extends beyond the horrific parameters of the disease itself. For many PWA's there is no place to turn, no place to go, no place to think of as home during their precious waning moments of time on Earth. Like victims of the Black Death in the 14th century, and those sent to leper colonies in the 19th and early 20th centuries, PWA's often are brutally ostracized by family and community alike. The AIDS patients I have known and counseled did not want to be a burden to society. That was never their intent. But, many have been economically destroyed, and have seen the last of their financial resources, because of this crippling disease. AIDS patients are ravaged not just physically and economically, but mentally, socially, and politically as well. These are people truly in need. When all else fails, and personal resources are exhausted, the Government has a proper role to play in assisting those in need, those who can no longer help themselves.”