Jon L. Christensen: “this bill not only undermines our Nation's greatest resources, our people, but as a document, it is not worthy of what…”

“this bill not only undermines our Nation's greatest resources, our people, but as a document, it is not worthy of what this country stands for. As a matter of fact, when I look at it, I just do not know what the Nation stands for. It obviously does not stand, this bill says that it does not stand for equal and the best health care for every American when we look at the cuts in programs that provide needed services, maternal and child health, sickle cell programs, the HCAP program, rural health program, community health centers, and the failure to extend full Medicaid to the territories. It also says that the country does not believe that in this increasingly diverse country, that our residents should be able to communicate with their health care provider. The health profession programs that are key to eliminating health care disparities are decimated, an 84 percent cut. That is scholarships, loan repayments, and outreach programs. It appears that they do not accept that the African American community, which is so devastated by HIV/AIDS, has to have adequate resources itself to reverse its toll, and that AIDS patients across this country need adequate ADAP funding to get the treatment they need. This budget does not care, obviously, that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.…”