Frank Lautenberg: “I rise to talk about my bill to provide a temporary reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act. I want to thank my…”

“I rise to talk about my bill to provide a temporary reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act. I want to thank my colleagues, Senators Menendez, Clinton, Schumer, Obama, Durbin, and Bill Nelson, for cosponsoring this important and life-saving measure. I was an original cosponsor of the Ryan White CARE Act and I have been an active supporter of this legislation for many years now. Never have I been as concerned about the future as I am right now. The Ryan White CARE Act Reauthorization legislation that has been proposed in both the House and the Senate actually attempts to shift already inadequate Ryan White money away from States like New Jersey, where the epidemic first appeared and the need is still growing, to States where the epidemic is emerging. The Committee bill pits cities against cities, States against States, women against men, and urban areas against rural. This is not the way to go. We need to fully fund the Ryan White CARE Act to realize the promise of its original intentions. Today I am introducing an alternative bill to reauthorize Ryan White.”