CAGW Report Details Federal AIDS Program Abuses | Citizens Against Government Waste

CAGW Report Details Federal AIDS Program Abuses

Press Release

For Immediate ReleaseContact: Sean Rushton/Philippa Jeffery
February 14, 2002(202) 467-5300

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest taxpayer group today released its new report, "AIDS Programs: An Epidemic of Waste."

Tomorrow, AIDS activists converge on Washington, DC to mobilize for more tax dollars for various prevention and treatment programs.  Before further funds are allocated, Congress should consider the following:

  • CAGW has obtained a copy of a $20,000 grant to the Vermont Department of Public Health from the Twin State Women’s Network (TSWN) to be used for a weekend retreat.  Topics for the weekend included “Toys 4 Us” and “Self Loving/Self Healing: Discussing the Role of Masturbation as a Tool for Healing.”  TSWN also received: $1,500 for long distance phone calls; $1,000 for books, including “The New Good Vibrations for Sex” manual; and $250 for videos, choices of which included “Fire in the Valley: A Guide to Masturbation for Women” and “Fire in the Valley: A Guide to Masturbation for Men.”  Each participant received a welcome bag filled with mints and chocolate and each room was equipped with welcome packets containing condoms, lubricant, candles, massage lotion, and lip balm.  TSWN receives 86 percent of its funds from government sources, including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
  • Positive Force in San Francisco receives $1 million a year from the CDC.  The group offers flirting classes and, last July, hosted a workshop on how to have anal intercourse if you suffer from diarrhea.  (Diarrhea is a common side effect of AIDS.)
  • On Feb. 28, 2002, the Stop AIDS Project of San Francisco, which received nearly $700,000 from the CDC in fiscal 2001, will sponsor “GUYWATCH: Blow by Blow.”  The advertisement for the seminar reads, in part: “What tricks do you want to share to make your man tremble with delight?”
  • An Central Florida AIDS Unified Resources (CENTAUR) staffer spent $600,000 in Ryan White CARE Act money on tickets to Disney World, hotels, and restaurants.
  • In April 2001, The New York Post revealed New York City was spending nearly $180,000 a week ($9 million a year) on hotel rooms for HIV and AIDS patients.  That month, the city had reserved 20 rooms at the Sofitel Hotel in Midtown Manhattan at $329 apiece.  Advocates say DASIS must use the expensive hotels because it has ruined its relationship with lower-cost hotels by not paying bills on time.  New York City received $52.6 million in Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS (HOPWA) program funding in fiscal 2001.
  • The University of California-San Francisco AIDS Health Project (AHP), which received a $633,765 grant from the CDC for prevention in fiscal 2001 and continually receives nearly 85 percent of its funding from government sources, sponsored a workshop in November on physical intimacy, focusing on “holding, kissing, licking, sucking, and …” 
  • AID Atlanta, Inc., which received more than $3.5 million from the government in fiscal 2000 and only $1.2 million in private contributions, sponsors “Deeper Love: A Workshop for Gay and Bisexual Men of African Descent” that addresses such subjects as dating, relationships, and erotica.  The program lists the following topics of discussion: “Dirty talk: what makes it good; Tossing salad; Strollin' in the park, through the trails; The art of latex; safety versus trust.”  AID Atlanta, Inc. also sponsors “Slipping and Sliding” where men can explore their needs and desires and learn how to fulfill them.
  • An FBI investigation into the South Dallas Health Clinic revealed that more than $60,000 in Title I funds had been spent on calls to psychic hotlines and on shopping trips to Neiman Marcus. 
  • The non-profit Tampa Hillsborough Action Plan (THAP) gives its top executives plenty of perks despite its financial woes.  THAP boss Chester M. Luney and THAP Chief Executive Officer Lynn Knox rang up nearly $1,000 in meal charges in a three-week period and were also afforded the use of sport utility vehicles.  Mr. Luney received up to $45,000 a year annually for the maintenance of his.  THAP’s top executives also received four season tickets for Tampa Bay Bucaneers games and two season tickets for both the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Meanwhile, THAP owed nearly $25,000 in delinquent payroll taxes.  THAP receives $450,000 a year from the federal government to provide housing to people with AIDS.

Before new resources are added to the $13 billion in federal money currently allotted for AIDS-related programs, the Departments of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development should conduct extensive audits of the Ryan White CARE Act Title I and the HOPWA program.  Such audits will give Congress more incentive to reform or eliminate these antiquated and duplicative social programs.

Congress should redirect many CDC prevention grants to international AIDS relief efforts or increased funds for researching an AIDS cure.  Many CARE Act programs, including all of Title I, should be phased out and incorporated into existing federal safety net programs such as Medicaid and Medicare.  This would ensure necessary, life-saving medical care to those with HIV and AIDS who are low-income or uninsured, while also eliminating nonessential AIDS services.  It would also save money to bolster the AIDS Drug Assistance Program.

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.

 

 

 

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