Right Now
Oct 06 2006
Major HIV/AIDS Oversight Action
FFM Hearing I, June 23, 2005: Addressing Disparities in Federal HIV/AIDS CARE Programs
FFM Hearing II, April 26, 2006: Ensuring Early Diagnosis and Access to Treatment for HIV/AIDS - Can Federal Resources Be More Effectively Targeted?
ADDITIONAL OVERSIGHT ACTION:
December 14, 2005: Dr. Coburn wrote a letter to Secretary Michael Leavitt of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to express his concerns with the slow reauthorization process of the Ryan White CARE Act, and to raise two significant issues of importance to be considered in the reauthorization process: ensuring fair formulas and adequate funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).
April 20, 2006: Dr. Coburn solicited responses from certain states regarding the success of universal HIV testing legislation to see if the impact dramatically reduced HIV/AIDS in babies. Three states reported significant improvements in identifying newborns with HIV, as well as overall reductions in HIV in infants. Read Dr. Coburn's letters and state responses:
- Dr. Coburn's letter to states regarding the FFM hearing on ensuring the early diagnosis and treatment of AIDS.
- State of Connecticut Dept. of Health response here.
- State of New York Dept. of Health response here.
- State of Tennessee Dept. of Health response here.
May 22, 2006: Dr. Coburn sent a letter to the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the failure of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to properly enforce the 1996 federal HIV spousal notification law.
July 31, 2006: Dr. Coburn sent a letter to Secretary Leavitt regarding the impact of Congress failing to re-authorize the Ryan White CARE Act by October 1, 2006.
January 3, 2007: Dr. Coburn sent a letter to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on Ryan White CARE Act temporary AIDS housing funds, and reiterates that the CARE Act's primary purpose should be provision of core medical services to those with HIV/AIDS. Dr. Coburn's letter requests restraint in overhead costs of housing services, and suggests 75% of the FY07 funds ($286 million) allotted for Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program should be spent on actual housing assistance (in recent years, up to 43% of HOPWA funds went to excessive overhead costs).
May 30, 2007: Dr. Coburn sent a letter to HHS Secretary Leavitt regarding the ongoing mismanagement of federal AIDS dollars in Puerto Rico that threatens the delivery of care and treatment to hundreds of patients living with HIV/AIDS. On June 8, 2007, the Puerto Rico Health Secretary responded to Dr. Coburn. Read more about this in the news here: New York Times, "Puerto Rico’s AIDS Care in Disarray Over Funds."
October 5, 2007: Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released in October titled, “Ryan White Care Act: Impact of Legislative Funding Proposal on Urban Areas", found that money for San Francisco would essentially be for dead AIDS patients who passed away more than 12 years ago.
MAJOR UPDATES IN TREATMENT & CARE -- HIV/AIDS
September 21, 2006: CDC revises testing recommendations for HIV testing. More: New CDC HIV Testing Recommendations Press Conference with AIDS Healthcare Foundation KEY POINTS from Senator Coburn
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MAJOR LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS -- HIV/AIDS
February 28, 2006: Dr. Coburn introduced S.2339, a bill to reauthorize the HIV Health Care Services Program to the Ryan White CARE Act, which is the largest federal HIV/AIDS-specific treatment program. Background on S.2339 is available here.
September 29, 2006: Passage of critical Ryan White CARE Act renewal legislation held up in the Senate. More: September 29, 2006 - Dr. Coburn addresses the Senate on the hold-up of the Ryan White CARE Act passage. More: Background facts - Ryan White CARE Act Reauthorization
December 6, 2006: Ryan White CARE Act passes in the Senate, Dr. Coburn Applauds Passage of Ryan White CARE Act.
October 23, 2007: Senate Passes Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill That Includes Amendment Preventing Redistribution of Ryan White Funding in Some Areas
November 7, 2007: Dr. Coburn Disappointed Senate Rejects Baby AIDS Funding.
Treatment IS Prevention - Response to the argument that "we can't treat our way out of this epidemic"
• Recent study shows that treatment with ARVs significantly reduces the spread of HIV.
• Treatment/medication is needed to prevent the spread of AIDS in women who are marginalized by the focus on condoms, says top UNAIDS official and advocates.
• Diagnostic testing is a key predictor for prevention-related behavior change
• Couples don’t use condoms unless they’ve been tested.
Dr. Coburn's Baby AIDS Agenda - is it realistic?
• YES! Baby-AIDS can be almost eliminated through proper medical care.
• Only 25% of pregnant women with HIV are receiving the necessary preventative MTCT treatment, according to UNAIDS Report.
• Babies can almost always be saved from an AIDS death sentence with proper medical care for them and their moms. (Articles 1 ... 2 ... 3)
Information on Prevention - should we eliminate the small set-aside in funding under current law reserved for programs promoting partner reduction and delayed sexual debut?
• No! Delayed sexual debut and partner reduction are the most successful behavior changes for preventing HIV transmission.
• USAID Global Health expert (10 HIV Prevention Myths) cites partner-limitation as essential for HIV/AIDS prevention.
• Harvard Researcher Daniel Helperin: The ABC approach to HIV Prevention: Abstaining, Being Faithful, Condom Use.
• Community initiated ABC (emphasis on AB) approach drastically reduced AIDS in Uganda.
• USAID report on ABC cites partner-reduction as most important factor.
• Expert AIDS researchers place partner reduction and sexual debut delay as primary factors in HIV prevention.
• Condom use linked to higher HIV prevalence.
• Uganda's AIDS Commission believes that the increase in HIV/AIDS is a result of the phasing out of reduction/fidelity focused campaigns that were so successful in the 1980s.
Date | Title |
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9/13/12 | Dr. Coburn's Amendments to the Veterans Job Corps Act of 2012 |
9/13/12 | Social Security Disability Programs: Improving the Quality of Benefit Award Decisions |
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6/19/12 | Farm Bill Amendments Update |
6/12/12 | Dr. Coburn's Amendments to the S. 3240, Farm Bill |
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7/27/11 | 9,000,000,000,000 Ways to Balance the Budget |
7/22/11 | Dr. Coburn on C-SPAN's Washington Journal This Morning |
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4/13/11 | New Report Reveals Overbilling of Treasury Department by Law Firms, Misuse of TARP Funds |
4/4/11 | Dr. Coburn's amendments to cut spending by $20 billion |
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11/17/10 | Today, Dr. Coburn filed two amendments to the Food Safety bill |
11/10/10 | Earmark Myths and Realities |
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10/26/10 | What Others Are Saying About "Grim Diagnosis" |
10/7/10 | Dr. Coburn Not Holding Aid to Haiti |
10/4/10 | HHS ADMINISTRATIVE FAILURE |
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2/22/10 | Guns in Parks Fact Sheet |
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11/18/09 | Coburn's efforts to improve the Caregiver and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act |
11/5/09 | Facts about the Veterans Caregiver Bill |
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8/6/09 | Clunkers for Charity |
8/4/09 | Coburn Amendments to the Agriculture Appropriations Bill |
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6/16/09 | Dr. Coburn Releases Stimulus Oversight Report |
6/2/09 | Coburn Amendments to the Family Smoking and Prevention Act |
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5/12/09 | Coburn Gun Amendments 1067 and 1068 |
5/5/09 | Coburn Offers Amendment to Dispose of Unneeded Federal Buildings |
5/1/09 | OMB Responds to Coburn's Letter on Transparency |
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4/22/09 | Coburn Amendments to The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act |
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1/29/09 | Senate Rejects Opportunity to Provide Health Care to Needy Children at No Additional Cost |
1/7/09 | Senate Leaders to Kick Off New Congress with an Earmark-Laden Omnibus Lands Bill |
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10/16/08 | Highlights of Senator Reid's Omnibus Lands Grab and Energy Restrictions Act Scheduled for Debate Next Month |
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9/27/08 | Coburn Comments on the Fiscal Year 2009 Continuing Resolution |
9/26/08 | Reid Neglects Economy to Pursue Pet Projects |
9/17/08 | Reid's Monkey Business Continues |
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8/21/08 | Coburn Applauds HHS Action on Physician Conscience Rights |
8/1/08 | Democrats Hold Civil Rights and Child Pornography Legislation as a Political Hostage |
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6/20/08 | AMERICAN OIL REMAINS UNTOUCHED |
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3/14/08 | Dr. Coburn's Efforts Fix GINA |
3/11/08 | Coburn's Speech on the 2009 Budget |
3/3/08 | Dr. Coburn Amendment to Ensure Scientists Conduct Research, Not Politicians |
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2/14/08 | Dr. Coburn's amendments to fix the broken Indian Health Care system |
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1/29/08 | Dr. Coburn's Federal Land Bill Amendments |
1/24/08 | Coburn's official visit to Taiwan |
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8/28/07 | Congress celebrates the Year of the Golden Pig |
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2/14/07 | Debating the continuing resolution |
2/7/07 | What's next for the War in Iraq? |
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1/30/07 | Do we need to increase the federal mininum wage? |
1/12/07 | Real reform for the Senate ethics bill |
1/4/07 | The Coburn Principles |
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12/14/06 | 109th Congress Convenes |
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11/16/06 | Coburn amendments to the Agriculture Appropriations bill |
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10/19/06 | Subcommittee Oversight Efforts Identify $1.1 TRILLION in Waste or Questionable Spending |
10/10/06 | Coburn Seeks Passage of 'Earmark Report Card' |
10/6/06 | Current record |
10/1/06 | Global AIDS Treatment Cost - Can we afford to treat 7 million as Dr. Coburn demands? |
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9/26/06 | Ryan White CARE Act Reauthorization |
9/26/06 | President Bush Signs Coburn/Obama Transparency Act |
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8/23/06 | Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act |
8/2/06 | Coburn amendments to the Department of Defense Appropriations bill |
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5/2/06 | Stop the Senate from approving non-emergency projects in the emergency supplemental |
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12/14/05 | Dr. Coburn letter to HHS on Ryan White CARE Act formulas and ADAP funding |