Rep. Maxine Waters skewers GOP colleagues for trying to gut HIV/AIDS programs

As the keynote speaker for this year’s US Conference on HIV/AIDS, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) blasted her GOP colleagues for proposing cuts to both national and international HIV programs.

Waters skewered House Republicans who have refused to support a routine reauthorization of The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a hugely successful HIV prevention initiative in Africa.

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Not reauthorizing this program, Waters said, “would endanger the lives of millions of people around the world who are living with HIV and risk the lives of millions more who are at risk. Moreover, it would undermine the United States leadership on global health issues.” She added that it’s “shameful” that the GOP wants to eliminate programs that have historically had “widespread support.”

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The refusal to renew PEPFAR is coming from anti-abortion advocates who incorrectly claim that money from the program funds abortions. It is, in reality, one of the most successful public health programs in history and is estimated to have saved over 25 million lives.

The program’s $6 billion annual budget is dedicated to buying antiretroviral drugs and medical supplies, and paying for drug delivery and prevention programs, including funding for both condoms and abstinence education.

Waters called it “appalling” that House Republicans have also proposed a $776 million spending cut to domestic HIV/AIDS programs in its proposed Labor Health and Human Services appropriations bill for the 2024 fiscal year.

“That’s our money,” she said. “That’s the people’s money. You cannot decide who you’re going to spend it on and who you’re not going to spend it on. We are worthy. We are worthwhile. We deserve to have support of the public…to build safe lives. If you think we’re going away quietly because you think you have the votes in the House, you have another damn thing coming.”

The theme of this year’s conference, A Love Letter to Black Women, also led Waters to speak directly to how HIV/AIDS has affected Black women: “The rate of new HIV diagnosis among African Americans is about eight times that of whites, and the rate among Latinos is about four times that of whites. Black gay and bisexual men face especially high risk accounting for more than 9,000 new HIV diagnoses in 2019. And furthermore, Black women account for more than half.”

“Fifty-five percent of new HIV diagnoses are among black women, and [Republicans] are talking about cutting [HIV funding] when there is still a crisis and Black women are at the head of that crisis? Hell no.”

She also issued a call to action for Black women.

“And if in fact Black women are making gains in all of these areas and this conference has dedicated itself to Black women, then Black women, you better know who you are and you better take control, appreciate the support that you’re getting and give them hell!”