GOP Rep wants to cut HIV housing funding because “we gotta cut something”

As the country heads towards a government shutdown for House Republicans’ failure to pass vital funding bills, anti-LGBTQ+ Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) has proposed cutting $500 million from the only federal program to help people living with HIV/AIDS find housing, saying, “Look, we gotta cut something.”

“AIDS is a horrific disease and we have lots of horrific diseases in our country, but we don’t have programs for everybody that gets a disease,” Davidson said during a Tuesday speech on the House floor.

Related:

Bush Institute warns GOP that ending critical HIV program could cost millions of lives

The GOP has been using the revolutionary program as a bargaining chip in budget negotiations, claiming it really just promotes abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.

“We don’t have programs specifically for people that get cancer, for example. We have programs for AIDS because when AIDS was first spreading, people didn’t understand it. They thought it was spread, you know, like a contagion, that you could get it just because you lived in the same housing development as someone else,” he continued. “Now that we properly understand AIDS, you don’t have the same kind of denial of access to housing for people.”

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.

Daily

Weekly

Good News

Davidson said people with HIV “would still have access to housing, if they qualify for need-based assistance, just like every other American. It doesn’t eliminate the safety net, but it eliminates this special favored treatment. Why is that important? Well, look, we gotta cut something.”

The Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that it has “received numerous complaints of housing discrimination because of HIV/AIDS” and that this violates the Fair Housing Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, and other federal laws.

The National Association of Social Workers has pointed out that housing issues from people living with HIV don’t just stem from discriminatory landlords or property managers. People living with HIV may have trouble accessing stable housing because of job loss due to discrimination or fatigue, periodic hospitalization, costs of health care, a lack of affordable housing, and other personal issues like poor mental health, substance abuse and addictions, and domestic violence.

Furthermore, providing housing assistance to HIV-positive people helps reduce the likelihood of HIV outbreaks, making such assistance vital to The National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s (CDC) Division of HIV Prevention, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of HIV/AIDS Housing, and the Health Resources and Services Administration’s HIV/AIDS Bureau.

Davidson’s targeting of a disease that is associated with queer and trans people isn’t surprising, considering his past opposition to LGBTQ+ rights. He was one of the 157 Republicans who voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, a law requiring federal, state, and local governments to recognize legal same-sex marriages.

In February 2021, Davidson voted against the Equality Act, which would prohibit LGBTQ+ discrimination nationwide. He argued that the bill would “subvert Americans’ religious freedom” and “compels medical professionals to participate in abortion, and tramples on girls and women’s participation in sports.”

After the Supreme Court legalized marriage equality in 2015, Davidson called for federal legislation to allow religious people and organizations to discriminate against same-sex couples.

Republicans are deadlocked on how to proceed with passing vital federal funding bills to avert a government shutdown by November 17. Far-right House Republicans have inserted anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion amendments into 12 appropriation bills that fund the U.S. government. The amendments would also slash military diversity programs and aid to Ukraine, end funding for an African HIV prevention program, and increase anti-immigration measures at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Moderate Republicans in the House oppose these efforts, worrying they’ll repel voters during an election year. Republicans may temporarily sidestep the funding bill battle by approving another continuing resolution to fund the government until a later date, giving the party more time to resolve its deep divisions.