Newly Proposed Cuts to Federal HIV Funding are a Step Backwards for the Country and CAP
This week, the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations subcommittee released their budget proposal for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2025. The proposed legislation is yet another disastrous step towards the gutting of HIV services established through over 40 years of advocacy.
The proposed bill would:
Eliminate Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Parts C, D, and F;
Eliminate funding for Ryan White Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE);
Eliminate CDC HIV prevention funding, including EHE funding;
Reduce Minority HIV/AIDS Fund support from $65 million to $20 million; and
Eliminate approximately $157 million in HRSA EHE funding for community health centers to provide PrEP.
These cuts are unacceptable. The subcommittee’s mark is, in important ways, worse for HIV funding than the President’s “skinny” budget request to Congress, which maintained Ryan White Parts C and D and EHE funding at the CDC. Once again, HIV as a persistent public health issue is being ignored.
The impacts of the subcommittee’s bill on CAP are direct and severe: we are a recipient of hundreds of thousands of CDC HIV prevention funding annually, both directly from the federal government, and via Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties and the State of Washington. We are also recipients of Ryan White Minority AIDS Initiative funds.
Moreover, the six parts of the Ryan White Program are intentionally designed to function as a coordinated system of care. While CAP does not currently receive funding through Parts C, D, or F, many of our longstanding partners do. “CAP’s services operate within an interconnected ecosystem,” said Chief Programs Officer, Kristi Addis. “When any part is weakened, the entire network is harmed, as are the people living with HIV we collectively serve.”
Cascade AIDS Project calls on our elected officials to oppose this disastrous proposal. Now more than ever, leadership at the city, county, and state levels must step up to protect the health and wellbeing of people living with HIV—and those at risk. We cannot allow decades of progress to be undone. Our more than 40-year commitment to ending the HIV epidemic must continue, with advocacy and investments in comprehensive services—including housing, healthcare, prevention, and support—for all those impacted.
About Cascade AIDS Project
Founded in 1983 and incorporated in 1985 as Cascade AIDS Project, CAP is the oldest and largest community-based provider of HIV services, housing, education and advocacy in Oregon and Southwest Washington. We work to advance equity and access through inclusive health and wellness services for LGBTQ+ people, people affected by HIV, and all those seeking compassionate care. From Prism Health, our primary care and behavioral health clinics, to Our House, our long-term residential care facility for those living with HIV, we are proud to provide comprehensive programs that meet the individual care needs of our community.
