California legislators back increase for AIDS drugs

Thirty California representatives in Congress joined across party lines on Tuesday to ask House of Representatives leadership to end waiting lists for AIDS drugs by increasing funds for treatment. "With over 1,200 uninsured Americans on waiting lists for lifesaving medications, we're proud to see California's delegation speak out," said Clint Trout, AIDS Healthcare Foundation's federal associate director of government affairs. "These 30 compassionate leaders are casting aside partisan politics to show leadership, and we salute them." AIDS Healthcare Foundation led the effort to secure the congressional letter along with several AIDS organizations, including AIDS Project Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, Project Inform, and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. U.S. representatives Mary Bono (R-Palm Springs), Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles), Doug Ose (R-Woodland), and Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) coauthored the letter.