President Donald Trump is using money reserved for HIV/AIDS treatment programs to pay for his cruel programs that have led to massive child migrant detainment.
As the administration continues to house thousands of children, Slate claims the Trump administration has reallocated funds within the Department of Health and Human Services. The money is being moved from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program to ICE and other agencies dealing with the detention of children.
According to PinkNews:
The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, which was set up in 1990, has been funded across multiple Presidential administrations and works to providea comprehensive system of care that includes primary medical care and essential support services for people living with HIV'.
The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program received $2.3 billion in funding for the 2017 fiscal year which ends September 30.
A document sent to Slate the funds are being reallocated to the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Worse, the administration is already seeking permission from Congress to reallocate more funds from various HIV/AIDS Programs.
AIDS United CEO Jesse Milan, Jr. said in a statement. We oppose any diversion of Ryan White Program funds for purposes not related to caring for the 1.2 million people living with HIV in this country.
For an administration that just recently proclaimed its commitment to ending the HIV epidemic in this country, stripping funding from the largest HIV-specific federal program defies all logic, Milan added.
Mike Pences Dream Come True
Vice President Mike Pence, a staunch supporter of gay cure therapy, may have a hand in the move. Pence once said he wanted to drain the fund to support therapy programs for gay men and women.
During his 2000 Congressional campaign the Mike Pence website posted the following note:
Congress should support the reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act only after completion of an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus.
Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behaviour.
President George H.W. Bush Sends A Clear Warning
It was President George W. Bush who set up the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
In a previous op-ed for The Washington Post, Bush defended the program and its successes. My administration launched PEPFAR in 2003 to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic that threatened to wipe out an entire generation on the continent of Africa. Nearly 15 years later, the program has achieved remarkable results
Saving nearly 12 million lives is proof that PEPFAR works, and I urge our government to fully fund it. We are on the verge of an AIDS-free generation, but the people of Africa still need our help, Bush added.
Bush was admittedly against the LGBT lifestyle but started the program as part of a humanitarian effort. The Trump administration now looks to set back HIV/Aids prevention by decades while holding children is cages.
Running detention centers that house minors is getting expensive, the administration expected to fill 25,400 beds by the end of fiscal 2018 with a budget shortfall of $585 million and $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2019.