The ADAP Advocacy Association (aaa+) has published its annual Congressional Scorecard between 2009--2012, evaluating Members of Congress on their support of the AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP). The 2012 Scorecard, however, will be the last published ranking on congressional activity.
Why?
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| Source: ASPA National Weblog |
Simply put: it is too difficult to score gridlock. There was a time that the two major political parties could hold serious policy disagreements on the issues facing the nation...including on HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately that is no longer the case.
Whether it is Republicans controlling the majority (as in the U.S. House of Representatives), or the Democrats in the U.S. Senate, policy disagreements have succumb to political posturing. BOTH sides are equally to blame, and anyone suggesting otherwise is simply blinded by personal politics. The (legitimate) news media, establishment political class, and the general public all agree on this point.
There are 34 days until the upcoming midterm congressional elections, but it is obvious that the next election will immediately begin hours after the votes are cast this year...regardless of the outcome. Therein lies the true problem, nothing is getting done in Washington because both the Republicans and Democrats are more worried about public polling polls, focus group results and the potential backlash from making tough decisions. Things only appear to be getting worse, too!
Whereas programs like the Ryan White CARE Act--which includes ADAP--continue to enjoy strong bipartisan support, it is overshadowed by the ongoing broader cantankerous debate over the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. One political party insists that it will be the end of the Republic (even one potential presidential candidate had the audacity to say it is worse than slavery, the Holocaust and 9/11). The other political party has completely buried its collective head in the sand trying to ignore the emerging...and very real...unintended consequences surrounding the law. There is no middle ground, it seems.
When the ADAP Advocacy Association's Congressional Scorecard was initially published, it proved to be an important tool...among many others...to help educate patients on how the nation's leaders were addressing HIV/AIDS in this country. Many people living with HIV/AIDS and policy advocates applauded the report card because it helped them to make informed decisions. But now there is no leadership on Capitol Hill.
That's not to say that there aren't congressional leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS!!! Quite the contrary. The Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus--under the leadership of Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)--has assembled over 70 Members of Congress to ensure that HIV/AIDS issues remain on the table. Their bipartisan commitment to the fight against HIV/AIDS is unquestionable.
To learn more about the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus, go to http://hivaidscaucus-lee.house.gov.
Ihave been a life-long registered Republican (1963). The last 6 years has been dissapointing. I have voted at general elections for the best candidate available. Politics can move the country forward or it can encur regression. Until Americans realize that a continued view of issues are black and white, and their self interests are supreme, we will witheron the vine. As a youth I heard FDR and Eleanor vilified and idolized. It did not make sense to me. As I studied, I realized that Roosevelt's (TR and FDR and Eleanor), were leaders. They changed the course American history and made the world a better place. I could not vote for Richard Nixon, unfortunately history proved me right. Their are times we must take the high moral ground regardless of the consequences. Until the electorate makes that clear, we will continue in a quagmire of ideological rhetoric, leading to a stalemate.
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