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WALL STREET JOURNAL, THURSDAY, MAY 16,
1990
Senate Votes $2.9 Billion for AIDS Care;
Support Seen Precluding Chance of Veto
By KENNerH H. BACON
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
WASHINGTON-The Senate voted 95-4
to provide $2.9 billion in emergency funds
over five years to help strained health-care
systems shoulder the cost of the AIDS epi-
demic.
The House is expected to pass a similar
bill in several weeks. The Bush adminis-
tration hasn't endorsed the bill and has ex-
pressed concern about the precedent of
providing large amounts of emergency
help to benefit a group of people with one
disease. But the growing support for the
bill will probably eliminate any chance of
a veto.
"This is a very important step for-
ward," said Mathilde Krim, president of
the American Foundation for AIDS Re-
search. "It shows that the federal govern-
ment realizes that the care area needs at-
tention. The government has done very
well on research, but the care system in
this country has been deficient."
The bill's co-sponsors, Sen. Edward
Kennedy (D., Mass.), a liberal, and Sen
Orrin Hatch (R., Utah), a conservative,
built strong bipartisan support for the
measure, which also gathered strong back-
ing from the health-care industry. Funds
will be targeted to 13 large cities that have
reported 2,000 or more cases of acquired
immune deficiency syndrome. Hospitals in
these cities are providing millions of dol-
lars a year in care without compensa-
tion.
In addition to easing the financial bur-
den on hospitals, the bill would help local
health planners experiment with providing
less costly care for iose suffering from
acquired immune t. iiciency in private
homes, nursing facilities and hospices.
"There are no nursing home beds for peo-
ple with AIDS," Dr. Krim explained.
The bill also would pay for 150 Food and
Drug Administration inspectors to monitor
the nation's blood supply to make it sure it
is free of the AIDS virus.
Four conservative Republicans voted
against the bill-Jesse Helms of North Car-
olina, Gordon Humphrey of New Hamp-
shire, William Roth of Delaware and Mal-
colm Wallop of Wyoming.
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