WASHINGTON -- The Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing the federal
government's financial support of more than a dozen prominent AIDS service
organizations whose members joined in a noisy demonstration against Health and
Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson at last month's international AIDS
conference in Barcelona, Spain.
HHS officials said they had launched the reviews at the request of 12
members of Congress who also said they were upset by the absence of religious
themes at the meeting. While it remains unclear what the outcome of the audits
might be, their existence has produced a level of suspicion and mistrust
between AIDS activists and government officials not seen in years.
Many of the targeted groups provide services to AIDS patients through
government contracts at the same time as they act as advocates for various
causes.
"Groups that do advocacy and get public money are always concerned that
there's an awkwardness in that situation," said Terje Anderson, executive
director of the National Association of People with AIDS. "But I can't think
of another time there's been talk of retaliation."
Robert Dabney, an official of the National Minority AIDS Council, said his
group had recently received a request from the Health Resources and Services
Administration at HHS to document spending at the conference. The council gets
$6 million a year from the federal government, which it uses to assist 400
AIDS organizations in African American, Latino, Asian and Indian communities.
"The question we have to ask is: What is the intent of this?" he said. "Our
fear is that audits will have a chilling effect on these organizations."
HHS officials describe the congressional request for information on the
groups' funding as one they must honor. Observers both inside and outside the
department say some people at HHS are genuinely angry at the groups and are
seeking at the very least to prevent what they view as disrespectful behavior
in the future.
Thompson was heckled on the third day of the weeklong conference when he
delivered a speech on the U.S. government's overseas AIDS activities.
Protesters blew whistles, chanted and eventually surrounded Thompson on the
stage. He read his address to the end but was entirely inaudible.
Handouts in English and Spanish criticized the government for not spending
enough in poor countries on care and treatment of people infected with HIV. At
the bottom of the flyer was a list of 12 organizations.
On July 17, five days after the conference, a letter signed by 12 members
of Congress asked Thompson: "How many individuals -- from both the government
and nongovernment organizations -- attended the conference with some form of
federal assistance? Please provide a complete list of these individuals and
their affiliations."
There were several presentations on the role of faith in AIDS treatment,
and a three-hour "skills building workshop" for faith-based organizations. In
general, though, religion played a minor role, as in previous meetings.
Copyright 2002 Washington Post Company
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