Action Alert: Call today to support HIV/AIDS programs

Our friends at AIDS United just sent out this action alert. Let's make sure our legislators hear from North Carolina!  As the fiscal cliff looms, it's incredibly important that our legislators hear loud and clear: Cutting lifesaving programs is not the way to balance the budget.

CONGRESSIONAL CALL-IN DAY TO SUPPORT HIV/AIDS PROGRAMS! Call TODAY! Call NOW! Tell Speaker Boehner and President Obama that cutting programs vital to people with HIV/AIDS is no way to reduce the deficit - we need a fair and balanced approach now! We encourage people to call House Speaker Boehner and President Obama today, December 18, or tomorrow, December 19, to ensure that programs vital to people with HIV/AIDS are not cut! BACKGROUND: House Speaker Boehner and President Obama are negotiating now to reduce the federal deficit.Critical services upon which millions of Americans rely, including persons living with HIV/AIDS, are at risk for cuts. The Ryan White Program, Medicaid, Medicare, housing, HIV prevention and other programs that make up the safety net for vulnerable Americans with HIV/AIDS and the NIH-supported research that holds the keys to ending the pandemic are all on the line. Negotiations on this issue will end soon, so we need to exert pressure now! ACTION NEEDED: Please call Speaker Boehner and President Obama and tell them to prevent harmful cuts and caps to health care and low-income programs, including those that impact persons with HIV/AIDS -- we need a fair and balanced approach that includes a substantial increase in revenue now! Please make calls today! To call House Speaker Boehner, dial 202-225-0600. To call President Obama, dial 202-456-1414. MESSAGE: Please call with this message : I am calling to ask Speaker Boehner/President Obama to prevent harmful cuts and caps to health care, research, and low-income programs, including those that impact persons living with HIV/AIDS, such as the Ryan White Program, Medicaid, Medicare, housing, and HIV prevention programs! We need a fair and balanced approach that includes a substantial increase in revenue now that prevents further cuts to these vital programs. Balancing the budget on the backs of vulnerable Americans, including those living with HIV, is wrong, will potentially cost lives, and will cut jobs in the health care and human needs sectors. Early and reliable access to HIV care, treatment, and support helps people with HIV live healthy and productive lives and is cost effective. Investing in HIV prevention today translates into better health outcomes and less spending in the future. In my state/district, such programs are greatly needed, because (insert local details or tell personal story). Thank you for taking the time to call House Speaker Boehner and President Obama to ensure that programs vital to people with HIV/AIDS are protected! This alert has been organized by the AIDS Budget and Appropriations Coalition (ABAC), a working group of the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership (FAPP), a coalition of over one hundred national and community-based HIV/AIDS and public health organizations that represent people living with HIV/AIDS, HIV medical provider and researchers, and advocates, as well as community organizations that provide critical HIV related health care and support services. ABAC advocates for increased resources for domestic HIV/AIDS programs across the federal government.