Date: Thu, 11 Sep 1997 09:50:54 -0400
From: Matthew Belmonte <mbelmont@mail.slc.edu>
To: nita.lowey@mail.house.gov
Subject: oppose Coburn Amendment to H.R. 2264

I oppose the Coburn Amendment to HR 2264 which would remove from the Secretary
of Health and Human Services the authority to lift the current ban on the use
of federal AIDS monies to fund needle exchange programs.  While not
condoning drug abuse, we must admit to ourselves that it exists, and do what
we can to minimize the human suffering and the cost to taxpayers created by
transmission of HIV through contaminated needles.  The decision to lift the
needle exchange ban should rest with the executive branch.  Assigning this
power to congress would only lengthen the already irrational and emotional
debate surrounding this issue.