Bush re-establishes White House office concerning AIDS

By Jonathan Sampson
Staff Reporter

The Bush administration announced last week it would abolish the White House offices on AIDS and race relations.

Two hours later they refuted the statement, saying it was a misunderstanding.

CNN reported that White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters the administration will continue to have an Office of National Aids Policy and also name an AIDS coordinator, who will work out of the White House as part of the Domestic Policy Council.

Jim Riddlesperger, professor and chairman of the political science department, said the initial changes were not surprising.

“Every president coming into office is going to reorganize the office of the presidency to make it line up with his own priorities,” he said. “I just think they didn’t anticipate the intensity of the reaction they were going to get.”

Pam Donnelly, associate executive director for the AIDS Outreach Center of Fort Worth, said she is concerned about Bush’s stance on AIDS.

“Our very continued existence is dependent upon funding from federal appropriations from (the Department of) Health and Human Services,” she said.

Donnelly said the first real opportunity to see how Bush will respond to AIDS policy will be when he presents his recommendations for the 2002 budget. Between 70 and 80 percent of most AIDS agencies’ incomes come from federal funding, she said.

Riddlesperger said AIDS is just one of the second-order issues for the Bush administration.

“I honestly don’t think AIDS has been a high priority to (Bush),” he said. “But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been sympathetic to it.”

The issue is no longer a strong subject politically because the public is not as focused on it as they were in the past, Riddlesperger said.

“(AIDS has) become a long-term heath maintenance problem, whereas 10 years ago, it was a death sentence,” he said.

Donnelly said even though the public’s view of AIDS has changed, she is concerned about the changes that the future may bring.

“It’s still an epidemic,” she said. “It’s growing because as more and more people stay alive, it’s growing exponentially.”

She said funding is still the central issue.

Riddlesperger said the Republican Party, in general, is in favor of more private sector and less government investment in research. However, Donnelly said it will be difficult for Bush to change AIDS funding because he doesn’t have a strong mandate.

“He doesn’t have enough votes in there to push his agenda,” she said.

Jonathan Sampson
j.m.sampson@student.tcu.edu