March, 1989 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE Page 7

NSIDE THE WASHINGTON LOBBY

A Review of the 100th Congress

by Chai Feldblum

and Laura Markowitz

AIDS has been the spotlight gay issue in the media for most of the '80s, provoking homophobia from the general public, but also bringing gay men, lesbians and straight people together in shared pain and loss. AIDS and gay rights often are inextricably linked, especially in the mind of Congress. Last year Congress passed legislation that not only limited the type of language used in AIDS educational materials, but that was based on blatantly homophobic attitudes. Yet during this past session, lobbyists sometimes have been able to convince members to pass some AIDS legislation that is unencumbered by antigay provisions.

Lesbians and gays need to stay informed. But keeping track of different bills and amendments as they bounce back and forth in committees, the House, and the Senate can be dry reading. We are going to take you inside the Washington lobby and introduce you to the AIDS and gay-rights legislation that will be voted on in 1989, tell you who the key players are--our allies and our obstacles to freedom and security under the law.

Our first column will recap the 100th Congress and offer a preview of the upcoming one. Subsequent columns will have the insiders' report on the status of AIDS and gay-rights legislation--the ins and outs not covered by the mainstream press.

AIDS education and the Helms amendment. No funds may be used to provide AIDS educational materials that "promote or encourage homosexual activities and all such materials must emphasize abstinence from homosexual sexual activities," reads the Helms amendment that became law in the Fiscal Year 1988 Appropriations Bill, a yearly enactment that governs how the federal government spends money in that year. It was a short-term victory for Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., and the senator began working on ways to make it a permanent law.

'Last April, it looked as if Helms would succeed. The Senate passed the Helms amendment as part of S. 1220, the AIDS Research and Education Bill championed by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. Although Kennedy succeeded in getting a provision added that somewhat reduced the impact of the Helms amendment, the entire Helms language was in the legislation--a three year authorization bill.

But then the tides turned. Debate on the 1989 appropriations bill came to the Senate while the counterpart to S. 1220 still was being argued in a House committee. (Bills must be approved in committee before they go "to the floor" for a general vote.) Helms was poised on the

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Senate floor, ready to offer the same amendment the Senate had now passed for him twice before.

But something was different. During the previous week, lobbyists had been talking to Kennedy and Sen. Alan Cranston, D-Calif., urging them to make a "pre-emptive strike" and offer a nonhomophobic amendment before Helms could offer his.

"AIDS educational programs...shall not be designed to promote or encourage, directly, sexual activity, homosexual or heterosexual... but shall be designed to reduce transmission of [HIV],"read the alternative amendment, drafted as the pre-emptive strike. It was hoped that once this amendment passed, the original Helms amendment could be defeated, even it were offered again.

Negotiations for this strategy were completed moments before the 1989 appropriations bill came to the floor. Then, for the first order of business when the bill was called up, Cranston and Kennedy offered their amendment. Helms sputtered about their use of procedure to defeat him, but there was nothing he could do. The amendment passed-after extensive discussion on the need for effective AIDS educational materials.

And the second part of the strategy worked, too. Three times that afternoon, Helms tried to strike the Cranston-Kennedy language and insert his own language. Each time he failed. Those observing Helms that day report that he was so furious he seemed to turn lavender.

AIDS treatment and research. The federal government has been appropriating money for AIDS treatment, research and education since the AIDS epidemic came to the attention of Congress in 1981. This is somewhat unusual since ordinarily money is appropriated to a program after a bill to create the program has been passed. While general institutions, such as the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control have been authorized for years, specific AIDS programs within those institutions never had received separate authorization.

Although money for treatment and research had not been challenged because of that lack of authorization, lobbyists did not want to count on good will from Congress or the administration in the future. Senate Bill 2889 was passed, authorizing a series of AIDS research and education programs, through the leadership of Kennedy and Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. It is a major victory that the bill includes the nonhomophobic wording of the CranstonKennedy provision of the 1989 appropriations bill, and offers some assurance of future funding.

Each year Congress increases the budget for AIDS treatment and research. This year, it stands at nearly $1.6 billion. but in the forecast Bush administration budget cuts, there may be a fight to maintain that level.

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Civil Rights. Two current federal laws protect the rights of people with AIDS and HIV infection. The major one is Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504 only covers entities ("programs and activities") that receive federal funds, and offers no protection in the private sector for people with disabilities or AIDS.

Last year Congress was considering the Civil Rights Restoration Act, a bill to overturn the Supreme Court decision that gave a restrictive definition to the term "program" or "activity," and discussion of Section 504 was revived. Homophobic members of Congress, such as Sens. Gordon Humphrey, RN.H., and William Armstrong, R-Colo., proposed a provision to exclude people with AIDS and HIV infection from Section 504. Fortunately, the disability community was monitoring civil rights legislation.

With the help of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund and a coalition of disability rights groups called the Consortium of Citizens With Developmental Disabilities, a counterprovision affirming protection for people who posed no health threat to others was drafted. People with AIDS or HIV infection pose no health threat to others, according to current medical evidence, and therefore remain included under the provision.

The amendment passed as part of the Civil Rights Restoration Act, and even served as a basis for a memo from the Department of Justice asserting that people with AIDS and HIV infection are protected under Section 504.

But Section 504 only protects AIDS and HIV carriers and people with disabilities in the public sector. The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 was the first bill that extended non-discrimination protection to these groups in the private sector, prohibiting discrimination on the part of those who rent or sell private dwellings.

This bill also protects those who associate with people with AIDS, HIV infection or other disabilities, so landlords and owners cannot discriminate against a person because her or his lover or triends have AIDS or HIV infection. Its passage was a considerable victory in the last Congress.

When the bill was being considered by the House Judiciary Committee last April, Rep. William Dannemeyer, RCalif., tried to add an amendment that would exclude people with AIDS and HIV infection. Again, a counter-amendment was formulated which Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., offered. It passed in the committee by 22-13 vote and served as the basis for defeating similar efforts on the House floor. No AIDS amendment was even offered in the Senate.

The Fair Housing Act takes effect March 12. While it is a major victory for people with AIDS or HIV infection and their loved ones, we still face opposition to gay and lesbian civil rights protection.

Legislation for 1989. We have been most effective in advocating civil rights for people with AIDS and HIV infection when we work in coalition with the disability community because the opposition is forced to take an affirmative step to exclude people with AIDS and HIV infection from other people with disabilities, and such attempts are easier to defeat.

Lobbying forces will join again this year to urge passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, that calls for protection of people with disabilities, including people with AIDS and HIV infection, in employment, transportation, communication,local and state government activities and public accommodations.

Confidentiality is another vital issue that Congress will decide policy on this year. Advocates are again developing a bill providing that HIV test results may not be disclosed to outsiders by those who administer the test or by health care providers who are informed by the infected person. A major concern is that such a bill should add to, and not supplant, protections that currently exist in

some states.

A financing package that will finally address private insurance coverage and government programs, and that will create a system to provide treatment and health care to people with AIDS and HIV infections, is another priority of this year's AIDS lobbying effort.

Inside the Washington Lobby is a national column provided to lesbian and gay newspapers by the American Civil Liberties Union, Washington Chapter. Chai Feldblum is an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union AIDS Project, and Laura Markowitz is an editor of a national magazine and a lesbian activist.

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