AIDS Controversy

By LAURAN NEERGAARD
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) Several of President Clinton's AIDS advisers say they
are considering resigning to protest the White House's refusal to spend
federal money on buying clean needles for drug addicts.

Some members of the Presidential Advisory Council on AIDS said Wednesday
they also are upset the administration has not implemented other council
recommendations.

"I think it's fairly serious," Dr. Scott Hitt, a Los Angeles physician who
chairs the 30member council, said of the resignation threats.

Leading the protest is council member Robert Fogel, a Chicago lawyer and
Clinton fundraiser. He said Wednesday he plans to seek a vote on the
resignation at the council's next meeting in December.

"Somebody up there is thinking more about politics than health," Fogel
said. "If they're not going to listen to us and do the right thing, I for
one, and a number of other people on the council, can't think of any more
excuses or apologies to give on this subject." Fogel said "quite a few"
members of the council would consider resigning, mostly because of anger
over needle exchanges.

Hitt has not taken a position on the idea of resigning. But he has met
recently with Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and White
House aides in hopes of getting some action before the council issues its
evaluation of national AIDS policy in December.

Hitt said the report will have "some fair but harsh things to say."

He said he had recently told Clinton in a letter there is "growing
perception that in your second term, HIV/AIDS issues are not the high
priority that they were" previously. "It's not like we're asking for
pieinthesky or perfection in this, but there are a few basic things that
need to be done," Hitt said in a recent interview.

An administration plan announced this spring to expand Medicaid coverage to
HIV patients appears stalled because of budget concerns, Hitt said. The
administration also has not lifted restrictions on the content of federal
HIVeducation materials or revised "scientifically discredited" guidelines
against HIVinfected health care workers.

"This administration has an extraordinary record in fighting the HIV/AIDS
epidemic," responded Melissa Skolfield, a spokeswoman for Shalala, who met
with concerned council members last month.

An estimated onethird of American adults with AIDS got the killer virus
through contaminated needles or sex with injecting drug users.

Scientific studies indicate that programs that let addicts exchange used
needles for fresh ones cut HIV's spread.

The National Institutes of Health has called such needleexchange programs
a powerful weapon against AIDS that has been blocked by politics.

Congress in 1988 outlawed federal money for needle exchanges until there is
proof that they don't encourage drug use. That question "has not been
answered conclusively," said Skolfield.

Over 80 needle exchanges paid for by private or other nonfederal money
already operate in the United States, but AIDS activists say expanding them
will require federal money.

Fogel said he was concerned because a Houseapproved spending bill would
strip from Shalala the ability to approve federal money for needle
exchanges, even if it's proved they don't encourage drug use.

The Senate version of the bill retains the 1988 language and negotiators
for both houses are trying to work out differences on needle exchanges and
other differences in the two measures.

"At the moment, we just have to wait to see what happens," Fogel said
Wednesday. "If they (administration officials) lose that authority, or
retain it but choose not to exercise it, that will be a factor in deciding
whether to resign."