Trump Administration Plans to Slash Over $300 Million in HIV/AIDS Funding

Budget documents released on Politicothis week detailing the Trump administration's proposed budget moving forward into 2017 reveal some horrifying truths, including but not limited to $342 million in cuts to HIV/AIDS prevention and research.

As Pink News reports, a whopping $242 million is slashed from the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) budget in Trump and Pence's proposed fiscal plan, as well as an additional $50 million from the domestic HIV/AIDS budget and another further $50 million from the global HIV/AIDS CDC program.

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The documents' defense of these cuts? "This reduction would achieve savings by requiring PEPFAR to begin slowing the rate of new patients on treatment in FY 17, by reducing support to low-performing countries, by reducing lower-priority
prevention programs, or by identifying new efficiencies or other savings."

On the additional cuts, the docs read: "This reduction would eliminate less effective HIV research and prevention activities and accelerate reductions proposed in FY 2018."

Let it be remembered that these cuts come as just one part of an $18 billion cut in discretionary spending, which also includes budget elimination or intense shrinking for programs such as (though certainly not limited to) education, foreign aid committees, and the EPA.

Let us also continue to remember that Mike Pence said on the record he would like to take away HIV funding in exchange for starting "gay cure" programs.