Last night, President Trump announced his administration's plan to end new HIV infections in the United States by 2030. We commend the Administration for this achievable goal, and appreciate the engagement, leadership, and the dedication of Assistant Secretary for Health, Admiral Giroir, Surgeon General Adams, CDC Director Redfield, and NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director, Dr. Tony Fauci. We are hopeful that the President's budget, set to be released in the coming weeks, reflects a strong commitment to federally funded HIV programs, including but not limited to the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, and the National Institute of Health.

In order to achieve an end to new HIV infections, robust funding is vital to these important programs, but additional funding is needed, particularly for implementation science research. There are 1.1 million individuals in the United States that can benefit from PrEP, yet there are only about 220,000 on it. Currently, there is no dedicated federal funding stream for PrEP. Equally as important is people living with HIV or at risk of acquiring HIV require continued and uninterrupted access to treatment and quality, affordable health care. We urge the Administration to reconsider the recent proposed changes to Medicare Part D to ensure that people living with HIV can access the treatment they need, the proposed public charge rule that would discourage immigrants from vital public health programs, as well as opposing any efforts to dismantle protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

Lastly, this initiative cannot replace our commitment and leadership in global HIV. In order to achieve a true end to the HIV epidemic, continued research and innovations with the aim of finding a cure for all should remain the ultimate goal. amfAR looks forward to working with the Administration on these shared goals.