Contact: Circe J. Gray Le Compte, Directors Communications National Minority AIDS Council, 1931 13th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009 Telephone: (202) 483-6622, ext. 309. E-mail: communications@nmac.org NMAC Applauds U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) for Extending the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment Act The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) commends the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee for extending the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment Act for more than four years. Paul A. Kawata, NMAC’s Executive Director says “The AIDS community is taking a deep breath today. The Committee’s dedication and hard work in extending Ryan White will ensure the health and well-being of people living with HIV/AIDS throughout the nation and its territories.” NMAC wishes to give a special thanks to the chairs Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman and Michael Enzi (R-WY), Ranking Member for their leadership in negotiating and drafting this bipartisan bill. “This four year extension means that 530,000 low-income individuals living with HIV/AIDS who receive services from Ryan White programs can re-focus their attentions on their care and treatment,” says Ravinia Hayes-Cozier, NMAC’s Government Relations and Public Policy. “There was good work from both sides of the aisle in the Senate and the House. And though the AIDS community did not achieve everything it wanted in this iteration of Ryan White, the extension provides the time necessary to address any unresolved issues.” ### About NMAC NMAC's advocacy efforts are funded through private funders and donors only. For more information, please contact NMAC directly at (202) 483-NMAC (6622) or communications@nmac.org. You may find us online at http://www.nmac.org/ as well as on Facebook.com, Wikipedia.com, Twitter.com, MyPhotoAlbum.com and YouTube.com.
The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) has advanced its mission, “to develop leadership within communities of color to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS” since 1987 through individualized capacity building assistance; technical assistance trainings; public policy education programs; national and regional conferences; treatment and research education programs; online and printed resource materials; and a website: http://www.nmac.org/. The agency also serves as a membership association for its constituent AIDS service organizations and minority faith- and community-based organizations delivering HIV/AIDS services in communities of color and advocates on their behalf in