Contact: Michele Combs, Christian Coalition of America, 202-549-6257, michele@cc.org

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 /Christian Newswire/ -- It is urgent that Christian Coalition of America supporters immediately  contact Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to urge him to pull the language  in the Continuing (Omnibus) Appropriations Bill, H.J. Res. 20, which cuts  off funding (Section 20613 [b]) for the early diagnosis of babies with AIDS. Unless he deletes this onerous language, hundreds of babies will be in  danger of dying and suffering from AIDS.  The success of the Bay AIDS program is illustrated in the fact that the number of HIV-infected newborns dropped from 321 in 1990 to just five in 2003.  Indeed, in 2004, former New  York Governor George Pataki announced a 78% decline in infected newborns between 1997 and 2002.
  
Democrat Senator Chris Dodd in his Senate floor speech last December recognizing the unanimous passage of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act that week, commended the reduction of mother-to-child  transmission from more than 2000 babies born HIV-positive each year to fewer than 200.
  
It is imperative that Majority Leader Reid delete the language in Continuing  Appropriations Bill (H. J. Res. 20) which will cut off funding (President  Bush's budget request includes $30 million for the Baby AIDS program) for this critical and highly successful program.   

ACTION Item: Immediately, call Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at 202-224-3542 or you can go to http://www.cc.org/contactcongress.cfm and urge  Senator Reid to delete Section 20613 (b) in H. J. Res. 20, which will deny  funding for the Baby AIDS program.