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01-24-2008, 06:44 PM
Lets elect Hillary, she is the best qualified!
Top Earmark-er Clinton Grants $303,000 to Gay Lobby Group
By Fred Lucas
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
January 24, 2008
(CNSNews.com) - A group that lobbies for needle exchanges, for allowing more immigrants with HIV/AIDS to legally enter the country, and for condom distribution in prisons received a $303,000 federal earmark pushed by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.).
That was one of 261 earmarks Clinton personally helped usher through Congress. That's more earmarks than any other member of Congress seeking the presidency, according to an analysis by the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW).
This specific appropriation is from the Department of Justice and is aimed at fighting methamphetamine use - that's what the Gay Men's Health Crisis Center is supposed to do with the taxpayer-funded money.
Clinton announced the grant in October 2007, a month after receiving a $750 donation and a $250 donation from Felix Lopez, an attorney for the Gay Men's Health Crisis and for a clinic based in New York.
A number of other non-profit organizations in New York state that received Clinton earmarks also had employees who contributed to her presidential campaign or political action committee, HillPAC.
Felix Lopez could not be reached for comment this week.
The funding for the earmarks came through the $555 billion FY 2008 omnibus bill, which included nearly 1,000 earmarks. Clinton's 261 earmarks were more than twice as many as any other member of Congress seeking the presidency, the CAGW analysis showed.
Under ethics reform legislation passed last year, 2008 is the first year that members of Congress have to put their names on earmarks.
In announcing the earmark to the homosexual group last October, Clinton said: "The Gay Men's Health Clinic is providing a critical service in working to halt the devastation that methamphetamine brings to our community. With HIV/AIDS rates among meth users more than twice as high as the general public, these funds are essential in helping the Gay Men's Health Clinic continue the fight against HIV/AIDS through treatment and prevention."
The Gay Men's Health Crisis Center, based in New York City, has a public policy agenda for the federal, state, and city level that includes a needle exchange program to curb the spread of HIV, allowing non-profit groups to distribute condoms for free throughout prisons, and opposition to abstinence-only sex education.
The group says its top legislative agenda item at the federal level involves changing immigration policy to eliminate HIV/AIDS as grounds for inadmissibility as a disease of public health significance.
In a survey of presidential candidates by the Gay Men's Health Crisis, Clinton provided a "mixed position" on the issue of repealing the HIV entry ban. Her chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, supports the repeal.
Both support needle exchange programs and the distribution of free condoms in prisons, and they oppose abstinence-only sex education.
The group scored Clinton at 92 percent and Obama at 89 percent. Only Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) beat Clinton with a 100 percent rating, the survey reported.
Krishna Stone, the Gay Men's Health Crisis assistant director of community relations, declined to comment on Clinton's earmark for the group and only said that the group does not endorse candidates and employees are free to contribute to whomever they like.
Stone also referred to a Dec. 28, 2007, news release from the organization praising the omnibus bill for its funding for the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC).
"We are deeply grateful to Senators Schumer and Clinton for their hard work to ensure this appropriations bill passed," said Dr. Marjorie J. Hill, the GMHC's chief executive officer, in the release. "Their leadership in addressing the rising rates of crystal meth use will help us prevent further HIV/AIDS infections."
But her comments were followed by Sean Cahill, managing director of public policy for the group, who said, "We're disappointed that this omnibus bill still contains millions for harmful and ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage education and still contains the restriction banning the use of federal funds for syringe exchange."
Link (http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200801/POL20080124e.html)
Top Earmark-er Clinton Grants $303,000 to Gay Lobby Group
By Fred Lucas
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
January 24, 2008
(CNSNews.com) - A group that lobbies for needle exchanges, for allowing more immigrants with HIV/AIDS to legally enter the country, and for condom distribution in prisons received a $303,000 federal earmark pushed by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.).
That was one of 261 earmarks Clinton personally helped usher through Congress. That's more earmarks than any other member of Congress seeking the presidency, according to an analysis by the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW).
This specific appropriation is from the Department of Justice and is aimed at fighting methamphetamine use - that's what the Gay Men's Health Crisis Center is supposed to do with the taxpayer-funded money.
Clinton announced the grant in October 2007, a month after receiving a $750 donation and a $250 donation from Felix Lopez, an attorney for the Gay Men's Health Crisis and for a clinic based in New York.
A number of other non-profit organizations in New York state that received Clinton earmarks also had employees who contributed to her presidential campaign or political action committee, HillPAC.
Felix Lopez could not be reached for comment this week.
The funding for the earmarks came through the $555 billion FY 2008 omnibus bill, which included nearly 1,000 earmarks. Clinton's 261 earmarks were more than twice as many as any other member of Congress seeking the presidency, the CAGW analysis showed.
Under ethics reform legislation passed last year, 2008 is the first year that members of Congress have to put their names on earmarks.
In announcing the earmark to the homosexual group last October, Clinton said: "The Gay Men's Health Clinic is providing a critical service in working to halt the devastation that methamphetamine brings to our community. With HIV/AIDS rates among meth users more than twice as high as the general public, these funds are essential in helping the Gay Men's Health Clinic continue the fight against HIV/AIDS through treatment and prevention."
The Gay Men's Health Crisis Center, based in New York City, has a public policy agenda for the federal, state, and city level that includes a needle exchange program to curb the spread of HIV, allowing non-profit groups to distribute condoms for free throughout prisons, and opposition to abstinence-only sex education.
The group says its top legislative agenda item at the federal level involves changing immigration policy to eliminate HIV/AIDS as grounds for inadmissibility as a disease of public health significance.
In a survey of presidential candidates by the Gay Men's Health Crisis, Clinton provided a "mixed position" on the issue of repealing the HIV entry ban. Her chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, supports the repeal.
Both support needle exchange programs and the distribution of free condoms in prisons, and they oppose abstinence-only sex education.
The group scored Clinton at 92 percent and Obama at 89 percent. Only Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) beat Clinton with a 100 percent rating, the survey reported.
Krishna Stone, the Gay Men's Health Crisis assistant director of community relations, declined to comment on Clinton's earmark for the group and only said that the group does not endorse candidates and employees are free to contribute to whomever they like.
Stone also referred to a Dec. 28, 2007, news release from the organization praising the omnibus bill for its funding for the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC).
"We are deeply grateful to Senators Schumer and Clinton for their hard work to ensure this appropriations bill passed," said Dr. Marjorie J. Hill, the GMHC's chief executive officer, in the release. "Their leadership in addressing the rising rates of crystal meth use will help us prevent further HIV/AIDS infections."
But her comments were followed by Sean Cahill, managing director of public policy for the group, who said, "We're disappointed that this omnibus bill still contains millions for harmful and ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage education and still contains the restriction banning the use of federal funds for syringe exchange."
Link (http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200801/POL20080124e.html)