Speech #1010149270

Koop. and other officials of the Public Health Service. I agreed with General Koop. as did every one of my colleagues. liberal and conservative. Democrat and Republican. that the public health of this Nation will be at risk if the United States continued to allow immigrants with AIDS into this country. Incredibly. Mr. President. it has come to my attention that officials at the Depwrtment of Health and Human Services are now advocating the removal of the AIDS immigration prohibition as well as the prohibitions now placed on all people with sexually transmitted diseases who attempt to enter this country. I had assumed that very possible political concession had been made to the AIDS lobby. and to the "homosexual rights" movement which fuels it. but what is now going on at HHS is beyond belief. Is it not enough that the public health agenda of America has been torn apart by the AIDS movement. and that innocent childrenlike Ryan Whitecontinue to die because the lobby and its allies promote civil rights rather than public safety? Apparently not. because some in the administration are bowing to the incessant cries of the homosexual rights movement to throw or~en the floodgates which our sensible immigration restrictions have previously kept shut. The administration at first attempted to appease the homosexual rights fanatics by creating a special immigration waiver policy. Under this policy people with HIV may enter the country for up to 30 days to attend medical conferences. receive medical treatment. or visit family members. In order to gain this waiver. however. the infected individuals must answer questions about their medical condition. including whether or not they are infected with HIV. Of course. the homosexuals were not happyand they will never be until homosexuality is elevated to the civil rights equivalent of race and religionthey cried discrimination. They claimed that America is stigmatizing homosexuals and that everyone should be allowed to come into this country without disclosing his or her medical condition. At the behest of the Presidents Commission on AIDS and HHS Secretary Louis Sullivan. legislation was introduced in the House to allow HHS to remove the HIV immigration restriction. In addition. on April 13. the administration issued a special 10day visa to allow anyone who wants to attend socalled medical conferences. such as the AIDS conference in San Francisco later this year. to come into the country. That means that foreigners can come into this country for a conference even if they have AIDS but. if they have syphilis. or any of the other dangerous diseases on the prohibited list. they will be kept out. What is the logic in treating HIV differently from other dangerous diseases when the great difference between AIDS and the others is that AIDS kills every time?