Speech #1030006359

I sought the assistance of the Public Health Service in drafting suitable language to define the healthrelated exclusions. PHS proposed. and we then inserted. the term "communicable disease of public health significance" to properly describe the illnesses which would prevent an alien from entering the United States. That language was then enacted Into law In the Immigration Act of 1990. The Secretary of Health and Human Services was to write the rules to implement the healthrelated grounds of exclusion. At the time of passage of the bill. Congress made It quite clear that we intended to exclude aliens with diseases which would pose a public health risk. Please recall that HIV infection had been on the list of excludable diseases under the old definition. dangerous contagious diseases. and it remained on the list after the language change In the 1990 act. In addition to the health exclusions. our Immigration laws provide that any alien who is likely at any time to become a public chargerequire welfare or public assistanceis also excludable. The recent proposal to remove HIV infection from the list of excludable diseases raises two sincere questions: First. is HIV infection a communicable disease of public health significance? and second. is a person who will develop AIDS likely to become a public charge? Without any doubt.