Mr. President. I am pleased the NIH conference report permanently codifies the ban on the immigration of HIVinfected individuals. In February. the Senate voted to support an amendment to the NIH bill which would prohibit the immigration of HIVinfected individuals. This amendment was offered by Senator NICKLES and passed the Senate by a vote of 76 to 23. While the House bill did not include a similar provision. its conferees were instructed to support the Nickles amendment. The conference report before us today permanently codifies an HIV immigration ban in a manner similar to the Nickles amendment. I continue to support such a ban because of my concern about the potential financial costs such immigrants pose to an already beleaguered American health care system. The conference report meets the primary objective of the Nickles amendmentit codifies the HIV immigration ban. Furthermore. the report language assures that two secondary objectives of the Nickles amendment are met. even though these measures are not codified. First. the Nickles amendment would have required that the current practice of testing all immigrants for HIV remain in place. Second. it would have codified the current Department of Justice practice which allows a 30day visitation waiver for HIVinfected individuals to enter the country for medical treatment. conferences. or business. Report language clearly expresses the intent of the conferees that these current administrative practices remain in place.
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