Editor's notes: A member of our family died from HIV (2001) contracted via a blood transfusion, in 1981, before it was common knowledge that the Haitian blood pool, a major source of donor blood, was contaminated with HIV. No one, I repeat, "No one," knew just how bad was this crisis, back in the early 1980's. Again, I know what I am talking about because my family was having to deal with the issue back then. So cut the crap about Reagan.
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An excerpt from a Real Clear Politics article, setting the record straight: For the record, Reagan first mentioned AIDS, in response to a
question at a press conference, on Sept. 17, 1985. On Feb. 5, 1986, he
made a surprise visit to the Department of Health and Human Services
where he said, “One of our highest public health priorities is going to
be continuing to find a cure for AIDS.” He also announced that he’d
tasked Surgeon General C. Everett Koop to prepare a major report on the
disease. Contrary to the prevailing wisdom, Reagan dragged Koop into
AIDS policy, not the other way around.
As for Waxman’s recollections about AIDS funding, he does an unusual
thing for a politician: He’s forgotten the success he and other
Democrats had in convincing Reagan to spend more money. The
administration increased AIDS funding requests from $8 million in 1982
to $26.5 million in 1983, which Congress bumped to $44 million, a number
that doubled every year thereafter during Reagan’s presidency.
Finally, the claim that Reagan spoke about AIDS sufferers with
“disdain” is simply a smear. Nothing like that ever happened, except
maybe in the fictional “The Reagans” miniseries in which Barbra
Streisand’s husband played Reagan as a bigot and rube.
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