[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 120 (Thursday, September 11, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H7205-H7206]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  AIDS

  (Mr. GANSKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. GANSKE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to talk about something that will be 
voted on today. Despite some recent successes, AIDS continues to ravage 
our country. But even as public education campaigns have helped 
discourage some high-risk behaviors, needle sharing remains one of the 
most significant modes of HIV transmission.
  Mr. Speaker, the battle against AIDS will continue to be uphill until 
we can reduce the transmission of HIV through shared needles. Numerous 
studies have shown that needle exchange programs hold promise as a 
means to slow the spread of AIDS.

[[Page H7206]]

  The General Accounting Office conducted a review of these programs 
and found that a Connecticut program could reduce new HIV infection 
among participants by 33 percent in 1 year. A 1997 consensus panel of 
the NIH was emphatic on the possible benefits of needle exchange 
programs, stating they do not increase needle injecting behavior among 
current drug users, do not increase the number of drug users, and do 
not increase the amount of discarded drug paraphernalia.
  I encourage my colleagues, do not take away the Secretary's 
discretion on the needle exchange program today.

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