[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 3735-3736]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING MARTIN DELANEY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 11, 2009

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Martin Delaney 
who passed away in his home in San Rafael, California, on January 23, 
2009, of liver cancer. Mr. Delaney, who was 63, was a leader in AIDS 
activism, especially the movement to represent the needs of HIV 
patients in the drug approval process.
  Although not HIV positive himself, Martin's experience with 
experimental treatments for his Hepatitis B infection and his dismay at 
the devastating spread of AIDS (including the death of his partner), 
led him to found Project Inform in 1985. Based in San Francisco, 
Project Inform soon became the leading national advocacy organization 
focusing on ensuring that promising anti-retroviral medications reached 
patients quickly and expeditiously. He worked with government officials 
to develop accelerated approval for the drugs as well as to implement 
policies ensuring that

[[Page 3736]]

those most seriously ill had access to treatments before approval.
  Martin served as the director of Project Inform until 2008 and also 
led the Fair Pricing Coalition which negotiates affordable rates for 
HIV medications with the industry. He dedicated himself to educating 
and shaping public policy as well, working with everyone from AIDS 
patients to research scientists to government officials. He is credited 
with saving thousands of lives.
  For his work, Martin was recently given the Director's Special 
Recognition Award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious 
Diseases, a division of the National Institutes of Health. The award 
was for ``extraordinary contributions to framing the HIV research 
agenda,'' and the Institute's Director, Dr. Anthony S. Faud, M.D. 
stated that Martin ``is a formidable activist and a dear friend. It is 
without hyberbole that I call Marty Delaney a public health hero.''
  Madam Speaker, Martin Delaney is truly a hero. He not only saved 
lives; he also forged a path with his heart, his head, and his 
conviction that he could take action to fight the suffering he 
witnessed. I join people all over this country in mourning his passing.

                          ____________________