POCKETING TAX MONEY Aimed At AIDS TREATMENT! Business As Usual In Washington, D.C. !
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"A [Congressional] lawmakers' inquiry is the latest in a series of
measures to shore up the District's AIDS services."
"Washington, D.C., has one of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in the nation
and $25 million dedicated to help people living with HIV/AIDS has
instead found its way into the pockets of those interested in making a
buck. It's unconscionable."
--- Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Texas) ranking member of the House
Committee on Energy and Commerce
================
"Congressmen seek accounting of AIDS fraud complaints"
By Debbie Cenziper
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 5, 2010; B05
Two Republican congressmen who help oversee billions of dollars for
people with AIDS are asking the federal government for an accounting
of fraud and mismanagement complaints leveled against AIDS programs
nationwide.
Reps. Joe L. Barton (Tex.) and Greg Walden (Ore.) sent a letter
Thursday to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration that
raised questions about the agency's oversight of AIDS programs. The
lawmakers cited a recent Washington Post series that found the D.C.
Department of Health had awarded more than $25 million, largely in
federal funds, to AIDS nonprofit groups that delivered substandard
services or failed to account for any work at all.
Some groups submitted employee résumés and consulting contracts with
false information, including fake addresses and credentials. Others
had a history of financial problems or had spent hundreds of thousands
of dollars on travel or executive pay.
More than 15,000 people have HIV or AIDS in the District, 3 percent of
the population who are older than 12.
"Washington, D.C., has one of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in the nation
and $25 million dedicated to help people living with HIV/AIDS has
instead found its way into the pockets of those interested in making a
buck," Barton, the ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and
Commerce, said in a statement. "It's unconscionable."
The lawmakers' probe focuses on federal funding provided under the
Ryan White Act, which pays for medical care and support services for
about 500,000 low-income people each year. The Health Resources and
Services Administration, an arm of the Department of Health and Human
Services, oversees the funding. The D.C. metropolitan region receives
about $45 million annually.
Many of the troubled nonprofit groups identified by The Post had
received Ryan White funding from the city, including an organization
launched by a man who once ran one of the District's largest cocaine
rings. The group, which was awarded more than $1 million from the
fund, had been criticized by city monitors, former clients and other
AIDS groups for a lack of services and supplies, missing records and
questionable expenses.
In a letter addressed to Mary Wakefield, administrator of the Health
Resources and Services Administration, Barton and Walden requested a
list of programs cited by the agency in the past four years for
failing to properly oversee Ryan White grants. They also asked for an
accounting of complaints about AIDS fraud and documentation detailing
how the problems have been addressed. The lawmakers requested a
response by mid-February.
Barton said the Energy and Commerce Committee had asked in 2008 for an
assessment of whether the grants had been properly monitored by the
federal government. The Health Resources and Services Administration
said at the time that it was conducting more site visits and enhancing
training.
"Something is still very, very wrong, and we intend to find out just
what it is," said Barton, who recently supported the reauthorization
of the Ryan White Act, first enacted two decades ago in honor of the
Indiana teenager who died of AIDS.
Health Resources and Services Administration official Douglas Morgan
said the agency would respond to the congressmen by their deadline.
The agency "works with Ryan White grant recipients who have
experienced difficulties on several fronts and has bolstered efforts
to offer effective assistance in a number of ways," Morgan said in a
statement.
The lawmakers' inquiry is the latest in a series of measures to shore
up the District's AIDS services. In recent months, Attorney General
Peter Nickles launched a citywide investigation of troubled AIDS
programs while D.C. Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large)
pushed to correct problems cited by federal agencies, including the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In addition to Barton and Walden, Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and
Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) have called for an investigation of the city's
AIDS program.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/04/AR2010020404552.html
John Fahrtlington Poopnagle
pimps, and teenage gunmen, it's a wonder things aren't worse