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Anti-gay Ga. congressman tapped for key House budget subcommitee

Jack Kingston

While Congress is wrapping up its 112th legislative session by dealing with the fiscal cliff and Hurricane Sandy emergency funding, plans are already underway for the upcoming session, set to kick off tomorrow.

In local news, U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) has been named as the chair of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education under the House Committee on Appropriations.

Last year under its Republican leadership, the subcommittee worked to defund the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), more commonly called ObamaCare, and tried to cut Planned Parenthood funding unless it ceased providing abortions.

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Georgia’s AIDS drug program funds ‘in the balance’ as legislature comes to a close

More than 1,000 people are currently on Georgia’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program waiting list and funding for the program is threatened with cuts, according to Georgia Equality.

In an email today titled "ADAP funds in the balance," Georgia Equality said that as of April 1, there were 1,278 people waiting to receive life-saving drugs to treat HIV and AIDS. ADAP provides the medication to low-income people who have no other options for receiving medical care.

When the state House passed its version of a budget, members cut $600,000 from ADAP. However, that money was restored by the Senate but now the funding issue sits in committee to see if the program will retain this money or not. The Georgia legislature is set to finish up April 14.