Senators Call for Investigation Into Use of Ryan White CARE Act Funds
Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) have called for an investigation into the misuse of Ryan White CARE Act funds, citing recent media reports that AIDS clinics are "wast[ing]" federal dollars on "shopping trips" and other activities, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports. In a letter to the HHS inspector general, Baucus and Grassley -- the chair and ranking Republican of the Senate Finance Committee, respectively -- said they are concerned that "thousands of individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS are being denied the care and assistance that they need -- and that Congress intended to provide them." Stories about misspent funds have appeared around the country, such as one report that a Dallas AIDS clinic spend $60,000 on "psychic hot line calls and shopping trips" (AP/Las Vegas Sun, 6/26). Other reports have indicated that an Indiana AIDS agency improperly diverted funds to cover salaries and operating costs and that the director of an AIDS group in North Carolina kept Medicaid funds as "personal compensation" (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/6).
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