ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996 TAG: 9605020072
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
House votes funding for AIDS program
WASHINGTON - The House approved federal AIDS assistance Wednesday that includes a compromise emphasizing voluntary testing of pregnant women and delaying action to make HIV testing of newborns mandatory.
The 402-4 vote to renew funding for the Ryan White CARE Act followed a months-long stalemate over the mandatory testing issue.
A compromise worked out by House and Senate negotiators Tuesday night would promote programs encouraging pregnant women to voluntarily seek counseling and testing for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. States would be required to test newborns only if volunteer rates are too low.
- Associated Press
Briefly ...
* The search for former CIA Director William Colby, presumed dead in a canoeing accident over the weekend, was sharply reduced Wednesday. Officials sent home more than a dozen divers who had been looking through the cold, murky waters near Colby's home in Rock Point, Md., and disbanded the temporary command post.
* Maryland became the eighth state Wednesday to sue the tobacco industry to recover the cost of treating Medicaid patients with smoking-related illnesses.
* The Army's top doctor says it must be presumed some U.S. troops were exposed to chemicals in the Persian Gulf War, given the thousands of unexplained illnesses and evidence from other countries of biological agents in the region. Major Gen. Ronald Blanck, commander of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, said scientists haven't been able to link chemicals with maladies, but ``clearly, there is some evidence of low-level exposure.''
LENGTH: Short : 40 linesby CNB