THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 21, 1995 TAG: 9507210516
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
A small but determined band of AIDS patients and their families appears close to success in their battle to secure federal funds for continued research on experimental treatments for service members with the fatal disease.
Congressional sources said Thursday that the House Appropriations Committee has agreed to a $25 million addition to the budget of the National Institutes of Health.
The money would pay for AIDS research being done at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine in Bethesda, Md.
The nonprofit foundation, which draws most of its support from the Defense Department budget, is experimenting with a variety of cutting-edge treatments for AIDS patients.
Several Hampton Roads area service members have made regular trips to the foundation's clinic at the National Naval Medical Center to take part in the clinical trials.
The Pentagon wants to end its involvement in the research and to concentrate instead on efforts to prevent the spread of the disease to uninfected troops.
The committee's approval is critical to having the money placed in the 1996 federal budget.
Appropriations recommended by the panel can be - but rarely are - altered on the House floor.
The money also must be approved in the Senate.
The NIH's proposed budget for 1996 includes a total of $1.3 billion for a variety of AIDS research and treatment programs. by CNB