Action Alert: Urge Congress to Pass FY27 Spending Bills that Increase Funding for Domestic & Global HIV Programs

Action Alert 05.13.2026

Overview

The House and Senate have begun to consider FY27 appropriations bills for domestic and global HIV programs. The Save HIV Funding (SHF) campaign urges the House and Senate to pass the Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS); National Security, Department of State (NSS) and Treasury; and the Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bills to increase funding to expand access to health care and supports for people living with and vulnerable to HIV in the U.S. and globally. 

Without robust FY27 funding, opportunities will be lost to save lives, improve health, and reduce cost. In the U.S. the need for resources is rising as a result of reduced Medicaid and private insurance coverage, constrained state funding, and rising costs. HIV care, treatment, and prevention initiatives in several states are facing extreme challenges, and some are shutting down or implementing severe cost containment measures – including treatment waitlists – as a result of years of flat federal funding, recent cuts, and increased costs. The need for global commitments to help prevent millions of deaths and new cases of HIV continues, unabated, with the lives of people worldwide impacted by cuts and reduced federal funding for global HIV prevention and treatment. 

Please call your Senators and Representative  and urge them to pass FY27 LHHS, NSS, THUD appropriations bills that increase funding to expand access to health care and supports for people living with and vulnerable to HIV in the U.S. and globally.  

Contact Your 2 Senators and your Representative:

  • To reach your Members, please call (888) 308-9143. 
    • You will will hear a brief message explaining the call
    • You may then be prompted to enter your zip code (and possibly your address) to be connected to the correct Senators or Representative.

Suggested Script:

Please feel free to change the script below as needed to best reflect your lived experience and/or jurisdiction. 

  1. Hi, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I’m a constituent [living/working/caring for people] in your [State/District]. 
  1. I am calling to urge you and Congress to pass FY27 LHHS, NSS, THUD appropriations bills that increase funding for federal programs that expand access to health care and supports for people living with and vulnerable to HIV in the U.S. and globally.
  1. Please feel free to share why these programs are important to you. (This is not required for you to make the call.)
  1. Talking Points (You do not need to cover all of the talking points – consider highlighting the points that relate best to your experience and concerns.)
  • HIV care, treatment, and prevention initiatives currently are facing extreme challenges, and some states are shutting down or implementing severe cost containment measures – including treatment waitlists – as a result of years of flat federal funding, recent cuts, and increased costs. Increased federal funding is needed now to address these dramatic and potentially life-threatening shortfalls.
  • Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program 
    • The Ryan White Program ensures that individuals living with HIV have access to the care and treatment they need  – successful treatment results in viral suppression that helps people to stay healthy while preventing HIV transmission.
    • The program serves more than 550,000 people nationwide – more than half of the people living with HIV in the U.S. – and it provides care in rural, urban, and suburban jurisdictions.
    • There is more pressure now on Ryan White Program resources because of cuts to public (Medicaid) and private insurance and increased costs, making increased funding for this program essential.
  • Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative:
    • Since 2017, the bipartisan Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative has reduced new HIV cases by 21% in America’s most highly affected jurisdictions compared to 6% nationally. 
    • Cuts to EHE funding would put all recent progress at risk and increase human and financial costs:
      • Five thousand Americans still die from AIDS-related causes each year and approximately 39,000 people acquire HIV annually. Those numbers will grow if there are cuts to HIV programs.
      • Every new HIV case in the US translates to between $500,000 – $1.1 million in lifetime healthcare costs.
  • HIV and STD Prevention (CDC)
    • 90% of CDC Division of HIV Prevention funding goes directly to state health departments, local health departments and community based organizations to:
      • Provide surveillance, testing, linkage to care, responses to HIV outbreaks and more.  
      • Help expand access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), a medication that is 99% effective at preventing HIV when taken as directed.
        • Expanding access to PrEP will help end the HIV epidemic in the US. 
        • 2 out of 3 people who could benefit from PrEP do not access it, with significant disparities among the people most heavily impacted by HIV.
  • HIV Research at NIH
    • U.S. research funds have led to the creation of effective HIV treatment and prevention, including PrEP  and research confirming that people living with HIV who achieve an undetectable viral load through treatment cannot transmit HIV. 
    • HIV research also has contributed to breakthroughs in other diseases, including cancer, TB, and viral hepatitis.
  • HIV/AIDS Housing 
    • The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS (HOPWA) program is the only federal program that directly provides supportive and affordable housing for low-income people living with HIV.
    • HOPWA provides housing to 55,000 households and supportive services to over 100,000 individuals, as well as services to help people  obtain and retain housing.
    • Stable housing is associated with better health outcomes, including a 20% higher viral suppression rate.
    • Housing is the #1 unmet need for people living with HIV – 2 out of 5 PLWHA who need housing assistance do not get it. 
  • PEPFAR
    • Since 2003, PEPFAR has helped save approximately 26 million lives and prevented millions of new HIV cases by expanding treatment, prevention, and care in more than 50 countries.
    • PEPFAR strengthens health systems, economies, and political stability in partner countries, which supports U.S. national security and helps prevent future disease and outbreaks in the United States.
  1. Thank you for your time and consideration of these pressing issues for our nation, and I urge you to support funding for HIV programs in FY27!

Please note: If you call a Senator or Representative’s office and leave a voicemail, please state your full street address to ensure your call is counted.

Please call and encourage others to do the same, thanks!

For more information about the Save HIV Funding Campaign, please visitwww.SaveHIVFunding.org