"Muñoz, best known for starring as Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton, and Peppermint, runner-up on season nine of RuPaul's Drag Race and the first out transgender woman to originate a principal Broadway role in Head Over Heels, met with Democrat and Republican lawmakers alike on Wednesday afternoon to persuade them not to vote for a budget they warned will "eviscerate" government programs dedicated to HIV."
"For Muñoz, an out gay man who has been living with HIV for over 20 years, it could be a matter of life or death. "This is not something that is outside of my existence or my life. This is my life, this is my health, this is my future," Muñoz tells The Advocate. "This is my ability to actually maintain breathing and living and access to my treatment on a daily basis.""
"The House Appropriations Committee recently released its FY26 funding bill, which would cut HIV treatment and prevention by $1.7 billion - cuts much steeper than even those initially proposed by Donald Trump. This would revoke over $1 billion through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including $220 million from the president's Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative. The proposed budget would slash the budget for the Ryan White CARE Act by 20 percent ($525 million), ending grants to over 400 clinics that provide care."
Broadway performers Javier Muñoz and Peppermint met with both Democrat and Republican lawmakers to oppose proposed federal budget cuts targeting HIV programs. The FY26 funding bill would reduce HIV treatment and prevention funding by $1.7 billion, including over $1 billion from the CDC and $220 million from the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative. The proposal would cut the Ryan White CARE Act by 20 percent ($525 million), ending grants to more than 400 clinics. The budget also threatens PEPFAR, Medicaid coverage for people with HIV, and access to prevention drugs such as PrEP. Advocates warn the cuts could reverse advances and endanger lives.
Read at Advocate.com
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