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December 6, 1995
Web posted at: 6:50 p.m. EST
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Convening the first White House conference on HIV and AIDS, President Clinton set a goal of finding "a cure and a vaccine" before the disease claims more lives among the youngest generation of Americans. "We have never before had a disease we cannot conquer. We can conquer this," he said. (179K AIFF sound or 179K WAV sound)
Clinton highlighted his administration's efforts to combat AIDS, such as speeding the drug approval process to make new medicines available within six months, "faster than any European nation." (179K AIFF sound or 179K WAV sound)
He was introduced by AIDS activist Eileen Mitzman, who lost one daughter in a car crash 13 years ago and lost her other daughter to AIDS in 1991. "We couldn't save Stacy from the accident that took her life," Mitzman said, "but what could we have done for Marni if we had had national leadership on AIDS?" (119K AIFF sound or 119K WAV sound)
Clinton said he would oppose any effort by Congress to undermine funding for AIDS research or to reduce Medicaid programs, which support nearly half of AIDS sufferers and 90 percent of children with AIDS. That is a primary worry among the 250 people, mainly AIDS activists, physicians, researchers and clergy, who participated in the one-day meeting. They said they don't want efforts to balance the budget to force the elimination or reduction of AIDS funding. Comparing the fight against AIDS to U.S. intervention in Bosnia, they said Clinton has a responsibility to fight a scourge at home, too.
HIV-positive AIDS activist Sean Sasser, 27, whose partner, Pedro Zamora, died of the disease last year, told Clinton that the United States ought to "fight and pay whatever it costs" to find a cure for AIDS. "Mr. President, I do not want to die feeling cheated or left out by my country, or my country's leaders," Sasser said. "I want to be here for the cure."
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