by Bob Roehr
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate version of hate crimes legislation will be called the "Matthew Shepard Act" in honor of the young man whose death in Laramie, Wyoming gripped the nation over eight years ago. It was introduced on April 12 by Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Gordon Smith (R-Oregon).
The bill would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of categories already covered by federal hate crimes protections. It would allow training and funding in these areas and give federal authorities the power to intervene if state and local authorities do not act appropriately.
"The National Center for Transgender Equality and our allies have been working for years to get 'gender identity' into federal hate crimes legislation," said Mara Keisling, executive director of that organization. "Finally, we have bills in both the House and Senate that clearly articulate the need for hate crime protections for transgender people."
The measure uses the same language as the House version, which is known as the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. It was introduced last month.
"Dennis and I are deeply honored…This is a beautiful tribute to our son and his memory," said Judy Shepard, executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the mother of Matthew Shepard.
"After eight and a half years since Matthew's death, his memory continues to be a ringing reminder, even at the highest levels of our government, about the need for this legislation," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.
"It's a disgrace that bigotry and ignorance have prevented Congress from taking real action to address hate crimes for nearly 20 years," said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "We urge swift passage of this much-needed and long-overdue legislation."
Early treatment for HIV Act
The Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA) was supposed to have been included in the Senate version of the budget resolution passed before the Easter recess, but was inadvertently left off the list of accepted amendments. AIDS advocates are hoping that the matter will be resolved in a pending conference with the House.
Advocates are continuing to line up sponsors for a stand alone version of ETHA in the Senate. There is as yet no version introduced in the House and they are pressing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) to introduce the bill, so far to no avail.
"The community needs to increase pressure on Pelosi to introduce the bill. A list of past ETHA supports is attached with assignments. Please ask these offices to call Pelosi's office and ask her to introduce ETHA," a leader of the coalition working on the legislation wrote in an email to fellow members.
Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico), Gordon Smith (R-Oregon) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) have introduced a technical amendment that would allow an expanded group of services to be counted toward the annual out-of-pocket threshold under Medicare Part D drug prescription plan.
The measure would resolve the so called "donut hole" that currently does not allow certain expenses to be counted toward that threshold. It is particularly relevant for co-payments and assistance in purchasing HIV drugs.
