House Votes to Create AIDS Specialists’ Unit

The House passed legislation today setting up a congressional AIDS commission that the bill’s sponsor said was needed because President Reagan’s recently appointed panel has too few AIDS experts.

House leaders used an unusually expedited process to bring the bill to the floor only minutes after it was approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which approved the measure without benefit of any subcommittee hearings or testimony from witnesses about the need for another AIDS panel.

The House, after only 40 minutes of debate, passed the measure on a 355-68 vote and sent it to the Senate.

AIDS, a virus identified in 1981 that impedes the body’s ability to fight off infection, killed 22,548 Americans as of July 29, according to the National Centers for Disease Control.

The congressional panel will study many of the same issues as the 13-member Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome appointed by Reagan on July 23.

Rep. J. Roy Rowland (D-Ga.), the only medical doctor in the House and sponsor of the bill setting up the congressional panel, said in an interview before the vote that he has “some concern” that Reagan’s commission has too few AIDS experts and might be stacked to reflect Administration views on AIDS issues, such as AIDS testing.

“This issue should be approached from a medical, scientific standpoint. It should not be approached in a partisan, political way or on a philosophical basis,” Rowland said.

The congressionally established National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome would have 15 members, of whom at least eight would have to be experts on the medical, legal and ethical issues involving AIDS.

Under the House bill, the President would appoint five panel members and congressional leaders of each house would appoint the other 10 members, with Republicans assured of two appointments out of the five given to each chamber.