(TheRedWire.com) – On Tuesday, protesters stormed the Congressional office of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, demanding that they re-up funding for an HIV relief program. Protesters with Housing Works reached the office of the House Speaker and refused to move even after the Capitol Hill Police responded to the incident and started making arrests.
The group is calling for House Republicans to reauthorize the PEPFAR global AIDS relief program for another five years, arguing that the program has thus far saved “25 million lives.” Photos from the protests show the protesters sitting on the office floor with their arms interlocked.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the group claimed that they were proud to employ several tactics, including nonviolent civil disobedience, to call for the U.S. government to aid in eradicating AIDS.
In a statement, Capitol police noted that several individuals had demonstrated inside a House Office Building. They added that after failing to abide by the requests to cease their demonstrations, the USPC proceeded to arrest seven individuals, three females and 4 males, who are being charged with Unlawful Entry.
The deadline for funding the PEPFAR program is September 30. However, it appears unlikely that Congress will agree on this issue. The law has so far been renewed on a five-year rolling period, and even if the funding does not go through, the program will continue. However, the program funding would become part of the annual budget debate.
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