ASTHO ASSOCIATION OF STATE AND TERRITORIAL HEALTH OFFICALS 6728 Old McLean Village Drive, McLean, Virginia 22101 Phone (703) 556-9222 June 11, 1990 Senator Edward Kennedy United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Mr. Chairman, As chief health of officers in our states we, the undersigned, are writing to urge you to delete the Chapman Amendment from H.R. 2273, the Americans with Disabilities Act, during conference. We feel strongly that this amendment, which permits food service industry employers to transfer workers who are infected with the AIDS virus out of jobs that involve food handling, is discriminatory. Such action undermines the fundamental premise of the entire bill. We concur with the unequivocal statements you have already heard many times form our colleagues in the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control that the HIV Infection cannot be transmitted through food. Inclusion of this amendment does a tragic disservice to the public by contributing to the misperception of AIDS as a disease that can be spread by casual contact. The Public Health Service and public health departments throughout the country have mounted extensive educational efforts to inform the American public about modes of transmission of HIV disease, and to combat Inaccurate perceptions of risks posed by HIV positive persons. The appropriate response to public fear Is ongoing education, not legitimizing further discrimination in statute. For these reasons, the Chapman amendment is not only unnecessary, but is counterproductive. We strongly support the Americans with Disabilities Act as it clearly addresses legitimate public health concerns. As currently drafted, Section 103 does not preempt our existing state public health laws with regard to individuals who “pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others " We feel that only with the removal of the Chapman amendment can public health and safety be well served in a truly non-discriminatory fashion. Again, we strongly urge you to protect the Integrity of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the sound public health principles it sets forth by securing its final passage without the Chapman Amendment. Sincerely, Robert Bernstein, M.D., Texas State Department of Health Jan Carney, M.D., Vermont State Department of Health Suzanne Dandoy, M.D., Utah State Department of Health Ronald D. Eckoff, M.D., Iowa State Department of Health [Page 1] -2- Charles Konigsberg, M.D., M.P.H., Kansas State Department of Health N. Mark Richards, M.D., Pennsylvania State Department of Health Lloyd F. Novick, M.D., M.P.H., New York State Department of Health Bernard J. Turnock, M.D., Illinois State Department of Health Sister Mary Madonna Ashton, Minnesota State Department of Health Raj Wiener, Michigan State Department of Health Adele Wllzack, R.N.,M.S., Maryland State Department of Health David Mulligan. Massachusetts State Department of Health M. Joycelyn Elders, M.D., Arkansas State Department of Health Theodora E. Williams, J.D., Arizona State Department of Health John A. Bagby, Ph.D., Missouri State Department of Health Frederick Adams, D.D.S., M.P.H., Connecticut State Department of Health Donald E. Pizzini, M.E.S., Montana' State Department of Health William T. Wallace, M.D., New Hampshire State Department of Health Ronald Fletcher, M.D., Ohio State Department of Health H. Denman Scott, M.D., M.P.H., Rhode Island State Department of Health Thomas Vernon, M.D., Colorado State Department of Health Robert M. Wentz, M.D., North Dakota State Department of Health Morris Green, M.D., Indiana State Department of Health Ronald H. Levine, M.D., North Carolina State Department of Health James W. Alley, M.D., Georgia State Department of Health Charles Mahan, M.D., Florida State Department of Health Kristine Gebbie, R.N., Washington State Department of Health