The House handily defeated an attempt to include mandatory testing for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the homeless relief bill (HR 558) March 5, [1987] but the amendment’s author said he was encouraged that 100 colleagues joined him in voting for the measure….The action marked the first time the House has voted on the sensitive issue of mandatory testing for the deadly disease.
Julie Rovner, “AIDS vote gauges support for tests” in the 1987 Congressional Quarterly, quoted in Ken Kyle’s “Contextualizing Homelessness: Critical Theory, Homelessness, and Federal Policy Addressing the Homeless”
Kyle goes on to say about this quote:
“Although the amendment was not adopted, it still serves as evidence that the homeless were politically weak. When considered in light of the widespread and very vocal opposition to any mandatory AIDS testing policy, the fact that the homeless were targeted for the first federal legislation mandating AIDS testing is telling. This suggests that the amendment’s sponsors thought that the homeless could not effectively retaliate against this intrusive and discriminatory policy (i.e., it seemed unlikely they could muster enough support to vote the policy’s supporters out of office). Conversely, this exemplifies the type of policy directed at politically weak target populations.” (bolding mine)
