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Protesters Ask Kerry And Brown To Safeguard Social Programs

Members of the AIDS advocacy group ACT UP Boston demonstrate outside U.S. Sen. John Kerry's Beacon Hill home on Saturday. (Eric DelGizzo/WBUR)
Members of the AIDS advocacy group ACT UP Boston demonstrate outside U.S. Sen. John Kerry's Beacon Hill home on Saturday. (Eric DelGizzo/WBUR)

As pressure builds for Congress to reach a deal to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," protesters in Boston Saturday urged both U.S. senators from Massachusetts to protect social programs.

Members of the AIDS advocacy group ACT UP gathered in front of Sen. John Kerry's house on Beacon Hill. The activists say a compromise between Republicans and Democrats over tax hikes and budget cuts could end up hurting people with AIDS.

"Right now the conversation in Washington is all about increasing taxes for the rich," said Krishna Prabhu, a Harvard medical student and ACT UP organizer. "And they are being a little silent about what they are going to cut in terms of services. It makes us very, very frightened that they are going to cut services for the poor, including AIDS funding."

Earlier Saturday, another group gathered near Sen. Scott Brown's office to voice their concern that a deal on Capitol Hill could result in cuts to education and care for the elderly.

"We cannot let Scott Brown allow the wealthy to continue receiving their tax cuts at the expense of the middle class," said Samantha Nurick, who helped organize the event.

This program aired on December 1, 2012. The audio for this program is not available.

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