WILLIAM P. CLEMENTS JR. Remarks Texas Government AIDS Conference April 5, 1988 Austin I am gratified to see so many of the people who keep state government moving ahead. Because of your efforts and your support, we are turning our state around. We are redirecting our priorities and pursuing programs of sound fiscal management and economic diversity. It's time we also focus on AIDS and its impact on our state. Five years ago this month, we began counting the number of AIDS cases 4,n Texas. Already, we have hit number 4,000. Fewer than 1,800 of those people are still living. Dr. Bernstein tells me that there is no way we can keep that number from growing by the thousands. What's more, he says that there are -- without a doubt -- well over 100,000 Texans who are infected and face some degree of illness, and possibly AIDS and death within the next decade. Make no mistake about it: AIDS will impact every facet of our state. It will hit our health-care and educational systems, our economy, our politics and even our social structure. We have to be ready for a real fight. But one thing that Texans have excelled at in the past 152 years is fighting and winning, especially when we join forces against a common enemy. When we battle AIDS together -- as a team -- all of us, all of Texas, will win. Good luck to you all, and thank you for participating here today. END
