President's Commission on the HIV Epidemic

The President’s Commission on the HIV Epidemic was a commission formed by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1987 to investigate the AIDS epidemic. It is also known as the Watkins Commission, for its chairman, James D. Watkins.

History
James Watkins, who chaired the ten-member Commission, won the support of many AIDS-awareness advocates when his conservative panel unexpectedly recommended supporting antibias laws to protect HIV-positive people, on-demand treatment for drug addicts, and the speeding of AIDS-related research.

During a press conference in 1988, Watkins said “Semen, blood, and ignorance surround this epidemic, and we were in that last category.”

The Commission submitted 597 recommendations to the Reagan Administration.

Controversy
President Ronald Reagan is often criticized by AIDS-awareness groups for responding too little, too late to the growing cries for an inquiry into rapidly-spreading HIV.

Critics of Reagan's response to the Commission's findings state that the recommendations of the Commission went largely ignored by both the Reagan Administration and its successor, the Bush administration.