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UNITED STATES - DECEMBER 07: Rep. Donna M. Christian-Christensen, D-Virgin Is.., Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., talk to reporters about urging the House on Thursday to complete work on a renewal of programs for low-income AIDS patients, focusing pressure on Texas Republican Joe L. Barton. Barton is delaying House action on the AIDS bill (HR 6143) in order to pressure the Senate to act on an unrelated measure (HR 6164) he wrote that would restructure the National Institutes of Health. The attempted quid pro quo, AIDS activists and some Democrats said, was inappropriate. "It seems to me to be a game of chicken," Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., said at a news conference organized by several AIDS groups. "It's a shame to me that Barton would do that." At stake is legislation that would reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act (PL 101-381), which governs about $2 billion in assistance to AIDS and HIV patients. After months of negotiations, the Senate on Tuesday amended and then passed the House bill, largely negotiated by Barton. (Photo by Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images)