The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, shall, subject to subsections (b) through (d) of this section, make grants in accordance with section 300ff–13 of this title for the purpose of assisting in the provision of the services specified in section 300ff–14 of this title in any metropolitan area for which there has been reported to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention a cumulative total of more than 2,000 cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome for the most recent period of 5 calendar years for which such data are available.

The Secretary may not make a grant under subsection (a) of this section for a metropolitan area unless, before making any payments under the grant, the cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome reported for purposes of such subsection have been confirmed by the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a metropolitan area that was an eligible area under this part for fiscal year 1996 is an eligible area for fiscal year 1997 and each subsequent fiscal year.