House Overwhelmingly Approves Renewal And Tripling Of Successful U.S. Global AIDS Prevention Effort

Thanks to a
bipartisan compromise brokered by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard
L. Berman (D-CA), the House voted overwhelmingly to expand the
landmark U.S. effort to combat HIV/AIDS worldwide that, during the past
five years, has saved millions of lives.


Despite efforts by some Republican members of Congress to limit the
funding it provides, the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global
Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act
(H.R. 5501) was approved 306 to 116. It renews the mandate of an initiative
proposed by the President in January 2003 to combat these three lethal
diseases; the legislation authorizing this initiative expires in September.
The Foreign Affairs Committee passed a five-year reauthorization with a
bipartisan voice vote on February 27.



Berman argued for the reauthorization on the House floor today, noting,
"As a direct result of the extraordinarily successful law we passed five
years ago, the United States has provided life-saving drugs to nearly 1.5
million men, women and children; supported care for nearly 7 million
people, including 2.7 million orphans and vulnerable children; and
prevented an estimated 150,000 infant infections around the world."



He also pointed out the program's sometimes-overlooked foreign policy
significance. "The 2003 legislation firmly established the United States as
the leading provider in the world of HIV/AIDS assistance for prevention,
treatment and care," Berman said. "It has reminded the global community
that Americans are a compassionate and generous people, and so has helped
to repair our nation's badly-damaged image overseas. In many ways, that
legislation has had great healing power."



The 2003 law provided the U.S. global health effort $15 billion over
five years; the legislation passed by the House today authorizes $50
billion for the next five years. The President had called for only a $30
billion reauthorization, and the White House renewed that call just after
the February committee vote; nevertheless, yesterday the Administration
issued a statement strongly supporting the legislation. Some members of
Congress this week sought amendments to cut the program's budget back to
$15 billion, but they did not succeed.



The new measure contains provisions that move the global HIV/AIDS
program beyond the "emergency" phase of implementation under the
President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and seeks to make
the programs that it supports more sustainable over the long term. It
dramatically boosts HIV/AIDS programming related to women and girls;
strengthens health systems in countries hard-hit by the virus that causes
AIDS; authorizes HIV/AIDS programs to include linkages to food and
nutrition, education and health care programs; and increases U.S.
contributions to the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.



The legislation overturns the controversial and ineffective 1/3
abstinence-only requirement that applies to global HIV/AIDS prevention
funding, which was included in the 2003 law over the objections of the
then-Democratic minority. This restriction has subsequently proven to
hamper the effectiveness of health care efforts in the field, as documented
in recent, independent reports by the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Instead, the Executive
Branch will be directed to promote a "balanced" prevention program in all
countries where the program operates, including every element of the
Abstinence, "Be Faithful," and Condoms (ABC) approach toward HIV
transmission prevention.



Making his case before his House colleagues today, Berman talked about
these changes and the process of negotiation and compromise that led to the
current version of the legislation. In closing, he pointed to the project's
real bottom line: "Each and every day, another 6000 people become infected
with HIV. We have a moral imperative to act, and to act decisively."


House Committee on Foreign Affairs

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