Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2004

FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004

AMENDMENT NO. 1966

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would like to speak for a few moments on behalf of an amendment that I believe is now pending, offered by Senator DeWine and myself relative to global AIDS.

I thank Senator Mike DeWine for his amazing leadership on public health issues, particularly relating to the Third World. Most of my colleagues are not aware of the commitment Senator DeWine and his wife Fran have made to the island of Haiti, which they have visited, as I understand, 15 different times. I was fortunate to join him on one of those trips a few months back and to meet with some of the poorest people in the world, who happen to live in our backyard. They are suffering from the worst conditions you can imagine and, sadly, also being devastated by their own AIDS epidemic.

Senator DeWine has, through his family and friends, politically committed himself to the people of Haiti. I believe this amendment he offers today is consistent with that commitment. That is why I am honored to be his cosponsor on this amendment relative to global AIDS, which takes an important step forward in meeting a pledge America has made.

Senator DeWine said Friday, when he introduced our amendment, this is clearly the right thing to do. If we want to put this into perspective, our headlines every day focus on the war on terrorism and the situation in Iraq, as they should; but Secretary of State Colin Powell very eloquently told the U.N. a few days ago what his perspective was. I will quote that:
AIDS is more devastating than any terrorist attack, any conflict or any weapon of mass destruction.

He went on to say:

It kills indiscriminately, and without mercy. As cruel as any tyrant, the virus can crush the human spirit. It is an insidious and relentless foe. AIDS shatters families, tears the fabric of societies, and undermines governments. AIDS can destroy countries and destabilize entire regions.

That is what Secretary of State Colin Powell said to the U.N. I think it is an appropriate introduction in the consideration of this important amendment. This is becoming the worst plague the world has ever seen. Imagine those words for a moment, when we consider the plagues throughout the history of the world. Already, 25 million people have been killed by HIV/AIDS. Eight thousand people die from AIDS every day—that is 8,000 mothers, fathers, and children. Today, another 42 million people around the world face a death sentence from AIDS because they have no access to treatment. It can cost as little as a dollar a day.

As parents die, 14 million AIDS orphans have been left without the care and support they need. Unless we act soon, there will be 25 million AIDS orphans by the end of the decade.

Reflect for a moment on the scenes that we have seen in Liberia and other parts of Africa, where we find children carrying automatic weapons, hell-bent on violence and destruction—children who, frankly, have no parental supervision for a variety of reasons, but increasingly because their parents have died from the AIDS epidemic. The boys become predatory with these guns, destabilizing villages, societies, and governments, threatening violence on people in a wanton fashion. The girls, these AIDS orphans, sadly without education and support, many times turn to prostitution, perpetuating the cycle of infection which will then, of course, not only claim their lives but their children as well. That is the cycle of AIDS as we know it today. To think of orphans alone is a sad thought. To think as orphans as predators, or orphans who are young girls who become submissive in societies and perpetuate sexual disease is to really take to heart the comments of Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Each year the world loses a population greater than the population of the city of Chicago, which I represent. We lose a population greater than that to AIDS. We know how to stop these deaths. It is not hopeless. For those who have given up and say this is God's verdict on people who deserve it one way or another, they are not only wrong morally, they are wrong medically.

According to the World Health Organization, 5 million to 6 million HIV-infected people in developing countries immediately need treatment. Fewer than 1 percent of medically eligible people in Africa now have access to treatment. Less than 1 percent have access to treatment today.

The World Health Organization declared AIDS an emergency and promised to treat 3 million people by 2005. It is not going to happen.

Current global spending on AIDS is now less than half of the bare-bones budget, $10.5 million, that is needed to reach this goal. We know what the goal should be. We have set the goal. America has joined in setting it with the World Health Organization, and we are going to utterly fail in meeting this goal.

According to Global HIV Prevention Working Group, current prevention spending falls $3.8 billion short of what is needed by 2005. If we close this prevention gap, if we meet the goals we have set—those of us in the West who are blessed with the best hospitals, doctors, and technology in the world—we can prevent 29 million to 45 million infections by 2010.

As the CIA director, Mr. Tenet, recently said about AIDS:

Is this a security issue? You bet it is. With more than 40 million people infected right now, a figure that—by 2010—may reach 100 million, AIDS is building dangerous momentum in regions beyond Africa.
As the disease spreads, it unravels social structures, decimates populations, and destabilizes entire nations.

The National Intelligence Council found that in five of the world's most populous nations, the number of HIV-infected people will grow to an estimated 50 million to 75 million by 2010. AIDS is particularly devastating national armies around the world that ensure stability. In South Africa, according to the RAND Institute, some military units have infection rates as high as 90 percent.

This amendment will add $289 million in funding to the battle against AIDS. The President pledged the U.S. would come forward with $15 billion over 5 years. This Congress went on record saying we would spend $3 billion this year. The DeWine-Durbin amendment moves us to $2.4 billion. We are still not where we promised we would be. But we must take this important step forward. I urge my colleagues to join me.

As Majority Leader Frist said so well:

History will judge whether a world led by America stood by and let transpire one of the greatest destructions of human life in recorded history—or performed one of its most heroic rescues.

We can spare babies from AIDS. We can give mothers hope. We can give families an opportunity to survive. I have been to Africa. I have met these people. I have sat with them. I have cried with them over their plight in this world today. I have left feeling helpless and determined to come to this floor, as often as God gives me the strength to stand behind this desk, and fight that we will have money in our budget to meet the promise we have given to these poor people around the world.

No one else, no other nation, is as rich as the United States. No other nation has stepped forward with this massive commitment. The DeWine-Durbin amendment today moves us closer. We reached $2.4 billion. We are still about $600 million short of what we promised. After this amendment is considered, I will offer an amendment to make up that difference.

I implore my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, do what is right today, not only for the stability of the world but to give hope to people around the world who wonder if anyone notices and anyone is listening. We notice, we are listening, and the DeWine-Durbin amendment, with so many cosponsors, will move us toward providing hope to these families for a future.

I yield the floor.