Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthoization Act of 2008
Floor Speech
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Mr. HOYER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Congratulations to the chairman of the committee. He is an extraordinary individual whom I have known for four decades. He will do an excellent job. We lament the loss, however, of the two individuals for whom this bill is named.
I want to congratulate my good friend, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, as well for her leadership, and I want to associate myself generally with the remarks of the previous speaker. And I think it is emblematic of the partnership that we have, not only with the administration, but on both sides of the aisle as it relates to this moral, as well as health, issue, and I thank the gentleman for his comments.
Madam Chairman, 5 years ago, the United States made an unprecedented commitment to the people of the world who suffer from HIV and AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other diseases. We pledged $15 billion, and with that funding, we have provided life-saving drugs to almost a million and a half people. We facilitated care for over 2 million orphans and vulnerable children and provided mother-to-child transmission prevention services during more than 6 million pregnancies.
We have played a very real role in helping to transform HIV from a death sentence to a manageable disease.
And, Madam Chairman, as I said 5 years ago when we first passed this legislation, we must recognize that our Nation and each one of us has a moral obligation and a national security interest, as has been spoken of, in combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as malaria and tuberculosis.
Today, with this legislation, the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act, we build on and increase our commitment to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Through this legislation, we make a $50 billion contribution to the fight to eradicate HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. In addition to expanding our prior efforts, this carefully negotiated legislation will strengthen HIV-related healthcare delivery systems and increase health workforce capacities; foster stronger relationships between HIV/AIDS initiatives and other support programs, including those that promote better nutrition and education; allow HIV/AIDS testing and counseling to be provided in the United States bilateral family planning programs, and it finances prevention and treatment programs targeting women and girls.
This bill, Madam Chairman, also eliminates an ineffective requirement: that one-third of PEPFAR prevention funds be spent on abstinence. Instead, we have directed the administration to create a balanced approach requiring behavioral change programs to receive 50 percent of the funds devoted to the prevention of sexual transmission of HIV, and in addition, we require the administration to report to Congress if programs in nations where the epidemic has become generalized do not adhere to this balanced approach. This legislation represents both commitment and compromise.
It will not make everyone happy, but it does signal to the international community that the United States recognizes and accepts our moral obligation to act.
Last year alone, 2.5 million people contracted HIV, roughly 6,800 people per day. Last year alone, 2.1 million people died of HIV. Global AIDS is a problem too large to fall prey to political sport.
My very good friend, the late Chairman Lantos, noted 5 years ago that this health care crisis ruins families, communities, and indeed, whole nations, fueling violence and bloodshed across borders. And thus, it is a global challenge that demands a global humanitarian response with the United States in the lead.
Madam Chairman, this is a very good bill. It builds on proven outcomes, and it deserves the support of the Members on both sides of the aisle.
And again, I congratulate Chairman Berman and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen on their leadership on this effort.
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