Global AIDS Bill

Floor Speech

GLOBAL AIDS BILL -- (Senate - June 26, 2008)

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, many of us on the Democratic side have disagreed with the President's policies--on the war in Iraq, on the economy, on education, and health care.

But an overwhelming majority of us, on both sides of the aisle, find common ground in our support for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR.

The President believes this program is one of the hallmarks of his administration. I agree. I think it is his most positive achievement as President of the United States.

In fact, I believe it is an important illustration of American smart power, a resource we have both squandered and underutilized in recent years.

Smart power is the idea that America's strength resonates not only from its military power but from the power of its ideas, the power of its values, its generosity and diplomacy.

I worry that a measure of this leadership has been lost recently. We are in a struggle of ideas across the world. Many of our harshest critics paint a picture of the United States that is not even close to reality.

When you consider the purpose of this bill--to prevent 12 million new infections; support treatment for at least 3 million people; and provide care for another 12 million, including 5 million vulnerable children--it is easy to see it as an expression of American values--of generosity and caring for those in need.

The success of the PEPFAR program has brought us a long way since 2003, when only 50,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa were receiving treatment. Today, PEPFAR and the Global Fund jointly support nearly 2 million people on treatment, primarily in Africa.

That is remarkable progress in just 5 years. The situation on the ground has been literally transformed through the support and generosity of the American people.

We should be proud of this achievement. But, as U.S. Global AIDS coordinator Dr. Mark Dybul has reminded us many times, ``We cannot treat our way out of this epidemic.'' To build on this progress, we are going to have to integrate our treatment efforts with other prevention activities.

Epidemics do not occur in isolation. If a person goes hungry or doesn't have safe water to drink, her antiretroviral drugs will not be effective. If there are not enough doctors or nurses in her village, she will not receive the care she needs to overcome this terrible disease.

It is essential to integrate treatment with prevention, health workforce capacity development, and other important public health efforts on the ground. We need to move away from an emergency posture to one that encourages sustainability for the long term.

This bill--the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008--helps us do that.

The President has urged Congress to send him this important bill before the end of the year.

In March, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the bill on an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 18 to 3. Our colleagues in the House passed a similar measure with a resounding vote--308 to 116--a few weeks later.

Some of the most vulnerable parts of the world have been ravaged by AIDS, TB and malaria. Through this bill, we have an opportunity to turn the tide on these terrible diseases.

Around the world, all eyes are on the U.S. Senate.

Although it has been a long 2 1/2 months of negotiation with those who placed holds on the bill--and I applaud Senator BIDEN and Senator LUGAR on their tenacity and leadership in reaching an agreement last night to finally advance this bill.

I urge my colleagues to do the right thing and to support this vital, life-saving legislation.

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