Durbin, Santorum Share Commitment to Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS
DURBIN, SANTORUM SHARE COMMITMENT TO GLOBAL FUND TO FIGHT HIV/AIDS
Senators Press Budget Committee to Fully Fund U.S. Share of International HIV/AIDS Assistance
Thursday, March 10, 2005
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rick Santorum (R-PA) today expressed their shared commitment to fully fund the United States' portion of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria at a total of $800 million in fiscal year 2006. If supported, these funding levels will provide $3.7 billion for all international HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria programs in fiscal year 2006.
Senators Santorum and Durbin sent a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Budget to underscore the importance of the United States' commitment to international HIV/AIDS assistance programs. In the letter dated March 5, 2005, Senators Santorum and Durbin stated, "We urge you to add these funds as the Committee considers the fiscal year 2006 Budget Resolution. If the Committee is unable to add an additional $500 million for the Global Fund, we intend to pursue a floor amendment to add these funds when the budget resolution is taken up by the full Senate."
"The global crisis of AIDS is not a partisan or a political issue. It is first and foremost a human issue," said Durbin. "Every country and every person must accept responsibility but the United States, as the world's wealthiest and most powerful nation, should take the lead in securing resources to fight the global AIDS pandemic. No one should lose access to life-saving treatment because the U.S. didn't come up with our share of the needed funds, which is why Senator Santorum and I are working to fully fund our nation's portion of the Global Fund."
"The HIV/AIDS pandemic has reached a staggering proportion. At the end of 2004, an estimated 40 million people were living with HIV/AIDS. The United States has been an important leader in the effort to fight these infectious diseases and as a result of our efforts, many people are now receiving antiretroviral therapy treatment," said Senator Santorum. "This is one of the most consequential issues of our time and we cannot afford to avoid responding to this crisis. We must continue our commitment of compassion and work in a bipartisan fashion to ensure that the efforts to fight these diseases know no political boundaries. If an amendment to the fiscal year 2006 Budget Resolution is necessary, I hope my colleagues in the Senate will join Senator Durbin and me in adding $500 million to the Global Fund."
Roughly 34 million people have died from HIV/AIDS since the start of the epidemic. An estimated 77 million have been infected. And the disease shows no sign of slowing. Durbin noted that just last week, the United Nations Joint Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) projected that AIDS could kill as many as 83 million people in Africa alone by the year 2025.
http://durbin.senate.gov/releases.cfm