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Loading ...Bush Signs AIDS Bill
07.31.2008 7:11am EDT
(Washington) President Bush signed legislation Wednesday that triples U.S. funding to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis around the world.
Bush said the program, launched by him in 2003, “is the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in human history.”
The president signed the bill in the ornate East Room of the White House, surrounded by lawmakers and people affected by AIDS whom he met on his February trip to Africa.
The legislation is a rare case of relatively easy cooperation between the Democratic-controlled Congress and the White House. It passed the House last week by a 303-115 vote and the Senate earlier in the month by a vote of 80-16.
It renews Bush’s original five-year, $15 billion program called the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which was set to expire in September.
Some GOP conservatives questioned the new plan’s sharp spending increase. But most on both sides of the aisle, and in groups that advocate both health initiatives and Africa, praised the U.S. aid for boosting America’s reputation abroad.
Bush diverted from broader remarks to issue a personal appeal to those stricken with AIDS.
“Don’t let shame keep you from getting tested or treated,” he said. “Your life is treasured by the people who love you. … It matters to the people of the United States.”
The AIDS initiative has so far supported care for nearly 7 million people and helped deliver lifesaving anti-retroviral drugs to about 1.7 million HIV-positive people. With the AIDS pandemic now affecting 33 million people worldwide, both Democrats and Republicans have called it one of the most significant accomplishments of the Bush presidency.
The program’s five-year renewal comes with some significant changes that took months to negotiate: a third of prevention funds will no longer be reserved for abstinence education; a “conscience clause” gives religious groups the right to refuse participation; more focus is placed on women and girls; and HIV-positive people will find it easier to get visas into the United States.
Bush said the goal for the new funding is to prevent 12 million new HIV infections, treat more than 2 million with anti-retroviral drugs, support care for 12 million and train at least 140,000 new health care workers.
Great. I don’t begrudge the money to the Third World, but now let’s see the BuschReich reverse the eight years of neglect and budget cuts in their DOMESTIC HIV-AIDS programs … like the 24-month LIFETIME limit on housing assistance. People with HIV-AIDS will still be disabled in 24 months; they will still need housing. Or the cuts in In-Home Support Services care workers. People with HIV-AIDS still need IHSS workers, and they WON’T need them for FEWER hours. My partner has end-stage AIDS. There are TWENTY THOUSAND people ahead of us on the Section 8 / senior / subsidized housing lists in San Diego. I was APPALLED to see HIV-AIDS a distant THIRD in your poll of GLBT political priorities.
Father Raymond Clark
Superior, Retired
Community of the Resurrection
San Diego, CA
Huzzah! I’ve voted against the man twice, and have been supportive of VERY LITTLE he’s EVER even touched, but for ONCE I am proud of my president. Not only did he get the ball rolling on this, he’s never turned this into a partisan fight (something he’s been really good at over 8 years) and even supported lifting the travel restrictions. I think this will show that the US can still be one of the greatest countries on the planet–though we still have a long way to go to wipe the slate clean.
Next stop: Apologize for the Native American genocide, support Armenian genocide claims, apologize for slavery, fix health care, fix education, get out of Iraq, forgive third world debt, apologize for causing more conflict in the middle east and end poverty and hunger. We’ve got a lot of work to do.
Oh yeah, don’t forget to GIVE EQUAL RIGHTS TO EVERY CITIZEN REGARDLESS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDENTITY! That’s a freaking doozie!