[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1485 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1485

 To provide additional appropriations for the fiscal year 2003 for the 
MTCT-Plus Initiative at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public 
                                Health.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 27, 2003

    Ms. Millender-McDonald introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Appropriations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide additional appropriations for the fiscal year 2003 for the 
MTCT-Plus Initiative at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public 
                                Health.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mother-to-Child Transmission Plus 
Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2003.''

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Any truly effective program to make significant inroads 
        in addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic must go beyond just 
        breaking the cycle of transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother-to-
        child to a program that takes care of the whole family after 
        the birth of the child (mother-to-child transmission plus, or 
        MTCT-Plus).
            (2) For societies to continue providing food, education, 
        healthcare, shelter, and other basic necessities of life, 
        saving the child is not enough; continued care of the mother, 
        father and other adult family members is necessary for the 
        child to grow and thrive.
            (3) Each year, more than 2.5 million women become infected, 
        more than 500,000 transmit the virus to their infants and more 
        than 1.5 million women die each year from AIDS. Groundbreaking 
        progress has been made in the prevention of mother-to-child 
        transmission. However, these programs offer no HIV care for the 
        mothers themselves. The tragedy is that most of the children 
        saved by MTCT programs are likely to be motherless by the time 
        they can walk.
            (4) Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, 
        the United Nations, and a coalition of private foundations have 
        committed $50 million to provide life-long care and treatment 
        to more than 10,000 women, children, and other family members 
        in a family-centered care model that can be replicated around 
        the world.

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2003.

    (a) Appropriation.--In addition to such sums as are otherwise 
appropriated for the fiscal year 2003, there are appropriated $75 
million to Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health for 
its MTCT-Plus Initiative, which has committed funds from the 
cooperation of private foundations and the United Nations for the first 
major multi-country, family-centered AIDS treatment program for 
developing countries in Africa and Asia.
    (b) Availability of Funds.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, sums appropriated under subsection (a) shall remain available 
until expended.
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