[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 94 (Friday, July 12, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6700-S6702]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TO AMEND FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT AND THE GLOBAL AIDS AND TUBERCULOSIS 
                               RELIEF ACT

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign 
Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 
2069 and the Senate proceed now to that matter.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Baucus). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 2069) to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 
     1961 to authorize assistance to prevent, treat, and monitor 
     HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa and other developing 
     countries.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to the immediate 
consideration of the bill.


                           Amendment No. 4297

   (Purpose: To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to increase 
   assistance for foreign countries seriously affected by HIV/AIDS, 
tuberculosis, and malaria; to amend the Public Health Service Act with 
respect to the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services 
  to act internationally with respect to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and 
                    malaria; and for other purposes)

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid], for Mr. Kerry, Mr. 
     Frist, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Biden, and Mr. Helms, proposes an 
     amendment numbered 4297.

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be 
dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments''.)


                           Amendment No. 4298

  Mr. REID. I send an amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid], for Mr. Kerry, Mr. 
     Frist, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Biden, and Mr. Helms, proposes an 
     amendment numbered 4298.

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be 
dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

                     (Purpose: To amend the title)

       Amend the title to read as follows: ``An Act to amend the 
     Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to increase assistance for 
     foreign countries seriously affected by HIV/AIDS, 
     tuberculosis, and malaria; to amend the Public Health Service 
     Act with respect to the authority of the Department of Health 
     and Human Services to act internationally with respect to 
     HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria; and for other 
     purposes.''.

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent both amendments at the desk be 
agreed to; the bill, as amended, be read the third time and passed; the 
motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, all with no intervening 
action or debate; and any statements be placed in the Record at the 
appropriate place as if read.
  Mr. SANTORUM. Reserving the right to object--and I will not object--
this is a very important piece of legislation for the continent of 
Africa and has to do with AIDS relief, tuberculosis, and other 
infectious diseases. There is a provision in this legislation that 
Senator Biden and I have offered on debt relief for Third World 
countries. This is a vitally important piece of legislation that 
dovetails very well with the President's initiative in trying to stem 
the scourge of AIDS in Africa and provide some hope for some of these 
heavily debt ridden countries.
  I am very pleased we were able to do this in wrap-up today. I will 
not object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 4297) was agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 4298) was agreed to.
  The bill (H.R. 2069), as amended, was read the third time and passed.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I am very pleased that we have just 
passed a bill that will give the President and his team the tools they 
will need to back up their words about fighting the scourge of HIV and 
AIDS with action.
  The omnibus HIV, AIDS, TB, and malaria authorization bill vastly 
increases our focus on treatment, giving hope to the millions of people 
already infected with this virus. It intensifies our ongoing prevention 
efforts. And it makes a new commitment to training local health care 
workers so that underdeveloped nations can create modern health 
infrastructures.
  The bill also authorizes nearly $5 billion over 2 years so that this 
commitment is matched with the resources to get it done. But unless we 
work in a bipartisan fashion to see that money appropriated, this bill 
offers little more

[[Page S6701]]

than false hope. I want to commend Senators Kennedy, Kerry, Biden, 
Helms, Frist, and Gregg for their leadership on this vital effort. And 
I want to ask the House of Representatives to match the commitment the 
Senate has shown.
  More than 20 million people have already died from HIV/AIDS. Last 
year, 5 million people contracted the virus, more than half of these 
new infections in young people. The UN estimates that 65 million more 
people could die by 2020. These numbers are so horrible as to seem 
unreal. But they are real, and we must act. Nothing we can do here is 
the solution--but today the Senate is taking a step, and a meaningful 
one.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, first of all I thank our majority leader 
for his leadership in the development of this legislation, which is 
true bipartisan legislation. It is the United States Leadership on HIV/
AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act to deal with the AIDS pandemic that 
is most evident in the continent of Africa, and also expanding it 
through India, central Asia, China, and so many parts of the Third 
World.
  I am grateful to him for his persistence in making sure that this 
legislation would pass just a few moments ago. I thank him and I thank 
the cooperation of our Republican leader as well, making sure the 
Senate would go on record, as it did a few moments ago, in favor of 
this extremely important legislation.
  At the outset I want to acknowledge the very strong leadership of my 
friends and colleagues in this body who have been very much involved in 
shaping and helping develop this legislation: Senator Kerry, my 
colleague from Massachusetts, who had introduced very similar 
legislation with members of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senators 
Biden, Boxer, Daschle, DeWine, Dodd, Durbin, Feingold, Frist, Hagel, 
Helms, Leahy, Lugar, Santorum, Sarbanes, Smith of Oregon, and 
Wellstone. This is truly not only bipartisan, but it is also a real 
reflection from all different philosophies, of the recognition that the 
United States has an important opportunity--in many respects, a 
responsibility--to take action.
  I am grateful to all those Members for their support of our 
legislation. I also thank a number of our colleagues, Senators Edwards, 
Feinstein, Frist, Harkin, Jeffords, Mikulski, Murray, and Reed, who are 
strong supporters of this program.
  We, in America, know the pain and the loss that this disease cruelly 
inflicts. Millions of our fellow citizens--men, women, and children--
are infected with HIV/AIDS, and far too many have lost their lives.

  While we still seek a cure to AIDS, we have learned to help those 
infected by the virus to lead long and productive lives through the 
miracle of prescription drugs. But this disease knows no boundaries. It 
travels across borders to infect innocent people in every continent 
across the globe. We have an obligation to continue the fight against 
this disease at home. But we should also share what we have learned to 
help those in other countries in this life-and-death battle. And we 
must do all we can to provide new resources to help those who cannot 
afford today's therapies. We must carry the fight against AIDS to every 
corner of the globe, and the legislation passed this afternoon is a 
step in that direction.
  The United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and 
Malaria Act of 2002 provides new legal authority and funding to our 
nation's strongest health care agencies to join the global battle 
against AIDS. It promotes models of community-based care that reach the 
real people affected by this disease; better access to the research and 
therapies needed to prevent transmission of this deadly disease; and 
most importantly, funds research and treatment models to prevent 
transmission of HIV/AIDS from mothers to their infants including the 
family support service necessary to stem the orphan crisis.
  Governments can make the difference in battling this epidemic. When 
governments in poor countries have been provided resources to fight the 
spread of AIDS, infection rates have dropped 80 percent. With this 
legislation, the United States will do its part to support countries to 
turn the corner on AIDS on their own.
  I am pleased that the administration increased funding for the fight 
against the global AIDS epidemic, and together with this legislation, 
we can truly lead the international community in the fight against the 
greatest public health threat of our times.
  I have a summary of the legislation that I ask unanimous consent to 
have printed in the Record. I think it will help people better 
understand the aspects of the legislation that can really not only make 
an immediate lifesaving difference to millions of our fellow human 
beings in Africa but to those other Third World countries as well.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

Summary of the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, 
                        and Malaria Act of 2002

       The bill strikes all after the enacting clause of the 
     House-passed HIV/AIDS bill (HR. 2069) and inserts S. 2525 
     (Kerry) and S. 2649 (Kennedy). Both bills have broad bi-
     partisan support.
       S. 2525 (Kerry) was co-sponsored by Senators Biden, Boxer, 
     Daschle, DeWine, Dodd, Durbin, Feingold, Frist, Hagel, Helms, 
     Leahy, Lugar, Santorum, Sarbanes, Smith (OR), and Wellstone. 
     S. 2649 (Kennedy) was co-sponsored by Senators Bingaman, 
     Clinton, Corzine, Daschle, DeWine, Dodd, Durbin, Edwards, 
     Feinstein, Frist, Harkin, Jeffords, Mikulski, Murray, Reed, 
     Santorum, and Sarbanes.
       The S. 2525 portion of the bill would:
       Mandate a comprehensive, integrated 5-year U.S. government 
     strategy for promoting goals and objectives of the June 2001 
     UN General Assembly Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS;
       Require the U.S. Agency for International Development 
     (USAID) to develop an ``empowerment of women'' plan, 
     including provision of currently available technologies to 
     prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS;
       Create a new HIV/AIDS Response Coordinator in the 
     Department of State;
       Create a new Health Care Provider Service and Training 
     Program enabling American health care professionals to 
     provide basic health care services and on-the-ground training 
     to African and other countries severely affected by HIV/AIDS, 
     tuberculosis and malaria; and
       Require a comprehensive report on U.S. efforts to increase 
     access to treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS.
       The bill would authorize more than $4.5 billion over two 
     years for U.S. efforts to fight global HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis 
     and malaria. Of this, $2.152 billion would be authorized in 
     FY 2003, including $1 billion for the Global Fund to Fight 
     HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and $2.521 billion 
     would be authorized in FY 2004, including $1.2 billion for 
     the global Fund.
       The bill would require a new 5-year strategy to meet or 
     exceed the maternal-to-child transmission (MTCT) goals in the 
     UN Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS; create a new 
     Assistance to Children Program to provide care and treatment 
     to parents and/or care givers infected with HIV; and mandate 
     a comprehensive report on U.S. government MTCT and MTCT plus 
     programs.
       The bill would authorize expansion of the Enhanced Heavily 
     Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative to achieve debt 
     reduction for health programs; expand the Department of 
     Defense's HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Program to include 
     countries beyond Africa and international peacekeepers; and 
     set forth an HIV/AIDS Code of Conduct for U.S. Businesses 
     Abroad.
       Funding levels for this portion of the bill are summarized 
     in the attached chart.
       The S. 2649 portion of the bill would: authorize $400 
     million (in 2003) for the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention (CDC) and Health Resources Services Administration 
     (HRSA) to work in collaboration with USAID to carry out care, 
     treatment, and capacity building for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and 
     tuberculosis in countries with, or at-risk for severe HIV/
     AIDS epidemics.
       The bill would authorize $50 million (in both 2003 and 
     2004) for grants for clinical education and training in the 
     delivery of HIV/AIDS care and treatment services; authorize 
     $45 million (in 2003) and $30 million (in 2004), out of 
     amounts authorized under Prevention and Treatment, for 
     public-private partnerships to prevent mother-to-child 
     transmission; provide for inter-agency coordination of global 
     HIV/AIDS initiatives under the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services (HHS); direct the HHS Secretary to write a strategic 
     plan to carry out and support microbicide research, develop 
     research teams through contacts with private and public 
     entities, and report to Congress on this initiative; and 
     authorize $10 million (in 2003) for the Department of Labor 
     for work-based prevention and education programs that protect 
     against discrimination, promote on-site wellness, and 
     strengthen collaboration among governmental, business, and 
     labor leaders.

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I thank the Chair. I suggest the absence 
of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.

[[Page S6702]]

  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________