[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 13, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6036-S6037]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                HIV/AIDS

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, the sequence we just walked through is very 
important. The sense of urgency for the HIV/AIDS legislation, for me, 
really boils down to the fact that every 10 seconds somebody is dying 
from this little virus, and that is something that is going to take 
leadership from the United States--the President, the Senate, and the 
House of Representatives--to act upon. Indeed, the President has acted; 
the House of Representatives has acted. The last hurdle to the reality 
of the United States being the true world leader in fighting HIV/AIDS 
is this body. When every 10 seconds a person is dying and we can make a 
difference, it becomes urgent, not just to this physician but to the 
Congress and to the United States.
  Following the jobs and growth package this week, we will immediately 
turn to H.R. 1298, which is the bipartisan United States Leadership 
Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003. I plan to 
bring that to the floor as soon as we complete the jobs and growth 
package and to complete it this week. It is my hope we will have good 
debate. We will have good debate. There are people on both sides of the 
aisle who have participated aggressively in the discussion and, indeed, 
have moved legislation--not successfully--but moved legislation forward 
in this body. We will have the debate. We will dispose of the 
amendments and proceed to final passage by the end of this week on this 
urgent issue.
  For the past 5 years, I have worked with Senators on both sides of 
the aisle, and House Members, all of whom are devoted to the idea that 
the United States can and, even more importantly, must play a leading 
role in our response to this global health crisis. It has taken a long 
time for people throughout the world, indeed the United States and--
maybe a little bit longer than I and others would like--for the 
Congress to realize what a moral crisis, what a public health crisis 
this pandemic is, all caused by a virus, an infection which emerged in 
this country about 22 years ago--in 1981, not that long ago.
  In previous Congresses, we passed legislation at the committee level. 
Sweeping legislation to accomplish the establishment of the U.S. 
leadership on the virus has been considered, but it has never made it 
into law. Now we have that opportunity. Indeed, I am committed to see 
that we seize that opportunity this week with no delays because it is 
such a huge global issue, an issue which I regard as one of the 
greatest moral challenges we have seen in this country in the last 100 
years.
  I have chosen to begin our debate with H.R. 1298 because it is the 
bill that offers us the best hope that we can get the job done in an 
expeditious fashion and one that best assimilates the thoughts and 
ideas and works of past legislation from this body, on both sides of 
the aisle, as well as in the House of Representatives.
  What is making it possible now, after 5 years of working on this 
issue personally, again with colleagues from both sides of the aisle--
it is very clear--is the leadership of the President of the United 
States. It was his statement in the State of the Union Address this 
year where the President didn't just use rhetoric or give lipservice to 
the fight against this virus, but he made an unprecedented commitment 
to this public health challenge in a 5-year, $15 billion effort to 
combat HIV/AIDS globally. It was unprecedented. The President has 
claimed for our Nation the leading role in fighting this aggressive 
virus, this destructive virus, a virus that daily continues to take the 
lives of thousands of innocents, resulting in about 13 to 14 million 
young children today as orphans, and even that number will go to 30 to 
40 million over the next 15 years.

[[Page S6037]]

  It should be recognized that the bipartisan bill we will consider is 
a product of a lot of work. People say it is a House-written bill. If 
you look at it, first, it is overwhelmingly bipartisan; secondly, if 
you read through the legislation, you see that it draws upon much of 
the effort from this body, on both sides of the aisle, from the various 
committees, that have addressed emerging infections in the past--from 
this body as well as the House.
  In the pages of that legislation, we will find much that is familiar 
in the proposals we have tried to pass before. Thus, Democrats and 
Republicans, once they read the bill, can claim satisfaction by finding 
that many of the provisions have been authored from Members on both 
sides of the aisle. That is the bill that is so close to becoming law. 
That is the bill we will be debating.
  The consensus on the legislation to fight global HIV/AIDS is deep, 
but I have to say it is very narrow. I don't reveal any secrets in 
acknowledging that there are very strong differences around the margins 
of this debate. But what is truly remarkable--people will see this as 
they look at the legislation itself, and I find it very encouraging--is 
that we have come to this point of consensus that will permit us to get 
this bill through this last hurdle, through the Congress, and to the 
President of the United States.
  The bill we bring to the floor does offer a 5-year plan, $15 billion 
to combat HIV/AIDS on a global scale. The bipartisan support is 
reflected in the fact that only one House Democrat voted against this 
bipartisan compromise bill. Thus, it is not a Republican bill; it is 
not a Democrat bill; it is a bipartisan bill.
  The vote in the House of Representatives was 375 to 41. The President 
and White House staff have reviewed the House bill, and the White House 
has informed me that the President would sign this bill as it currently 
stands. This means that Senate passage is the only remaining hurdle in 
the way of this 5-year, $15 billion commitment by the United States of 
America in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.
  We must pass this bill. We must pass this bill this week. I know some 
of my colleagues would change the legislation and tweak it, given the 
opportunity. I know some would add a little here and take away some 
there, change the language as it is written. In a perfect world, I 
would like to make several changes in the bill that I think have some 
merit. But as someone who has invested years of my own life, in terms 
of developing the legislation in this fight against AIDS and in 
educating others about this issue, and as a physician and someone who 
is familiar with infectious disease and has experience in treating this 
virus very directly, I have reflected on ultimately what is most 
important.
  My conclusion is that it is important for us to pass this legislation 
now and get this program established without further delay--not 6 
months from now, not 3 months from now, not a month from now. It is a 
moral issue, and history will ultimately judge how this body responds 
to this devastating virus. There is no change I could personally 
propose to this legislation that is so significant that it would cause 
a delay in getting this bill to the President. Therefore, when we bring 
up the bill, I intend to offer no amendments. I will argue against any 
amendments. It is my hope that other Senators will reach that 
conclusion as well.
  The bill is a 5-year authorization and it is important for us to 
remember that no matter what final shape this bill takes as we pass it, 
this is the first major step. We still have a lot of work to do, but 
this is the first major step. We will have the ability in future 
authorizations and in the appropriations process to make other changes, 
to take the next step as they prove necessary. But now is the time for 
us to get the job done, create the capacity for that global response, 
and to give the President of the United States the leverage he needs to 
attract similar leadership from the world's other wealthy nations.
  With this legislation, the United States of America will clearly be 
leading this fight and will become an example for the other wealthy 
nations to participate. Simply put, too many innocent children and men 
and women and young people have been infected by this terrible virus. 
Too many have died. We have failed to act in the past. We have had good 
intentions, but we have failed to act in the past. We must not fail 
these people again. This is our opportunity.
  In closing, I appeal to my colleagues on both sides that we join 
together in passing this bipartisan bill. I acknowledge that it is not 
a perfect bill, but my conscience does not permit me to let the perfect 
be the enemy of the good. This is, without a doubt, one moment to put 
the global interests of others above our own differences and to do our 
work, to do good, and to reaffirm that which makes the United States of 
America not just a powerful Nation but indeed a great Nation.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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