[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 73 (Thursday, May 15, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E959-E960]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     INTRODUCTION OF G-8 RESOLUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 14, 2003

  Ms. LEE. Mr Speaker, today I am introducing a resolution calling on 
the President to encourage members of the G-8 and representatives of 
the European Union to pledge and contribute a substantial amount of 
money to the fight against global AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, in 
order to complement the recent commitment of the United States to spend 
$15 billion in the next five years.
  The resolution clearly lays out the history of the G-8's involvement 
in the global HIV/AIDS fight, beginning in 1987 at the summit meeting 
in Venice, where the G-8 first recognized AIDS as one of the biggest 
potential health problems in the world. It was at this meeting that 
member states first agreed to expand international cooperation and 
intensify national efforts to educate the public and prevent AIDS from 
spreading even further.
  Today, 15 years later, HIV/AIDS has become an even greater threat to 
humanity than we would have ever envisioned back in 1987. AIDS has 
already devastated the continent of Africa, where over 30 million 
people are currently living with AIDS, and where hundreds of millions 
more are still in danger of getting infected. And now AIDS is poised to 
wreak havoc in India and China, as each country's large population has 
the potential to mask rising trends of infection and understate the 
true reach of the pandemic.
  As the leading killer of HIV/AIDS infected individuals, tuberculosis 
is on the rise, and in virtually every country surveyed by the World 
Health Organization, drug resistant strains of tuberculosis have 
already been found. Malaria

[[Page E960]]

is also experiencing a resurgence, as AIDS makes it easier for the 
parasite to survive once it enters the body. Together these diseases 
represent an incredible challenge to public health systems worldwide, 
but particularly in developing nations that lack the infrastructure or 
resources to adequately deal with these three epidemics.
  Back in 1998 when I was first elected to Congress, we already knew 
that AIDS in combination with tuberculosis was creating a humanitarian 
disaster in many parts of Africa. Together with my good friend and 
colleague, former Congressman Ron Dellums, and with strong support and 
help from Congressman Jim Leach, we helped create the first truly 
global response to this pandemic through passage of the Global AIDS and 
Tuberculosis Relief Act of 2000--which established the framework for 
what would become the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and 
Malaria.
  At the same time, the G-8 had also reached a watershed moment in its 
response to AIDS and other infectious diseases at the Okinawa summit 
meeting in 2000. Recognizing the link between HIV/AIDS and poverty, the 
G-8 produced an ambitious plan to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and 
malaria. And yet, overall global funding for these diseases was slow in 
rising.
  The UN Secretary General's formal call for the establishment of the 
Global Fund in the summer of 2001 did produce a total of $1.3 billion 
in pledges of support from members of the G-8. Although this was a 
noteworthy development, it represented only about a tenth of the total 
estimated need. Coming from the world's richest nations, this was a 
paltry commitment of resources.
  At the same time, here in the House of Representatives we were 
working on legislation that would authorize about $1.4 billion for 
global AIDS programs, while the Senate was seeking to provide around 
$5.5 billion over two years. Both efforts recognized the importance of 
international institutions like the Global Fund, and committed between 
$750 million to $1 billion for the Fund in FY'03. Ultimately we were 
unable to reconcile these two bills. Tragically, another opportunity 
was lost.
  In 2002, at the summit meeting in Kananaskis, Canada, the G-8 drafted 
and endorsed in partnership with a variety of African countries, the G-
8 Africa Action Plan. This plan laid out a specific set of strategies 
to help empower Africans in combating the AIDS pandemic. Despite 
pledging their whole-hearted support for the initiative, little new 
actual funding materialized from the G-8 in the months following the 
meeting.
  This year, AIDS has become an even more urgent issue for us to deal 
with. The President's pledge to provide $15 billion to combat AIDS 
stimulated our negotiations on this year's authorization bill, and 
finally provided the extra push to dramatically increase our level of 
funding.
  House passage of H.R. 1298, The United States Leadership Against HIV/
AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003, on May l, 2003, and the 
pending action on the bill in the Senate provides us with an even 
greater incentive to encourage the rest of the international community, 
particularly the G-8, to match our commitment to defeating these three 
pandemics.
  My resolution follows on the recent passage of H.R. 1298, and would 
accomplish this objective. I encourage all members to support this 
resolution, and I hope that it will be considered on the floor.

                          ____________________