[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 102 (Wednesday, July 21, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H6539-H6540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         WORLD AIDS CONFERENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, last week I had the opportunity to attend the 
15th International AIDS conference in Bangkok, Thailand, my third 
conference since I have been in this body. As the only Member of 
Congress to attend this incredibly important event, I want to take a 
few minutes this evening to brief my colleagues and the American public 
about my experience.
  Each time I have returned from one of these conferences, I am quite 
frankly filled with great hope but also a very profound realization of 
just how much it is that we have left to do.
  Having spent a few days last week among the international leaders on 
the global pandemic, I can tell you that the international community is 
very, very disappointed by the rate of progress, to put it mildly, 
about the United States' failure to deliver on projected funding and 
programs. In fact, that point was unfortunately reinforced by Secretary 
Tommy Thompson's decision to allow a delegation of only about 50 people 
from his Department of Health and Human Services to attend the World 
AIDS Conference this year, down from about 236, 2 years ago, when we 
held the conference in Barcelona, Spain.
  It is shameful that they have prevented many of our very best and 
brightest scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and the 
National Institutes of Health from gaining new insights from their 
colleagues in the international community. It is also tragic that this 
administration's unilateralist and ideological tendencies have now 
spread to the fight against HIV/AIDS. It is morally wrong to allow 
right-wing ideology to trump science when it comes to the 
administration's HIV/AIDS prevention policies.
  Their policies set aside 33 percent of all funding for abstinence-
only programs which deny access to lifesaving education and technology, 
including condoms. Simply put, this is irresponsible. It is unethical 
and it is inhumane.
  I believe it is unethical because their AIDS treatment policies are 
really focused more on protecting patents and big pharmaceutical 
companies rather than the urgent need to get fixed-dose combinations 
into the hands of those who need them, 98 percent, 98 percent of whom 
lack access to treatment. The emphasis should be on saving lives.
  It is disingenuous that the administration has proposed cutting our 
support for the Global Fund by over 60 percent this coming fiscal year, 
proposing a measly contribution of $200 million rather than the $1.2 
billion that is needed. We need to encourage the sharing of information 
by our scientists and researchers.
  We need to do a lot better with coordinating our bilateral programs 
with national governments, the NGO community, and our field missions.

                              {time}  2145

  We need to simplify our anti-retroviral treatment programs by 
purchasing fixed dose combinations, drugs that are already available; 
and we must standardize our treatment programs according to the wishes 
of each individual country.
  We have to fund the fund.
  Although I applaud the gentleman from Arizona (Chairman Kolbe) and 
the gentlewoman from New York's (Ranking Member Lowey) efforts in 
doubling the administration's request for funding for the Global Fund 
by providing $400 million, I was disappointed last week when a point of 
order was raised with regard to an amendment which I offered which 
actually killed an amendment that would have raised our contributions 
to $1.2 billion this year, which is what we need to get started.
  The fund is the very best way to get the money out into the hands of 
the NGO community immediately. It takes a multilateral approach, and it 
has the

[[Page H6540]]

potential to leverage vast new resources. We are the wealthiest country 
in the world. We should be leading the charge. The Global Fund is the 
best vehicle to show that type of cooperation and provide for the quick 
release of this money.
  Perhaps most importantly, we must stress and implement a balanced, 
comprehensive HIV prevention policy that includes abstinence, being 
faithful, and condoms.
  Mr. Speaker, we must also go further. As United Nations Secretary 
General Kofi Annan said so eloquently in his remarks during the opening 
ceremonies on Sunday, we must place, he said, a special emphasis on 
reducing the cultural, social, economic, and political factors that 
increase the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV.
  On July 9, just before leaving for Bangkok, I introduced H.R. 4792, 
The New United States Global HIV Prevention Strategy to Address the 
Needs of Women and Girls Act of 2004, with 54 original cosponsors. This 
bill would do just that. We need a focused effort on women and 
children. Women and children need the assistance of this country and a 
comprehensive strategy to address this pandemic.

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