[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 142 (Tuesday, November 1, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2238]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  MOTION TO GO TO CONFERENCE ON H.R. 3057, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT 
        FINANCING, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006

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                               speech of

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 27, 2005

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Democratic 
motion to instruct conferees to accept the Senate's funding level for 
our global HIV/AIDS appropriations.
  I want to thank my colleague, the ranking member, Ms. Lowey for 
offering this motion, and I want to thank the chairman, Mr. Kolbe for 
accepting it. Both of them have worked in a bipartisan spirit to 
increase funding for our global AIDS programs above what the President 
requested, and they should be commended for their leadership.
  Earlier this month I sent a letter to Mr. Kolbe and Ms. Lowey, along 
with 55 other Members of Congress, asking that they take this very 
action today and approve the Senate's funding level of $2.97 billion 
for global HIV/AIDS in the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill--$500 
million of which would go towards the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, 
Tuberculosis and Malaria.
  By adopting the Senate's higher level of funding, we are again 
asserting United States leadership in fighting this devastating 
disease.
  But let us be clear, much more still needs to be done.
  The United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, estimates 
that approximately 39.4 million people worldwide are currently living 
with HIV/AIDS, including about 2.2 million children under the age of 
15. Since the first cases were identified in 1981, over 20 million 
people worldwide have died from AIDS.
  While the United States is poised to provide about $3.6 billion to 
combat the disease this year, UNAIDS estimates that more than $15 
billion is necessary to fight the disease this year alone. Next year 
that number is closer to $20 billion.
  We know that the United States cannot fight this disease on its own. 
But we have a moral duty to at least contribute our fair share of 
funding to prevent the rapid spread of this disease and save the lives 
of millions of people around the world.
  Although we may argue about money, we must not forget about those who 
are most vulnerable to this disease, the women and children throughout 
the developing world whose basic rights are frequently trampled upon.
  I'm proud to say that over the last 2 weeks, Congress has taken an 
important step forward in trying to protect the rights of children who 
are affected by HIV/AIDS by passing my bill, H.R. 1409, the Assistance 
for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 
2005.
  I hope that the President will sign this legislation quickly and 
ensure a robust U.S. Government response to the needs of these 
children.

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