[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 100 (Wednesday, July 26, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H5937-H5939]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CONGRATULATING THE INTERNATIONAL AIDS VACCINE INITIATIVE

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree 
to the resolution (H. Res. 844) congratulating the International AIDS 
Vaccine Initiative on ten years of significant achievement in the 
search for an HIV/AIDS vaccine, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 844

       Whereas HIV/AIDS has killed over 25,000,000 people 
     worldwide and poses a serious threat to the economic and 
     political stability of the countries hit hardest by this 
     terrible epidemic;
       Whereas the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) 
     was founded in 1996 as a public-private partnership with a 
     mission to ensure the development of safe, effective, 
     accessible, preventive HIV/AIDS vaccines for use throughout 
     the world, with a particular focus on developing countries, 
     where the need is most urgent;
       Whereas the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative's 
     research and policy programs have galvanized scientific 
     efforts and substantially increased financial and political 
     support for this vital effort;
       Whereas since its founding, the International AIDS Vaccine 
     Initiative has advanced six vaccine candidates from concept 
     to clinical trials, targeting the subtypes of HIV circulating 
     in the developing world--a record matched only by one large 
     pharmaceutical company;
       Whereas ten years ago only a few developing countries had 
     participated in HIV/AIDS vaccine trials, but today several 
     countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are actively 
     participating in HIV/AIDS vaccine trials, a reflection of the 
     International AIDS Vaccine Initiative's activism and 
     commitment to working collaboratively with developing country 
     partners;

[[Page H5938]]

       Whereas the model of the International AIDS Vaccine 
     Initiative, which closely links clinical trial site 
     investigators to product developers, has resulted in the 
     first HIV/AIDS vaccine trials being conducted in Kenya, 
     Rwanda, and India, as well as trials in Uganda and South 
     Africa;
       Whereas the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative is a 
     founding member of the Global HIV/AIDS Vaccine Enterprise, 
     recognized by the G-8 as an important actor in the quest for 
     a vaccine; is an affiliated member of the National Institutes 
     of Health's Partnership for AIDS Vaccine Evaluation; and is 
     hosting NIH trials at International AIDS Vaccine Initiative 
     sites in Africa;
       Whereas the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative's Core 
     Clinical Immunology Laboratory was the first Good Clinical 
     Laboratory Practices (GCLP) accredited laboratory in the 
     world to assess HIV/AIDS vaccines, and the International AIDS 
     Vaccine Initiative's laboratory in Uganda was the first to 
     receive such accreditation in Africa; and
       Whereas the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative 
     established a ground-breaking Neutralizing Antibody 
     Consortium to address one of the key scientific challenges to 
     vaccine design: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) congratulates the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative 
     on ten years of significant achievement in the search for an 
     HIV/AIDS vaccine;
       (2) recognizes the role of the International AIDS Vaccine 
     Initiative in raising awareness and increasing financial and 
     political support for this important cause;
       (3) admires the commitment of the International AIDS 
     Vaccine Initiative to collaborating with developing country 
     researchers, governments, and civil society in the common 
     goal of finding a vaccine;
       (4) expresses support for the continued success of the 
     International AIDS Vaccine Initiative; and
       (5) directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to 
     transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the 
     International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise tonight to request the support of my colleagues for House 
Resolution 844, a resolution congratulating the International AIDS 
Vaccine Initiative on 10 years of achievement in advancing the search 
for an HIV/AIDS vaccine.
  Since emerging in 1981, HIV/AIDS has viciously spread across the 
globe, compromising economic and political stability in developing 
countries and indiscriminately taking the lives of over 25 million men, 
women and children. The cost of HIV/AIDS has been staggering.
  Thankfully, the global response has accelerated. From the beginning, 
countless organizations and individuals took up the battle against HIV/
AIDS, committing extensive resources and giving deeply of themselves to 
fight an epidemic which would prove to be a formidable foe. Until 1996, 
however, insufficient attention and resources were being devoted to the 
development of a preventive HIV/AIDS vaccine, a development that would 
have the potential to end a plague that has devastated much of our 
world for a quarter century. It was this realization, Mr. Speaker, that 
led to the founding of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative in 
1996.
  Founded as a public-private partnership, the Initiative's mission is 
the development of safe, effective and accessible HIV/AIDS vaccines, 
especially in developing countries where the need is greatest. With a 
philosophy that has galvanized scientists, academics, nonprofit 
organizations, governments and faith communities, the Initiative's 
progress has been substantial. The Initiative has opened a Core 
Clinical Immunology Laboratory and a network of field laboratories 
throughout the countries hit worst by HIV/AIDS, conducting numerous 
vaccine trials in countries such as Kenya, India and South Africa. As a 
testament to their vitality, activism and commitment, the majority of 
new HIV/AIDS vaccine candidates are due in large part to the efforts of 
the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.
  We are reminded that HIV/AIDS is a global obstacle which continues to 
challenge our collective goal of a free, prosperous and peaceful world. 
In the struggle against this disease which infects nearly 14,000 people 
a day, the Initiative's work is of tremendous importance and its 
progress has been notable.
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution to extend the House's 
congratulations to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative on 10 
years of achievement.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 844, and I yield 
myself as much time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the House of Representatives will 
honor the 10th anniversary of the founding of the International AIDS 
Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) today. This important nonprofit scientific 
and advocacy organization, founded in 1996, is working to develop safe, 
effective and accessible HIV vaccines for use around the world but 
especially for use in developing countries. IAVI is headquartered in 
New York, with offices in Nairobi, Johannesburg, New Delhi and 
Amsterdam, and conducts research and advocacy activities in a total of 
23 countries.
  As you are well aware, the HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to decimate 
lives and families worldwide. AIDS has already claimed the lives of 25 
million people, and there are currently nearly 40 million people living 
with HIV/AIDS today.
  The United States has demonstrated our commitment to fighting the 
AIDS crisis by significantly increasing funding for treatment and care 
for the worst affected countries. Ultimately, however, a vaccine to 
prevent the spread of this disease will have a greater effect to slow 
and eventually halt new infections. IAVI's work focuses on four areas: 
accelerating scientific research on an AIDS vaccine; mobilizing public 
support through advocacy and education; encouraging industrial 
involvement in AIDS vaccine development; and assuring rapid global 
access to a vaccine.
  This resolution is timely because in a few weeks an estimated 20,000 
scientists, health care providers, community and business leaders, 
journalists, government, nongovernmental and intergovernmental 
representatives and people living with HIV/AIDS will meet at the 16th 
international AIDS conference held this year in Toronto, Ontario, 
Canada. With over 400 sessions, meetings and workshops dedicated to 
exploring the latest developments in HIV science, policy and practice, 
this is sure to provide a meaningful discourse on the global AIDS 
crisis.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to honor the International AIDS Vaccine 
Initiative's 10 years of outstanding work. I urge the adoption of this 
measure. It is a pleasure to once again sponsor this and speak on this 
with my good friend and partner, the gentlewoman from Florida, Ms. 
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, with whom I have had the pleasure of working on so 
much important legislation.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I would first like to commend my good friend 
and colleague from New York, Eliot Engel, for introducing this 
important resolution. His leadership in Congress on the global battle 
against HIV/AIDS is greatly appreciated.
  Mr. Speaker, over 14,000 people are infected with the deadly HIV/AIDS 
virus each day. Let me repeat that statistic, Mr. Speaker--14,000 
individuals each day are infected with HIV/AIDS.
  HIV/AIDS has infected 65 million people and killed nearly 25 million 
since June 1981 when it was first detected.
  For many in the developing world, contracting the HIV/AIDS virus is a 
death sentence. No drugs. No doctors. No hospitals. No hope.
  And for family members left behind--often young children--there is 
equally little hope. Many will be forced to live with over-burdened and 
impoverished extended family, in understaffed orphanages or on the 
streets.
  Treatment has brought the promise of life back to many individuals 
who were on the brink of death. However, palliative care is not a long 
term solution to relieve the suffering from this deadly disease.
  That is why there is an absolute moral imperative to develop a 
vaccine to stop the

[[Page H5939]]

transmission of the HIV/AIDS virus. A successful vaccine will literally 
save millions of lives in the poorest countries of the world, restore 
people to their livelihoods, and prevent children around the globe from 
becoming AIDS orphans.
  The resolution before the House brings attention to the intensive 
work over the past decade to develop a successful HIV/AIDS vaccine. The 
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative has built bridges between the 
developed and developing world that did not exist before. It also has 
conducted vitally important vaccine trials in the developing world that 
hopefully will lead to a successful vaccine in the near future.
  I commend the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for recently awarding 
$23.7 million towards financing this network of committed researchers 
working around the clock to find a cure.
  Mr. Speaker, there will be a successful HIV/AIDS vaccine one day, and 
it is our collective hope that this will occur before millions more of 
the world's citizens lose their lives. This resolution congratulates 
the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative for 10 years of significant 
achievement in the search for an HIV/AIDS vaccine towards this goal.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to supports its passage.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support for H.R. 
844.
  AIDS is the greatest worldwide health crisis of our time. Presently, 
there are more than 40 million people that are either infected with the 
HIV virus or are living with AIDS. At least 14,000 people are infected 
each day. Putting an end to AIDS is one of the most pressing 
humanitarian challenges we must face. For this reason, the development 
of a preventive vaccine has been a stepping-stone toward achieving this 
end.
  The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative has been working for the 
past ten years to create a safe and effective HIV/AIDS vaccine. They 
have worked hard with the public and private sector to garner financial 
and political support in order to make the vaccine accessible to all 
those in need, especially in the developing world, where ninety-five 
percent of those infected with the virus live.
  Today, I am honored to congratulate the International AIDS Vaccine 
Initiative for its advances in scientific progress, which have been 
instrumental in bringing about a worldwide effort and support for this 
important cause. It is their research and devotion to finding an HIV/
AIDS vaccine that brings hope of ending an epidemic that has already 
killed more than 25 million people worldwide. However, there is more to 
be done. We must take this opportunity to commit ourselves to fighting 
for the dignity and lives of our brothers and sisters around the world 
by promoting innovative research in finding a cure.
  AIDS is presently a formidable adversary--one that cannot be ignored, 
one that does not only exist in faraway places, but one that is here, 
in our neighborhoods and homes, infecting 40,000 of our people each 
year. The efforts of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative have 
brought us closer to the day when we will live in a world that is free 
from AIDS.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 844 to 
congratulate the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.
  As an original co-sponsor of this resolution and a strong supporter 
of IAVI, I want to thank my colleagues, Representative Eliot Engel and 
Representative Peter King, for working in a bipartisan manner to 
introduce and shepherd it to the floor.
  IAVI was funded 10 years ago as a public-private partnership to help 
develop a safe and effective vaccine to prevent HIV/AIDS.
  Today IAVI operates in over 23 countries with a variety of partners 
and is in the testing phases for several vaccine candidates.
  In addition to working on the hard science, IAVI has also worked to 
lay the groundwork to ensure that a future vaccine is affordable and 
accessible to all who need it, especially in the developing world.
  This year Representative Pallone and I spearheaded a $35 million 
appropriations request for IAVI in the FY07 Foreign Ops bill, along 
with the support of many members of this committee. While the House has 
approved a $29 million funding level for IAVI this year, the same as 
FY06, I am hopeful that in conference my colleagues will support the 
Senate funding level of $31 million.
  While the search for an AIDS vaccine has so far eluded us, the 
partnership represented by IAVI is in many ways our best hope at 
finding a cure. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the 
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) on their 10 years of hard 
work in searching for an HIV/AIDS vaccine. HIV/AIDS has taken the lives 
of over 250,000 people worldwide and poses a serious threat to the 
economic and political stability of the countries hit hardest by this 
terrible epidemic. The IAVI was founded 10 years ago as a public-
private partnership with a mission to ensure the development of safe, 
effective, accessible, preventive HIV/AIDS vaccines for use throughout 
the world. The IAVI had a particular focus on developing countries, 
since their need is most urgent regarding care.
  Unfortunately, 10 years ago insufficient attention and resources were 
devoted to the need for, and advantages of, a vaccine to bring an end 
to this disease. Currently, we are armed with increasingly powerful 
knowledge and treatments, and yet we face an ever steeper climb toward 
victory. HIV/AIDS is no longer a scary, unknown entity. A diagnosis is 
no longer the sealing of fate, even if it means the beginning of a 
battle. We know enough to educate, even if we do not yet know enough to 
cure.
  The groundbreaking research and policy programs of the IAVI have 
galvanized scientific efforts and substantially increased financial and 
political support for this vital effort. Today, the majority of newly 
designed HIV/AIDS vaccine candidates are focused on preventing HIV/AIDS 
in the developing world, in large part due to the efforts of the 
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. The IAVI has also received 
accolades from the G8 as being an important actor in the quest for a 
vaccine, after they became a founding member of the Global HIV/AIDS 
Vaccine Enterprise.
  Today over 42 million individuals are infected with HIV/AIDS globally 
and 1 million here in the United States. Fifty percent of these cases 
in the United States are in young adults between the ages of 15 and 24. 
Every year, 40,000 new cases are diagnosed. Thankfully, the IAVI has 
continued to work effortlessly to unite scientists, academics, 
nonprofit organizations, and governments from the north and south, 
including communities of faith, communities of color, and many others, 
in an effort to develop a vaccine to stop global HIV infection rates of 
14,000 a day.
  We all admire the commitment of the IAVI in discovering a vaccine and 
I want to again express my support for the continued success of the 
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I also have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Poe). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the 
House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 844, as 
amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

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