[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 13, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         PEPFAR REAUTHORIZATION

  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I don't need to tell you the HIV/AIDS 
pandemic has infected more than 60 million people worldwide, killed 
more than 25 million people, orphaned 14 million in its wake, and 
today, nearly 70 percent of the people in the world who are afflicted 
with HIV/AIDS reside in Africa.
  In 2003, President Bush called on Congress to create a program to 
address the worldwide HIV/AIDS pandemic. The President's Emergency Plan 
for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, was an extraordinary bipartisan 
achievement of compassion, and unfortunately, the majority in Congress 
has put forth a reauthorization drafted to this bill that will be 
considered tomorrow that puts at risk America's commitment to HIV/AIDS 
efforts.
  The Democrat proposal will take a successful bipartisan achievement, 
do away with funding requirements for abstinence, and also mandate the 
integration of family planning services into PEPFAR, which would 
transform the program potentially into a mega funding pool for 
organizations with an abortion promotion agenda.
  PEPFAR must not be hijacked in partisanship or domestic public policy 
issues. We owe the world a bipartisan remedy to meet the global AIDS 
pandemic that meets the crisis with American resources and values, and 
I urge my colleagues to work on this legislation in a bipartisan and 
compassionate manner.

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