[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 29, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TOM LANTOS AND HENRY J. HYDE UNITED STATES GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AGAINST 
     HIV/AIDS, TUBERCULOSIS AND MALARIA REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2008

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 24, 2008

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Tom Lantos 
and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, 
Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008 (H.R. 5501) to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to provide 
assistance to foreign countries to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and 
malaria, and for other purposes.
  I would first like to thank Honorable Howard L. Berman for 
introducing this important legislation. The devastation of the HIV/AIDS 
disease does not discriminate, and impacts the lives of us all. Recent 
reports from the United Nations state that more than thirty-three 
million people globally have been infected with HIV/AIDS.
  This legislation takes a comprehensive approach to combating global 
infectious diseases, specifically HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis by 
providing funding for the prevention, education, testing, and 
treatment. I support and applaud the substantial funding that H.R. 5501 
provides to fight infectious diseases around the world. I am happy to 
see that this bill authorizes $48 billion in spending over five years 
for AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The bill would also authorize 
operational research and health workforce strengthening initiatives, 
and would eliminate the ban on HIV positive visitors and otherwise 
qualified immigrants from entering the United States.
  The HIV/AIDS pandemic has erased decades of progress in improving the 
lives of families in the developing world and has claimed over 20 
million lives since its inception. By supporting H.R. 5501, the U.S. 
government has taken another major step in keeping its commitment to 
the global AIDS response.

                          ____________________