[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 30 (Wednesday, March 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E400-E401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    ``DON'T CUT GLOBAL HEALTH CARE''

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 2, 2011

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, recently Dr. Ellen Chadwick, a pediatric 
infectious disease specialist from Wilmette Illinois, warned about the 
severe consequences that would arise from cuts in critical global 
health initiatives, especially those that protect the lives and well-
being of children. In her letter to the editor, which appeared on 
February 24 in the Chicago Tribune, she lays out the many reasons why 
we need to continue our modest contributions to the President's 
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program and the Global Fund to 
Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
  As Dr. Chadwick points out, the United States spends less than one 
quarter of one percent of our budget on global health assistance, but 
the benefits we obtain are enormous. She writes that our funding 
``saves lives, preserves families and communities, and builds 
extraordinary good will toward America.'' It is also an investment in 
global and national security, since global health crises such as the 
AIDS epidemic can destabilize entire regions.
  Like Dr. Chadwick, I believe that we can achieve our fiscal goals 
without jeopardizing the lives of children around the world and without 
creating global insecurity. As a member of the President's National 
Commission on Fiscal Reform and Responsibility, I put forward my own 
plan to achieve deficit reduction. My plan maintains global health 
funding and protects the middle-class and the poor here at home. 
Instead, it reduces the deficit by restoring economic prosperity, 
cutting unnecessary weapons systems and wasteful spending in the 
Department of Defense, raising revenues from those who can afford to 
pay more, and eliminating waste and other inefficiencies in government.
  I hope that my colleagues will take a moment to read Dr. Chadwick's 
letter and, after doing so, will reject the harsh cuts to global health 
included in H.R. 1.

               [From the Chicago Tribune, Feb. 24, 2011]

                    ``Don't Cut Global Health Care''

                        (By Dr. Ellen Chadwick)

       As a pediatric infectious diseases specialist, I am gravely 
     concerned about federal budget cuts passed by the House that 
     will have a devastating impact on a group that cannot speak 
     for themselves in the halls of Congress--poor children in 
     sub-Saharan Africa. The House version of the annual federal 
     funding bill ravages global health programs, reducing their 
     funding by more than $1 billion, with most cuts targeting the 
     President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program 
     and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. Other 
     programs that contribute to maternal and child health in 
     developing countries are also affected. Cutting these 
     precious resources will be measured in lives lost, as cuts 
     will mean fewer HIV-infected pregnant women tested and 
     treated for HIV, fewer infants treated to prevent HIV and 
     more HIV-infected children without access to care, support 
     and education. Finally, these cuts will result in growth of 
     the population of children orphaned by AIDS, already 
     estimated to be 16 million globally. Meanwhile, these cuts 
     will make little difference in our budget deficit.
       The investments Americans make in global health see 
     incredible, tangible results measured in lives saved. In 2010 
     alone, the PEPFAR program provided more than 600,000 HIV-
     positive pregnant women with antiretroviral treatment, 
     allowing more than 114,000 babies to be born HIV-free. The 
     Global Fund has provided this treatment to an additional 1 
     million mothers, and HIV treatment to more than 3 million 
     HIV-infected people around the world. What is more, for every 
     dollar we invest in the Global Fund, our international 
     neighbors contribute an additional two, making our leadership 
     that much more important and rewarding. After 30 years of 
     AIDS, we are finally beginning to believe in the promise of 
     an AIDS free generation in the hardest hit regions of the 
     world.
       The House's proposed funding cuts stand to decimate these 
     important programs, with deadly consequences. According to 
     PEPFAR estimates, 400,000 men, women and children would be 
     dropped from lifesaving treatment. Another 414,000 supported 
     by the Global Fund would be without medicines, 
     representatives there estimate. More than 32,000 babies could 
     be infected with HIV every year due to reduction in services 
     to prevent mother-to-child transmission. Without treatment, 
     one-half of these HIV-infected infants will not live to see 
     their second birthday.
       Even without these cuts, the unmet need is already great. 
     Children in sub-Saharan Africa lack the same access to 
     treatment that adults get--for example, in Uganda 43 percent 
     of infected adults have access to medication while only 18 
     percent of infected children have access. Children with HIV 
     are also especially vulnerable to tuberculosis, making 
     treatment of both infections particularly difficult.
       Over the past several years, I have conducted clinical 
     research and provided training to clinicians in Africa to 
     increase capacity to care for kids. I have cared for many 
     infants and children with HIV/AIDS. With antiretroviral 
     treatment, I watch these children quickly spring back to 
     life. Even more rewarding is the satisfaction of the new 
     mother who is told that her child is not HIV-infected because 
     treatment from pregnancy through the breastfeeding period has 
     protected her child. U.S. support for global health--only one 
     quarter of 1 percent of our federal budget--saves lives, 
     preserves families and communities, and builds extraordinary 
     good will toward America.
       The House of Representatives will not have the final word 
     on cuts to global health. The Senate will take up the budget 
     next, and can and must refuse to embrace these draconian 
     cuts. I hope that Illinois' two distinguished senators will 
     lead the charge in protecting the mothers and children in 
     Africa whose well-being depends upon their actions.

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