[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 18484-18495]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004--Continued

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, we are awaiting an amendment to be 
offered. I hope Senators will come and bring their amendments.
  Mr. REID. Would the Senator yield?
  Mr. STEVENS. I yield to the Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I say to the distinguished comanager of the 
bill, we are waiting for Senator Byrd to come and offer his two 
amendments, one dealing with adding some money to the bill, the other 
dealing with adding some money for AIDS, rearranging the bill, I should 
say.
  The Senator from Delaware is considering offering an amendment and 
also the Senator from California, Mrs. Feinstein, and Senator Schumer. 
I would say to those Senators or their staffs who are within the sound 
of my voice that Senator Byrd is not here. I am sure we could move 
forward on one of their amendments. I would recommend that they work 
their way to the floor or at least call the cloakroom so we can get 
them lined up to offer one of their amendments. There is really a down 
time here now.
  I think it would be to everyone's advantage that we move forward on 
this most important bill. As has been indicated, we are going to 
certainly try to finish this bill tonight. It appears we can do so. We 
don't have a lot of amendments remaining.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. What is the will of the Senate?
  Mr. ALEXANDER. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 1283

  (Purpose: To rescind $1,100,000,000 of the amounts appropriated for 
  procurement and research, development, test and evaluation, and to 
  appropriate $1,100,000,000 for fighting AIDS/HIV, tuberculosis, and 
                                malaria)

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I have an amendment which I shall send to 
the desk shortly.
  This January, in his State of the Union Address, President Bush 
announced a 5-year, $15 billion global AIDS initiative. The President 
received a lot of praise for that announcement, as he should have. AIDS 
is a dreadful disease which is currently inflicting an almost 
unimaginable toll on the African continent, devastating entire 
populations.
  Sub-Saharan Africa has been far more severely affected by AIDS than 
any other part of the world. According to UNAIDS--the Joint United 
Nations Program on HIV/AIDS--in 2002, there were 29.4 million people 
living with HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Africa has about 10 
percent of the world's population but more than 70 percent of the 
worldwide total of infected people. In fact, the infection rate among 
adults is about 8.8 percent in Africa, compared with 1.2 percent 
worldwide.
  More than 17 million Africans have died from AIDS since its 
emergence, and UNAIDS estimates that by 2020, an additional 55 million 
Africans will lose their lives to the epidemic. The sheer brutality of 
these statistics is hard to fathom and must tug at the hearts and souls 
of all of us in this body.
  AIDS' severe social and economic consequences are depriving Africa of 
skilled workers and teachers while reducing life expectancy by decades 
in some countries. An estimated 11 million children in Africa have been 
orphaned by AIDS--having literally watched their AIDS-inflicted parents 
slowly slip away before their eyes. These AIDS orphans are now facing 
increased risk of malnutrition and reduced prospects for education. 
AIDS is being blamed for declines in agricultural production in some 
nations, and is regarded as a major contributor to the famine 
threatening southern Africa. The United Nations Development Programme 
Annual Report for 2003 states that, ``HIV/AIDS is a catastrophe for 
economic stability and may be the world's most serious development 
crisis.''
  For far too long, the world has turned a blind eye to the suffering 
on the African continent. Does the United States, as the wealthiest 
Nation on Earth, not have a special moral responsibility to act to 
alleviate some of the worldwide misery caused by AIDS? Americans have 
always been generous and caring people, and I have no doubt that they 
would expect their elected officials to rise to the occasion and take 
the lead in ridding the world of this horrid disease, wherever it takes 
root.
  I am pleased by Congress' initial response to the President's call 
for action to combat the AIDS crisis in Africa--with passage of the 
United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria 
Act of 2003. And I was encouraged that our President publicly touted 
the legislation's passage as a moral triumph.
  However, I have seen far too many fancy White House bill signing 
ceremonies and dressed-up press releases in the last 2\1/2\ years to be 
entirely confident that this Administration would simply keep its 
promise to fully fund this legislation. Once the cameras stop rolling 
and the headlines fade away, this administration seems to have 
established a troubling pattern of repeatedly making promises but 
failing to deliver the dollars needed to keep them. The drastically 
underfunded No Child Left Behind Act and the President's skimpy funding 
requests to meet our homeland security needs are perfect examples.
  Last week, as President Bush visited five African countries, he again 
pledged that the United States would play a leading role in combating 
AIDS. The President repeatedly promised to do all in his power to make 
sure that Congress fully financed his proposed 5-year, $15 billion 
program to attack the disease in the world's poorest countries. I 
commend him for having gone to Africa, and for promoting greater 
efforts to fight AIDS.
  He should be held to his commitment to those in Africa who are 
suffering from AIDS.

[[Page 18485]]

  Clearly, an expectation has been created that the administration and 
Congress will provide $3 billion toward this noble initiative in fiscal 
year 2004, as language explicitly authorizing that amount for fiscal 
year 2004 is spelled out in the new Global AIDS law that the President 
proudly signed.
  Unfortunately, despite all the recent headlines, photo-ops, and White 
House promises regarding the African AIDS crisis, the simple fact 
remains that the President did not put enough money behind his 
promises, as he failed to include $3 billion to fight AIDS in his 
fiscal year 2004 budget. That is right! He requested only $1.9 billion, 
not the $3 billion that the world now expects. That is $1.1 billion 
less than what he promised.
  Just last Thursday, Members of this body went on record, by a vote of 
78-to-18, in support of a Sense of the Congress Resolution that stated 
our intent to provide full appropriations for the $15 billion AIDS 
initiative touted by our President, including $3 billion in fiscal year 
2004.
  The lives of millions worldwide are at stake. Now is the time to 
honor the financial commitment made by Congress and the President to 
combat Global AIDS. My amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill 
would do just that by allocating $750 million in fiscal year 2004 to 
the Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/
AIDS Globally for the purpose of making a contribution to the Global 
Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and $350 million for the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services for programs to combat AIDS 
overseas. This amendment would be completely offset by a $1.1 billion 
across-the-board cut in the amounts appropriated for the Department of 
Defense under Titles III and IV of this legislation for Procurement, as 
well as for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation.
  The bill before the Senate includes $73,976,000,000 in procurement 
spending, an amount that is $1,255,000,000 above the President's 
request. This bill also includes $63,565,000,000 for research and 
development programs, a level that is $1,738,000,000 above the 
President's request. Certainly, the Senate should be willing to reduce 
the current procurement and research funding by less than eight-tenths 
of 1 percent in order to fulfill the President's promise. It is his 
promise. He had pledged our Nation's help with one of the most dreaded 
and destructive scourges on the globe. But he is trying to shift the 
burden to Congress to make up the difference in the underfunded budget 
request. Congress should step up to this challenge and appropriate the 
money that we have already authorized by an overwhelming vote.
  My amendment would allow us to fulfill the humanitarian promise made 
by our Government to fight the worst public health crisis that history 
has ever known with a total $3 billion appropriation in fiscal year 
2004.
  This amendment would help to alleviate some of the misery endured by 
millions of AIDS-inflicted families around the globe for roughly what 
we spend in a single day to fund the Department of Defense.
  Mr. President, AIDS is a catastrophe for millions around the globe. 
What better message can we send than to reduce our behemoth military 
budget ever so slightly in order to keep our national word to help 
fight this dread disease. It is the right thing to do. It is the noble 
thing to do. Let's do it.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I send to the desk an amendment. I ask 
unanimous consent that the following cosponsors be added.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from West Virginia [Mr. Byrd], for himself, 
     Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Lautenberg, Mrs. Murray, Mr. 
     Corzine and Mr. Bingaman, proposes an amendment numbered 
     1283:
       On page 120, between lines 17 and 18, insert the following:


                         (rescission of funds)

       Sec. 8124. (a) Of the amounts appropriated under titles III 
     and IV of this Act, $1,100,000,000 is hereby rescinded. The 
     Secretary of Defense shall allocate the rescinded amount 
     proportionately by program, project, and activity.
       (b) In addition to other amounts appropriated or otherwise 
     made available under this Act, funds are hereby appropriated 
     to the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2004 in the 
     total amount of $1,100,000,000.
       (c) Of the amount appropriated under subsection (b), the 
     Secretary shall transfer $750,000,000, to remain available 
     until expended, to the Coordinator of United States 
     Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally, for an 
     additional contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, 
     Tuberculosis and Malaria, which shall be expended at the 
     minimum rate necessary to make timely payment for projects 
     and activities.
       (d) Of the amount appropriated under subsection (b), the 
     Secretary shall transfer $350,000,000 to the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services for global HIV/AIDS programs of the 
     Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National 
     Institutes of Health.

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the cosponsors are Senators Clinton, Pryor, 
Lautenberg, Murray, and Corzine. I ask they be added.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, AIDS has been a matter of attention by 
our subcommittee since 1982. It was our subcommittee that initiated the 
first AIDS research with public funds that I know of in the world. That 
research is still going on by the Department of Defense. We were 
looking for some way to prevent the transmission of AIDS. I am sad to 
say we have not been successful.
  In the period just prior to our bill in the eighties, I had listened 
to a lecture at the Cosmos Club where the lecturer had predicted we 
would witness AIDS becoming a plague--more than an epidemic; it 
actually would become a plague. That prediction has become too true, 
and the President has committed $15 billion over a period of 3 years 
for our contributions to the AIDS program.
  We have in our budget so far total spending of $2.4 billion that is 
directed to global AIDS spending. I am trying to get the total figures. 
I think we have over another $2 billion in our total budget directed 
toward AIDS spending.
  It is true that money is going to agencies other than USAID, but in 
foreign operations, there is $1.5 billion, and Labor, Health and Human 
Services has $683 million.
  My point is, we have an enormous amount of money in the bill before 
us already for AIDS spending. I am compelled to oppose the Senator's 
amendment because it transfers from defense procurement and research 
and development programs to another bill, the Health and Human Services 
bill and the Agency for International Development, which is in a third 
bill, the State-Justice-Commerce bill, portions of money allocated by 
our committee to those two other subcommittees. In effect, Senator 
Byrd's amendment would transfer from the Defense Department to the 
Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of State 
$1.1 billion.
  I have to oppose this amendment in the first place because I believe 
we have already met the commitment of the President. There is no reason 
I know of to accelerate that and provide more than the $3 billion. We 
have already committed to--as a matter of fact, because of the request 
initially, I believe we have in excess of $4 billion in this budget 
available to us for AIDS already.
  The fund the Senator from West Virginia would take the money from is 
for the modernization of our aircraft. We are trying to modernize this 
force. We need to replace aging C-130s and the aging C-46 helicopters. 
We have an enormous number of vehicles and aircraft that have to be 
replaced because of the damage they have suffered from activities in 
Afghanistan and Iraq.
  The modernization funding in this account is also for the National 
Guard and Reserve. We all have some real concern over the amount of 
money that is already available for those activities. Bluntly, I do not 
think we can afford to take $1.1 billion out of defense and put it into 
the Department of State and the Department of Health and Human 
Services, or Education--wherever it goes--at this time.
  We are going to lose a sizable number of the weapons systems we would 
otherwise modernize or replace with this

[[Page 18486]]

$1 billion. I call attention particularly to the fact that despite the 
authorization and request of the President, we were unable to fund the 
F-18 fighter the administration seeks to procure. We are unable to fund 
the total amount of F-22s. We have reduced the number of ships in the 
Virginia class from seven to five. I am already mentally confused over 
why we have to be so constricted, but that was the problem in the 
overall budget. We already have taken $3.1 billion out of the Defense 
budget and spread it through the nondefense budgets in order to meet 
the objections that were raised by so many Senators to the allocations 
we initially intended to make without that $3.1 billion. This would 
make it $4.2 billion out of Defense.
  I say to my friend from West Virginia, we just cannot do that. There 
is no way we can take any more money out of the funds we have set aside 
to replace the aging fighters, helicopters, and the equipment that was 
damaged or destroyed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  We do have a letter from Dr. O'Neill, the Director of Office of 
National AIDS Policy. He says this:

       By careful design, the President's 2004 budget request is 
     for $2 billion--

  On this set-aside fund. As I said, our accounting is that set-aside 
fund for global activities is $2.241 billion.
  In any event, to continue Mr. O'Neill's letter, he said:

       This request was based on the sound judgment that funds in 
     excess of this amount could not be spent effectively in this 
     first year. These funds will be spent in a focused manner, 
     increasing each year, to efficiently and effectively create 
     the necessary training, technology, and infrastructure base 
     needed to ensure delivery of appropriate medical treatment 
     protocols and the long-term success of this initiative.

  He stated in another paragraph, and I am pulling sentences out of 
this letter:

       For the reasons stated above, the administration strongly 
     opposes any efforts to increase funding beyond the $2 billion 
     requested in the President's FY 2004 budget.

  I ask unanimous consent that the letter be printed in the Record in 
full after my statement.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See exhibit 1.)
  Mr. STEVENS. Prior to the President's initiative, the total for AIDS 
was $1.2 billion. It is my judgment, because of the amount of money we 
are spending in all the other agencies to increase our knowledge and 
ability to deal with AIDS, that this is a proper amount of money. We 
have the commitment that this money will increase as we get more and 
more people trained.
  We listened to the Secretary of State the other morning tell us about 
the problem we have in finding people to train and help with the 
medical problems of the people we are dealing with in terms of AIDS 
throughout Africa in particular. I thought it was a very moving 
response he gave to the questions about AIDS.
  Very clearly, right now there are two issues in the amendment of the 
Senator. First, I believe we have met the initial year's objective for 
the President's global initiative on AIDS. I believe we have an 
overwhelming amount of money in the total bills before the Congress 
this year, all 13 appropriations bills, on AIDS. Further, the way the 
Senator from West Virginia wants to offset this amount, in my judgment, 
will bring great harm to the area of modernization of our aging 
equipment and the replacement of the equipment that has been damaged 
and destroyed by war.
  So I am forced to say to the Senator from West Virginia that I am 
compelled to make a motion to table his amendment at an appropriate 
time. I certainly do not want to do that before my friend has had a 
chance to make any comments he wants to make about my comments.
  I ask unanimous consent that the schedule of the projection of 
spending for global AIDS be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                    U.S.G. CONTRIBUTIONS TO GLOBAL HIV/AIDS SPENDING
                                                                  [Dollars in millions]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              FY 2004         FY 2005         FY 2006         FY 2007         FY 2008     Total FY 2004-
                  USG appropropriations                       budget          budget          budget          budget          budget           2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Base Bilateral Spending.................................            $970            $970            $970            $970            $970          $4,850
Global Fund.............................................             200             200             200             200             200           1,000
Mother to Child Initiative\1\...........................             300             n/a             n/a             n/a             n/a             300
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief..........................             450           1,250           1,800           2,400           2,600           8,500
TB and Malara...........................................             120             120             120             120             120             600
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total HIV/AIDS Spending...........................           2,040           2,540           3,090           3,690           3,890          15,250
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Beginning in FY2005, funding for the Mother to Child Initiative is part of the Emergency Plan.

  Mr. STEVENS. It shows in 2004, $2.040 billion; in 2005, there is 
$2.540 billion; in 2006, there is $3.090 billion; in 2007, $3.690 
billion; in 2008, $3.890 billion. In all, the total is $15.250 billion 
over the 5-year period. This is a commitment that we will keep.
  I think it is wise to start this program on a sound basis. This 
summary I have had prepared shows all treatment of AIDS and all of our 
programs other than defense.
  The last chart I want to put in the Record shows zero for defense, as 
far as AIDS is concerned. In the lump sum we have for medical research, 
I know there is a sum of money that continues to be spent in pursuing 
the research base for a way to prevent transmission of AIDS, to develop 
a vaccine for AIDS. That is not disclosed on this, so there is actually 
more than this in the total amount for the bill.
  I ask unanimous consent that this chart be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      FY'04 recommendation???--
                    Program                           FY'03         FY'04 budget       dependent on allocation
                                                  appropriation        request
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subcommittee--Foreign Operations:
    Child Survival Assistance for bilateral          591,500,000       650,000,000             685,000,000
     programs.................................
    Child Survival Assistance for Global Fund.       250,000,000       100,000,000             300,000,000
    Other Economic Assistance.................        38,500,000        40,000,000              50,000,000
    Bilateral Malaria & AIDS..................       105,000,000       105,000,000             105,000,000
    State Department Global AIDS Initiative...                 0       450,000,000             450,000,000
    Other.....................................         2,000,000         1,500,000               1,500,000
                                               -----------------------------------------------------------------
      Total Foreign Operations................       987,000,000     1,346,500,000           1,591,500,000
                                               =================================================================
Subcommittee--Labor-HHS:
    CDC Global AIDS program...................       142,569,000       143,763,000             142,569,000
    CDC Mother to Child Transmission..........        40,000,000       150,000,000              90,000,000
    CDC International Applied Prevention              11,000,000        11,000,000              11,000,000
     Research.................................
    NIH International Research................       252,300,000       274,700,000             274,700,000
    DOL AIDS in the workplace.................        10,000,000                 0                       0

[[Page 18487]]

 
    Global Fund Contribution from NIH.........       100,000,000       100,000,000             150,000,000
    CDC Malaria & Tuberculosis................        15,000,000        15,000,000              15,000,000
                                               -----------------------------------------------------------------
      Total Labor-HHS.........................       570,869,000       694,463,000             683,269,000
                                               =================================================================
Subcommittee--Defense:
    DOD HIV-AIDS education w/African Armed             7,000,000                 0                       0
     Forces...................................
                                               =================================================================
Subcommittee--Agriculture:
    Section 416(b) Food Aid...................        25,000,000                 0                       0
                                               =================================================================
      Total--All Subcommittees................     1,589,869,000     2,040,963,000           2,274,769,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Mr. STEVENS. Does the Senator from West Virginia wish to make an 
additional statement before I make a motion to table?
  Mr. BYRD. Yes, I do, and there are other Senators who wish to speak 
on this.
  Has the Senator yielded the floor?
  Mr. STEVENS. Yes, I have.

                               Exhibit 1


                                              The White House,

                                        Washington, July 17, 2003.
     Hon. Bill Frist,
     Majority Leader, U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Leader Frist: It is my understanding that an amendment 
     regarding funding for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria may 
     be offered today to the Department of Defense FY2004 
     appropriations bill currently under consideration on the 
     Senate floor.
       I want to reiterate the Administration's strong support for 
     the FY2004 budget request of $2 billion for all international 
     HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria activities, including $200 
     million for the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB, and 
     Malaria. This request is a solid first step in fulfilling the 
     President's commitment of providing $15 billion over the next 
     five years to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa, the 
     Caribbean and around the world.
       I recently finished traveling to Africa with the President 
     where he saw first-hand the positive impact that current U.S. 
     funding is having in caring for the sick, providing treatment 
     for individuals living with HIV/AIDS and extending lives. He 
     also witnessed the vast infrastructure and capacity 
     challenges that need to be addressed in order to scale-up 
     many of these efforts.
       It is by careful design that the President's FY2004 budget 
     request is for $2 billion. This request was based on the 
     sound judgment that funds in excess of this amount could not 
     be spend effectively in this first year. These funds will be 
     spent in a focused manner, increasing each year, to 
     efficiently and effectively create the necessary training, 
     technology, and infrastructure based needed to ensure 
     delivery of appropriate medical treatment protocols and the 
     long term success of this initiative.
       These funds are vital to our efforts to combat HIV/AIDS 
     abroad, but must be spent in the right way, at the right 
     time. Similarly, efforts to increase funding to the Global 
     Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria are not appropriate at 
     this time. Currently, the United States is responsible for 
     over 40% of all contributions made to the Global Fund. We 
     have reached a critical time in the Global Fund's 
     development, and other nations must join the U.S. in 
     supporting the work of the Global Fund.
       For the reasons stated above, the Administration strongly 
     opposes any efforts to increase funding beyond the $2 billion 
     requested in the President's FY2004 budget. I appreciate your 
     unwavering leadership on this issue and look forward to the 
     continued strong bipartisan support of the Senate in ensuring 
     the success of this lifesaving initiative.
           Sincerely,
                                            Dr. Joseph F. O'Neill,
                         Director, Office of National AIDS Policy.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, there is ample precedent for across-the-
board cuts in the Defense bill. In fact, the language is taken out of 
section 8135 of the fiscal year 2002 Defense Appropriations Act. Even 
with these cuts, the procurement, research, and development accounts 
remain $2 billion above the President's request and $6.7 billion above 
fiscal year 2003. So the procurement, research, and development 
accounts are robustly funded.
  This amendment provides the funds called for in the 78-to-18 vote 
last week on the State Department authorization which called for $3 
billion.
  I understand Senator Harkin wishes to speak. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I rise in strong support of the amendment 
offered by Senator Byrd. This amendment fulfills a promise we made to 
the entire world to fund the global AIDS initiative. When I say ``we,'' 
I mean all of us--the Congress and the President of the United States. 
President Bush made this promise to fund the global AIDS initiative at 
$15 billion, $3 billion per year for 5 years, in his State of the Union 
Address last January. I was there. I remember when he said it.
  I remember after the President made that commitment, everyone--
Republicans and Democrats, House Members and Senators--all stood and 
gave him a prolonged standing applause for that commitment. The 
President even signed a bill authorizing this money. We passed a bill 
saying, yes, we authorize it.
  Recently, the President has traveled through Africa restating this 
commitment, and I was quite taken by the President's words in Africa 
saying we were going to meet our commitment and we would provide the $3 
billion this year. Yet the President neglected to include this full 
funding in his budget for this initiative. Rather than calling for $3 
billion in 2004 that was promised and authorized, the President's 
budget calls for a mere $1.9 billion, falling far short of the promises 
he made and we made.
  Yet the President is in Africa saying we are going to provide $3 
billion. Basically, I think he said we have provided $3 billion. That 
is what is authorized. We know around here you can authorize anything 
but until the Appropriations Committee appropriates the money it is 
meaningless.
  Here is the President saying we came up with the $3 billion to fight 
AIDS in Africa, the African leaders applaud him, thanking him for that, 
and yet he only put $1.9 billion in the budget.
  Millions of people experience pain and suffering caused by the AIDS 
epidemic. People around the world are being robbed of healthy and 
productive lives. This epidemic is ravaging families, communities, and 
economies across the globe, nowhere more so than in Africa. The United 
States has a responsibility to fulfill the promise we made.
  The amendment offered by the Senator from West Virginia would uphold 
our commitment, our promise, to fight the AIDS epidemic and our promise 
to adequately fund the initiative. This amendment offered by Senator 
Byrd provides the full $3 billion for 2004, the full $3 billion that 
the President was taking credit for and touting in his recent trip to 
Africa. This would be offset by taking the $1.1 billion from the 
amounts appropriated for the Defense Department procurement and 
research account. The amendment by Senator Byrd would add to the $1.9 
billion the amount of $1.1 billion to bring it to the $3 billion level 
promised by President Bush on his recent trip to Africa.
  Let me be clear: This money is not coming out of the salaries of our 
troops or the support for our troops. It is not coming out of our work 
in Afghanistan. This money comes from two titles of the Defense 
appropriations bill that include $1.25 billion more than the 
President's budget request.
  We are spending in this bill about $1 billion a day for the Armed 
Forces, for defense. There is no excuse to deny the AIDS initiative 
that we promised, the President promised, the President touted so 
earnestly on his trip through Africa. There is no excuse to deny the

[[Page 18488]]

$1.1 billion more a year to bring it to the $3 billion level.
  Again, sometimes I am sure people wonder about what we are doing. The 
average American probably does not understand the difference between an 
authorization and appropriation. What is the difference? That is where 
the confusion is.
  Last week the Senate overwhelmingly voted 78 to 18 in support of a 
sense-of-the-Senate resolution stating that the global AIDS initiative 
should be fully funded. That means we should fund it at the $3 billion 
level.
  Now the Senate needs to put its money where its mouth is. This is the 
amendment by which we can do it. It does not detract anything from our 
troops. It comes out of an account that is even $1.25 billion more than 
the President's budget request.
  We all just returned from a joint session of Congress and we listened 
to Prime Minister Tony Blair speak. I thought it was a fine speech; 
maybe even more than that. I thought it was a very good speech in all 
of its aspects. But there was one aspect that pertains to what this 
amendment is about. Prime Minister Blair said at one point in his 
speech that we cannot--we, being the United States--walk away from our 
other commitments in the world aside from national security. He 
mentioned specifically the AIDS catastrophe that is happening 
throughout Africa. He said we have to meet our commitments and our 
responsibilities there, and he got a standing ovation for that.
  It is nice to give standing ovations to the Prime Minister of Great 
Britain when he says we should meet our responsibilities to meet the 
AIDS crisis. It is nice to vote for a sense-of-the-Senate resolution 
that says we should fully fund it. It is nice to even vote for the 
authorizing bill authorizing we fully fund it.
  But there is another thing that Prime Minister Blair said that I 
thought was worth noting. I am paraphrasing because I don't have the 
speech; I am just remembering it. He said something about our 
reputation, about making sure we stood strong for what we believed in 
and that we stand up to what we have committed to. If we do not, then 
what is the rest of the world going to think? They will think, OK, that 
is what the United States says but the only thing the United States 
ever backs up is military action. I hope it does not boil down to that, 
that the only thing we ever back up in terms of commitments is a 
military commitment. We ought to look upon the other commitments in the 
same light. Once we make the commitment and we make the promise, we 
fulfill it and we keep it. This is one that compels us to give an 
overwhelming vote to the amendment offered by Senator Byrd. This is the 
amendment that does it.
  I know there will be arguments saying we cannot take it out of 
defense. As I pointed out, it comes out of an account that is $1.25 
billion more than what the President even requested.
  Now is the time to stand up and be counted. Now is the time to back 
up our reputation for being a caring nation and for being a nation that 
stands behind its word. We gave our word. The President, 2 weeks ago, 
gave his word in Africa for $3 billion and yet we have only come up 
with $1.9 billion. Now is the time to come up with the full $3 billion.
  Mr. STEVENS. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. HARKIN. I yield.
  Mr. STEVENS. Does the Senator have a quote that the President would 
spend $3 billion?
  Mr. HARKIN. I don't have the quote but I will get it for you in a 
short amount of time. The President, if I remember right, said in 
Africa that we have--again, I am paraphrasing; I don't know if I have 
the right word--but we have pledged $3 billion this year to fight AIDS 
in Africa. He said that in Africa.
  Mr. STEVENS. I would like to see that. I would be happy to see that 
quote.
  I don't want to interrupt the Senator.
  Mr. HARKIN. I will get my staff to run it down.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President I will speak for a very few minutes on 
this same issue and indicate my strong support for the amendment 
Senator Byrd has offered.
  As my colleague, Senator Harkin, indicated, I strongly support this 
amendment. I believe this is the obvious follow-on to the vote we had 
last week where 78 Members of the Senate agreed when appropriations 
bills did come to the Senate we would vote to fully appropriate the 
funds that were authorized in the United States Leadership Against HIV/
AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003. That was legislation we 
passed earlier this year that I strongly supported. It did provide $15 
billion worth of funds. It authorized $15 billion worth of funding for 
this purpose. It was a follow-on to the President's State of the Union 
speech.
  In the State of the Union speech, the President committed this 
country to this initiative. I strongly supported it. Then, as a follow-
on to that State of the Union speech, we passed the authorizing 
legislation which, as I understood it, said we will appropriate $3 
billion a year for 5 years in order to fight this terrible epidemic of 
infectious disease we see around the world.
  From my perspective, the question is whether we consider this to be 
an urgent problem. If we do consider it to be an urgent problem, then I 
think the funding that was laid out in that authorization bill is the 
right funding. I was surprised to hear the quotations from the letter 
Dr. O'Neill has sent on behalf of the administration indicating the 
administration does not want $3 billion this first year, 2004. It does 
not want $3 billion the second year, 2005. And only in the later years 
is the administration going to be requesting $3 billion or more in 
order to make up the full $15 billion.
  That would be an appropriate approach to a problem that is not 
urgent. That would be an appropriate approach to a problem we can just 
as well deal with 3 years from now as today. But this issue is not that 
type of problem. This is an urgent problem. Accordingly, I think it is 
entirely appropriate that we try to fund this AIDS initiative the way 
it was designed in the authorizing legislation, the way the President 
signed off on it in the authorizing legislation, and the way I thought 
all of us had agreed to proceed with it.
  The statistics are devastating. We have gone through those to great 
lengths here, the number of teachers who are being lost because of HIV/
AIDS, the number of people who are going untreated with HIV/AIDS in 
Africa because of lack of resources. The global AIDS fund is 
desperately in need of additional resources. We have committed $200 
million rather than the full $1 billion that was anticipated we would 
commit this year.
  We can, obviously, fall back on a 5-year plan and say: Look, we never 
did intend to give you $3 billion the first couple of years. We are 
sorry if you misunderstood us. But the truth is most Members of 
Congress and I think most Members of the Senate--I certainly can speak 
for myself. When I voted for the authorizing legislation, I assumed we 
were going to appropriate the funds we were authorizing in that bill on 
that schedule in order to get to the $15 billion. That was my 
assumption.
  I can understand the reluctance to take any funds out of the defense 
budgets. I have supported defense budgets virtually every year since I 
have been in the Senate. I intend to support the budget again this 
year. But this is a very small amount. This is funding which can 
readily be replaced in a supplemental. There will be a defense 
supplemental down the road. We have all talked about that. Most of the 
discussion in the last 2 days is how we have the defense supplemental 
coming. We have already passed one this year. We will have another one 
next year. This is a very appropriate place for us to identify some 
funds we can use for this urgent need.
  In its January 2000 report, The Global Infectious Disease Threat and 
Its Implications for the United States, the

[[Page 18489]]

CIA noted that over the next 20 years HIV/AIDS and associated diseases 
in sub-Saharan Africa would:

       . . . kill up to a quarter of their populations . . . (and) 
     this will further impoverish the poor . . . and produce a 
     huge and impoverished orphan cohort unable to cope and 
     vulnerable to exploitation and radicalization.

  The estimate predicted increased political instability and slower 
democratic development as a result of AIDS.
  According to the World Bank:

       The illness and impending death of up to 25 percent of all 
     adults in some countries will have an enormous impact on 
     national productivity and earnings. Labor productivity is 
     likely to drop, the benefits of education will be lost, and 
     resources that would have been used for investments will be 
     used for health care, orphan care, and funerals. Savings 
     rates will decline, and the loss of human capital will affect 
     production and the quality of life for years to come.

  More than 30 percent of teachers are HIV positive in parts of Malawi 
and Uganda, 20 percent in Zambia, and 12 percent in South Africa. AIDS 
is killing people at middle and upper levels of management in both 
business and government; the trained personnel to replace them are not 
available.
  Without a workforce, there is no productivity. Without productivity, 
a country's economy quickly deteriorates and the government collapses 
into chaos. All too often, terrorism and fanaticism springs forth from 
this chaos and begin to spread outwards from its birthplace, inflicting 
damage and destruction on other countries.
  HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria are threats not just to the developing 
countries whose citizens have been ravaged by these diseases, but they 
are also threats to regional and international stability. AIDS, TB, and 
malaria claim the lives of 15,000 Africans each and every day. Every 
month that goes by in Africa, close to half a million people die from 
these diseases.
  AIDS has serious implications for issues of security in Africa, since 
HIV infection rates in many armies is extremely high. Domestic 
political stability is threatened when security forces become unable to 
perform their duties due to AIDS. Peacekeeping efforts on the part of 
more stable African nations are at risk as well as rates of infection 
among the peacekeeping troops grow. While he was in Nigeria last week, 
President Bush said:

       We will not allow terrorists to threaten African peoples or 
     to use Africa as a base to threaten the world.

  If we underfund the efforts to fight HIV/AIDS and its associated 
disease, we will be allowing just that.
  The HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria pandemic in Africa is an international 
emergency. While visiting Botswana last week, President Bush declared:

       This is the deadliest enemy Africa has ever faced, and you 
     will not face this enemy alone.

  Congress conveyed the same message last week in passing an amendment 
that asserted its belief that nothing short of full funding for HIV/
AIDS, TB, and malaria should be appropriated. The Byrd amendment allows 
us to do just that, and to do so without cutting vital services to 
other international health programs. The funding to do this would 
result from a .079 percent cut for all programs and activities within 
Title III and Title IV. These two Titles are receiving $3 billion more 
in funding than President Bush requested in his budget for fiscal year 
2004. The Byrd amendment allows full funding for international HIV/
AIDS, TB, and malaria programs. It allows the promise made to be a 
promise kept. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
  HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria are threats not just to the developing 
countries whose citizens have been ravaged by these diseases, but they 
are also threats to regional and international stability. AIDS, TB, and 
malaria claim the lives of 15,000 Africans each and every day. Every 
month that goes by in Africa, close to half a million people die from 
these diseases.
  I hope very much we can support the amendment of Senator Byrd. I hope 
it will get the same 78 votes we got for the sense-of-the-Congress 
resolution last week when we talked about whether we were going to 
appropriate money on the same schedule and at the same level we had 
authorized money in the earlier legislation this year.
  I commend the Senator from West Virginia for his amendment. I will 
certainly support it and I urge my colleagues to do so as well.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of Senator 
Byrd's amendment which I have cosponsored.
  The Senate worked hard and passed the Global AIDS Initiative back in 
May. At the President's request, this bipartisan authorization bill 
calls for $15 billion to help fight the spread of HIV and AIDS in 
Africa. The bill authorized $3 billion for this fight this year. This 
money is desperately needed.
  Approximately 29 million people, including 10 million people between 
the ages of 15 to 24 and 3 million children under the age of 15, are 
currently living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. The future spread of this 
epidemic depends in large measure on whether the world will accurately 
teach young people how to protect against contracting HIV and AIDS.
  Yesterday, I learned something very disturbing. The White House sent 
a letter to Congress asking to limit funding to $2 billion. That is $1 
billion short.
  I don't understand why President Bush, who has talked about his 
commitment to help fight AIDS in Africa over and over again, would ask 
for less money.
  We must back up our promises with real action, not phony rhetoric.
  Successful, proven programs for prevention, care, and treatment do 
exist but they are still small in scale, with many programs starved for 
resources. At least $9.2 billion is needed to mount a response to the 
AIDS crisis according to UNAIDS.
  Current global spending to address the crisis is far below this, at 
about $1 to $2 billion.
  A fair contribution by the U.S. Government to the global HIV/AIDS 
response would be between $2.75 and $3 billion given our share of the 
global economy, close to 30 percent. The United States is spending just 
over $500 million on global HIV/AIDS this year; and now President Bush 
is asking Congress to appropriate $1 billion less than it authorized 
for next year.
  The tragic impact of the AIDS epidemic is undeniable. One in every 
three adults in Africa is living with HIV/AIDS. Across the world, each 
year, 800,000 infants contract HIV before or during birth. Ninety 
percent of these HIV-infected babies are in sub-Saharan Africa.
  The global AIDS bill has the power to save lives through a 
combination of prevention and treatment. But in order to be effective, 
we must provide the necessary resources.
  In a speech last week during his trip to Botswana the President 
pledged that the U.S. would be a partner in the battle against a 
disease that has already killed more than 17 million in sub-Saharan 
Africa, and talked of his proposal to spend $15 billion over 5 years to 
help the hardest-hit African and Caribbean nations battle AIDS. That 
means Congress should be spending $3 billion a year. Now the 
President's own person--the Director of the Office of National AIDS 
Policy--is asking for $1 billion less. The message this sends to the 
world is discouraging.
  A failure to provide full funding is a setback that will cost lives. 
I urge the Senate to support Senator Byrd's amendment.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I support this amendment of my friend, the 
distinguished senior Senator from West Virginia.
  A couple of months ago, at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the 
President spent a good deal of time talking about the global AIDS 
crisis, the worst public health threat in human history. I commend him 
for that, and for going to Africa, which highlighted the devastation 
caused by AIDS there.
  President Bush has shown real leadership on AIDS, although it is 
important to mention that a bipartisan group in Congress has been 
pushing for stronger action on AIDS for years.
  A short time after the President's Coast Guard Academy speech, we

[[Page 18490]]

passed the United States Leadership Against AIDS, TB and Malaria Act, 
which authorized $15 billion over 5 years to combat AIDS, tuberculosis 
and malaria. That was consistent with what the President proposed in 
his State of the Union address back in January. It was an important 
step. It showed that we are beginning to take the AIDS pandemic 
seriously.
  But that was an authorization bill. It did not appropriate any money. 
For all intents and purposes, it was like writing the check with out 
enough money in the bank.
  Let me explain. The President's budget request contains only $1.9 
billion of the $3 billion we authorized for AIDS for fiscal year 2004. 
$1.9 billion is a good step, but we should do more. It remains to be 
seen whether the promise of that authorization bill--a promise with 
which I agree--will be fulfilled.
  The amendment of the Senator from West Virginia is the first real 
test of that.
  The United States Leadership Against AIDS, TB and Malaria Act also 
called for up to $1 billion for the Global Fund to fight AIDS and TB 
and Malaria. Again, a promise. For fiscal year 2004, the President has 
only budgeted $200 million for the Global Fund, which is one-fifth of 
the amount authorized. It is also a cut of $150 million from what was 
appropriated last year.
  There is another problem. While the President's fiscal year 2004 
budget for Foreign Operations includes approximately $1.3 billion to 
combat HIV/AIDS, it robs Peter to pay Paul to pay for increases in HIV/
AIDS programs, as the President's budget would cut other essential 
international health programs from 5 to 63 percent.
  Child survival and maternal health programs are cut by 12 percent. 
These are the programs that provide lifesaving child immunizations. 
They also help to reduce the 600,000 pregnancy-related deaths each year 
that could be avoided. Instead, the President's budget cuts these 
programs by 12 percent.
  It would cut programs to combat other infectious diseases like 
measles. Measles kills 1 million children--not 100,000 or 200,000--but 
1 million children a year. Again, this is something which is easily 
preventable. Every one of us can just go to the doctor's office and get 
our children and grandchildren immunized against measles. In many poor 
nations, parents and grandparents do not have that luxury. They need 
our help.
  The President's budget cuts funding for programs which combat 
measles, polio, SARS, ebola and other deadly diseases by 32 percent.
  These are not my numbers, these are the administration's numbers. 
These numbers are in the President's budget.
  These cuts will hurt children the most in countries where vaccines 
costing a few pennies make the difference between life and death. That 
is not acceptable.
  If somebody said to us, look at those five children, you can save 
their lives by spending a dollar, would we do it? Of course, we would 
do it.
  These are not Democratic or Republican programs. I have been joined 
time and again by colleagues on the other side of the aisle who support 
these health programs in both the Senate and the House.
  Anyone who knows anything about public health knows that building the 
health infrastructure in developing countries is essential if you are 
going to effectively combat AIDS. It is the same thing with child 
nutrition. It is the same thing with maternal health. You don't fight 
AIDS in a vacuum. It isn't an either/or proposition. People who are 
malnourished, who are in poor health, who have weak immune systems, who 
are at risk of other infections, are far more vulnerable to AIDS. It is 
common sense.
  Mr. President, we hear a lot of speeches here. We may feel good about 
giving those speeches, but I do not feel good about lofty rhetoric that 
bears little resemblance to reality, especially when it deals with a 
catastrophe like AIDS. The President's budget falls short. The 
allocation for Foreign Operations falls short. We have to do something.
  Senator Byrd's amendment builds on an amendment offered by Senator 
Bingaman to the State Department Authorization a couple of weeks ago. 
That amendment, which passed 78-18, called for full funding--$3 
billion, for the first year of the President's $15 billion AIDS 
initiative, even if it means exceeding the budget ceilings. This 
amendment does not exceed the ceilings.
  This amendment would provide full funding of the United States 
Leadership Against AIDS, TB and Malaria Act. It is what we said we 
would do. Senator Byrd's amendment would do it.
  His amendment would provide the additional $750 million we authorized 
for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. And it would provide 
$350 million for CDC and NIH programs to combat AIDS. That is what we 
said we would do when we passed the AIDS authorization bill, and again 
when we passed the Bingaman amendment.
  If we are going to lead, and especially if we are going to ask others 
to do more, we are going to have to stop playing shell games with the 
foreign aid budget. We are going to have to start keeping our promises.
  Leadership is good policy. Leadership means resources. Leadership is 
not a press release.
  Let's stop the rhetoric. Let's do what needs to be done to stop the 
15,000 new HIV infections that occur each day. Then the United States 
can show the promise and the moral leadership a great Nation should 
show.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, Senator Byrd has once again laid before 
the Senate a critical challenge. The numbers he has cited are 
staggering, confirming what we all know too well: that the world has 
never known a pandemic greater than the AIDS pandemic.
  At the end of last year, there were nearly 43 million people living 
with HIV. Since January 1, there have been at least 15,000 new HIV 
infections daily, meaning that we can expect another 45 million 
infections by 2010. These numbers do not begin to tell the story of the 
suffering--that story I have seen in the faces of suffering mothers and 
fathers, daughters and sons throughout Africa and Central Asia.
  We simply must do more to stop this crisis.
  Given the enormity of this challenge, I regret that I cannot vote for 
Senator Byrd's amendment. The amendment would pay for this vital 
increase with a rescission in other defense programs. Just as I have 
objected to the President's cuts in other vital global health programs 
to fund the limited AIDS funding increase in his budget, I must vote 
against this important amendment.
  But this will not be the last word. As soon as we can--on the Labor 
appropriations bill or on the foreign operations appropriations bill--I 
will work with my colleagues to provide new money for this vital fight. 
New resources that will fund the promise we made earlier this year with 
the global AIDS authorization. New resources that will not come out of 
a bill that must fund our Armed Forces and other emerging threats. New 
resources that will help us get a leg up on this deadly pandemic.
  We must not--we will not--stand down in this battle.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, the subject of how much money it takes to 
comply with the authorization and requests on AIDS is not a matter for 
the Defense bill. This is an attempt to take defense money and shift it 
over to the Health and Human Services bill and the State bill in 
anticipation that those bills will not meet the satisfaction of those 
who want to see this money put out on $3 billion a year rather than $15 
billion over 5 years.
  I understand the motivation for that: to put up more money. But that 
money is divided between the Labor, Health and Human Services 
subcommittee on the one hand and the State-Justice-Commerce bill on the 
other hand. Or perhaps some of it might go into the foreign operations 
bills. I don't know. But it is not defense.
  What this is doing is suggesting we take defense money that is needed 
to

[[Page 18491]]

replace the helicopters we have lost, to repair damage to the equipment 
we have had damaged in Afghanistan and Iraq, and it also goes to 
eliminate other items that are needed in terms of modernization.
  I oppose this amendment for that reason alone right now. I am not 
prepared to get into the argument about the total amount we have for 
AIDS, in terms of whether or not there is a commitment for $3 billion a 
year or $15 billion over 5 years. The point is, as the manager of this 
bill, my task is to assure we get the money we need for defense.
  It is an enormous amount, I say to those who say it is $1 billion, 
that is true--$1 billion a day. We are spending approximately $1 
billion a day for defense globally and that is a whale of a lot of 
money. I am often reminded of Senator Dirksen saying a billion here and 
a billion there and it becomes real money. There is no question about 
it, this is real money.
  But this is not the bill on which money is allocated for AIDS under 
global AIDS. On that basis alone I ask the Senate to support my motion 
to table the amendment of the Senator. Does the Senator from Nevada 
wish to speak before I make that motion?
  Mr. REID. I would, very briefly.
  Mr. STEVENS. Yes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I would rather the money for this amendment 
would come from someplace else. I hate to see it coming from the 
Defense bill. But as the Senator from New Mexico indicated, this is a 
very large bill.
  My problem is, however, we have people in this administration going 
around giving speeches about things that have been authorized and not 
appropriated.
  We had the problem with the Leave No Child Behind. The State of 
Nevada is in desperate shape in education for a number of reasons, not 
least of which is the obligations the State of Nevada has because of 
the unfunded mandate given as a result of the Leave No Child Behind. 
The State of Nevada still, as we speak, doesn't have a budget. They 
should have had one months ago.
  We had the same situation on homeland security. We finally passed the 
11 appropriations bills. As the distinguished ranking member of the 
Appropriations Committee would acknowledge, he and a number of us tried 
in many different ways to have money added to take away from the burden 
of State and local governments for homeland security. We couldn't get 
that money. We got some money but not enough money.
  Then when the President signed those 11 bills, you will remember, 
even Republicans got upset because he said: I like the bill for 
everything except there is not enough money for homeland security.
  We did everything possible to get more money for homeland security 
and we simply were not supported by the administration. Even 
Republicans said that was going too far.
  Education, homeland security, and now we have the President and 
members of his administration going around talking about global AIDS 
and what a terrible thing it is. And it is. I was in Africa with the 
Senator from New Mexico and the distinguished Democratic leader last 
August. On the continent of Africa, over 6,000 people are dying every 
day from AIDS. Over 6,000 people every day, 7 days a week, and no 
holidays.
  Last week I offered an amendment on the State Department 
authorization bill to get money for Mexico, a free enterprise system, 
microlending to help that country pick themselves up and help so people 
are not streaming across our borders because they are poverty stricken.
  I got an e-mail saying, Why are you giving money to those Mexicans? 
We need money at home. Why give money to those Mexicans? It was the 
right thing to do, not simply because it helped the Mexican people but 
because it helped us. That amendment helped us. It helped the United 
States. It helped everyone in the United States. For every person who 
doesn't try to come across the border illegally, and doesn't get 
across, it saves this country money.
  Mr. President, this AIDS money also helps us as a country. We are 
better off if we don't have 6,000 people dying on that continent.
  As I said, I wish there was some other way to get this money. But we 
have to make sure the people of America understand the difference 
between authorizing and appropriating. It is easy to make speeches 
saying we authorize this. But if you do not appropriate the money, it 
winds up being nothing.
  Today we reported out of the Energy Subcommittee the energy and water 
bill. We did the best we could in that bill. But we have thousands of 
projects that have been authorized and which are desperately needed in 
our various States around the country. We don't have enough money to 
pay for them. We have done a disservice, in many instances, by 
authorizing money and then not appropriating it. The Senator from West 
Virginia is not dumping money into Africa which would not help this 
country. That money to fight global AIDS is going to directly help the 
United States of America.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, let me reiterate a few things that have 
already been said. This is not an across-the-board cut on an entire 
bill. The language here is taken out of section 8135 of the fiscal year 
2002 Defense Appropriations Act. In other words, there is ample 
precedent for the way we are providing the money. Even with these cuts, 
the procurement and research and development accounts remain $2 billion 
above the President's request and $6.7 billion above fiscal year 2003. 
These are real budget funds. Here we have a $368 billion Defense bill. 
We shouldn't hesitate to reduce it by $1.1 billion to pay for a program 
as important as global AIDS. I know the administration says it doesn't 
want that much money this year. The administration prefers doing the 
ramped-up approach.
  People understand simple math. Fifteen billion dollars over 5 years 
is $3 billion a year. I think we should provide the full $3 billion. 
People understand that is certainly going to be $15 billion over a 5-
year period if we do it $3 billion a year. It is easy to understand 
that. But by doing the ramped-up approach, it appears that the 
President is not fulfilling his commitment. I want to help him fulfill 
that commitment.
  I remember, as well as the distinguished Senator from Alaska does, 
when we were trying to provide moneys for homeland security. We tried 
to provide moneys for our firemen, our policemen, and our health 
personnel. We were told by the then-Director of Homeland Security, 
former Governor Tom Ridge, in a letter that they didn't need that much. 
It seems that the administration doesn't need the money if some effort 
is being made on this side of the aisle to provide the money that the 
administration needs. They know they don't need that then and they come 
back later and ask for it themselves. They say they need it then.
  This is an opportunity to show the world that we mean what we say. 
This is an opportunity to show the world that the President means what 
he says.
  Here we are quibbling over eight-tenths of 1 percent. We are fiddling 
over that little measly amount of money when we could adopt the 
amendment. People of the world would understand what we are saying. 
They would believe the President is backing up his commitment. Why do 
we quibble over a few tenths of 1 percent here?
  have made the case.
  I ask unanimous consent that certain letters I have received be 
printed in the Record. These are letters of support for the amendment. 
They come from the Global AIDS Alliance, the Episcopal Church Office of 
Government Relations located in Washington, DC, Physicians for Human 
Rights, the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist 
Church, and the Center for Health and Gender Equity.
  I ask unanimous consent that these letters be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:


[[Page 18492]]




                                         Global AIDS Alliance,

                                    Washington, DC, July 16, 2003.
     Senator Robert Byrd,
     United States Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Byrd: We would like to express our deepest 
     appreciation for the amendment you plan to offer to the 
     Defense Appropriations Bill, which would increase funding for 
     the fight against the AIDS pandemic. The attached letter from 
     diverse national and international groups shows clear support 
     for the level of increase your amendment would provide.
       Your amendment reflects a realistic appraisal of the true 
     scale of the epidemic and of the real and serious threat to 
     US national security it poses. The US National Intelligence 
     Council has warned AIDS is poised to destabilize areas of 
     high US strategic interest. On July 3, the US Centers for 
     Disease Control warned that China, India and other parts of 
     Asia were threatened by what it termed an ``AIDS 
     catastrophe.'' Humanitarian considerations alone are enough 
     to justify full US support for the fight against AIDS, but 
     these strategic considerations show that it is only 
     appropriate your amendment be approved during consideration 
     of the Defense Appropriations Bill.
       The fight against this global threat would be significantly 
     bolstered by your amendment. The $1.1 billion increase would 
     allow the US to make good on its $3 billion commitment to the 
     global effort against AIDS and other health threats in FY 
     2004. Providing $750 million of the increase to the Global 
     Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria makes particularly good 
     sense from a public health perspective. The Fund can 
     efficiently utilize these resources, and it can provide them 
     not only to Africa but also to such seriously impacted 
     regions as Asia and Eastern Europe. We also support providing 
     a portion of the increase to AIDS programs run by the 
     Department of Health and Human Services.
       Already, twenty five million people have died from AIDS. 
     Around the world, more than 42 million people are infected 
     with the virus and few of these have access to life-saving 
     medicine. If we don't act now, there will be 25 million AIDS 
     orphans facing a bleak future by the end of the decade. Yet, 
     as the Director of UNAIDS, Peter Piot, recently noted, 
     ``[T]he mismatch between need and funding continues to be one 
     of the biggest obstacles in the struggle to control the 
     epidemic.'' Your amendment would ensure the US shows full 
     leadership in the global effort.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Dr. Paul Zeitz,
                                               Executive Director.

                                         The Episcopal Church,

                                   Washington D.C., July 17, 2003.
       Dear Senate: We are writing on behalf of the Episcopal 
     Church to urge your support for a Byrd amendment that would 
     increase funding to help fight the global AIDS pandemic. 
     Senator Byrd is expected to offer this amendment during 
     Senator floor consideration of the Defense Appropriations 
     bill. The amendment would increase AIDS funding by $1.1 
     billion, with $750 million of that amount to be earmarked for 
     a U.S. contribution to the Global Fund and the remaining $350 
     million to be allocated by the Department of Health and Human 
     Services for overseas AIDS spending. This additional $1.1 
     billion in spending would increase total 2004 global AIDS 
     spending to $3 billion a year, an amount equal to a first 
     year installment in President Bush's five-year, $15 billion 
     Emergency Global AIDS Initiative.
       The global AIDS crisis is a priority for the Episcopal 
     Church. Our partners in the Anglican Communion, serving 
     Christians and their communities in 165 countries worldwide, 
     face the daily hardships caused by this terrible disease. In 
     parts of Africa, where over half of the Anglican Communion 
     resides, the AIDS pandemic has created more than a health 
     crisis: it has decimated the workforce, led to a collapse in 
     education systems, deepened poverty, undermined the 
     production of agriculture, and created millions of orphans 
     and vulnerable children. However, AIDS can be beaten. The 
     experience of a successful AIDS program in Uganda makes this 
     clear. Uganda implemented a national AIDS program, and in 
     just ten years, reduced that country's AIDS rate from 15 
     percent to 5 percent.
       Today, we have an effective new mechanism that can build on 
     success stories like Uganda's. The Global Fund to Fight TB, 
     AIDS, and Malaria allows for a coordinated global response to 
     the AIDS pandemic. Global Fund grants are putting half a 
     million people with AIDS on life-saving drugs--a six fold 
     increase in the number of people in Africa receiving these 
     drugs. The Fund focuses on providing support for successful 
     programs on the ground and leveraging our allies to do their 
     fair share to fight AIDS. Just this week, an international 
     conference was convened to review to date the progress made 
     by the Global Fund and to address funding issues. The 
     European Union is now committed to raising $1 billion for the 
     Global Fund. U.S. leadership is clearly serving as a catalyst 
     in leveraging the financial support of other major donor 
     countries. A significant U.S. contribution would further 
     challenge other donors to do more to support The Fund.
       The Byrd amendment would allow the Senate to fulfill the 
     humanitarian promise made to fight HIV/AIDS. The Byrd 
     amendment would be offset by a small reduction in proposed 
     spending by an amount less than eight-tenths of one percent. 
     Even then, the Senate would still provide more for 
     procurement than was requested in the President's budget.
       We urge your support for the Byrd amendment to the Defense 
     Appropriations bill. Now is the time for Congress and the 
     President to make good on the promise to fully fund the 
     Global AIDS Initiative and a U.S. contribution to the Global 
     Fund. Your support can make a significant contribution in the 
     effort to launch this much-needed world health campaign.
           Sincerely,
     Maureen T. Shea,
       Director of Government Relations.
     Jere Myrick Skipper,
       International Policy Analyst.
                                  ____



                                  Physicians for Human Rights,

                                        Boston, MA, July 17, 2003.
     Hon. Robert C. Byrd,
     United States Senate,
     Washington, DC
       Dear Senator Byrd: We thank you for your efforts to ensure 
     that the full $3 billion authorized for fiscal year 2004 by 
     the U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and 
     Malaria Act of 2003 is appropriated. These diseases kill 6 
     million people per year, or more than 16,000 per day, making 
     it crucial that the full level of authorized funding to 
     combat them is authorized. Physicians for Human Rights 
     therefore strongly supports your amendment to appropriate an 
     additional $1.1 billion for HIV/AIDS funding, including $750 
     million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and 
     Malaria.
       We are especially pleased that your amendment includes 
     strong support for the Global Fund. The Fund is facing a 
     shortfall of up to $600-800 million for this year, and needs 
     an additional $3 billion through 2004. The Fund is already 
     proving its efficiency at quickly distributing funds based on 
     an innovative, country-driven process that ensures the 
     participation of civil society and that proposals adhere to 
     best scientific practices. These features, along with the 
     Fund's multiple accountability mechanisms, make the Fund an 
     excellent mechanism to deliver funds to resource-poor 
     countries, and it deserves the full support of the United 
     States.
       The proposals coming into the Global Fund demonstrate that 
     countries have plans to spend resources, what they lack are 
     the resources. When President Bush was in Africa last week, 
     he saw both the awesome need for funding and the equally 
     tremendous energy and commitment of the African people to 
     overcome the diseases that plague their continent. The 
     President and the Congress must trust that given the 
     resources, this energy and commitment will be translated into 
     results. This is already happening throughout Africa--where 
     the resources are available.
       African health professionals, who are among those in the 
     best position to know what their countries need and what they 
     can spend, are urging the United States to appropriate $3 
     billion this year. So are American health professionals who 
     have extensive experience in fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. We 
     are including a letter that includes their strong support for 
     $3 billion in fiscal year 2004 appropriations to fight HIV/
     AIDS. In a short time, it was signed by 35 African health 
     professionals from 13 countries and 67 American health 
     professionals, along with 13 health professionals from other 
     countries.
       Again, we thank you for offering your amendment, and urge 
     your colleagues to support your amendment.
           Sincerely,

                                        Leonard S. Rubenstein,

                                               Executive Director,
     Physicians for Human Rights.
                                  ____

         General Board of Church and Society of the United 
           Methodist Church,
                                     Washington DC, July 17, 2003.
     Senator Robert Byrd,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Byrd: I am writing to extend our support to 
     your proposed amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill 
     that will increase the level of funding for HIV/AIDS, Malaria 
     and TB. The United Methodist Church strongly advocates for 
     full funding of the AIDS Initiative proposed by President 
     Bush in his State of the Union speech as well as the U.S. 
     Leadership Against AIDS, TB and Malaria Act of 2003. It is 
     our hope to see $3 billion for FY2004 appropriated which 
     would include one billion dollars for the Global Fund.
        We now know that AIDS can be beaten. The experience of 
     Uganda makes this clear. The HIV rate in Uganda was reduced 
     from 15% in 1990 to approximately 5% according to UNAIDS. 
     Today, we also have effective mechanisms to build on the 
     success in Uganda because of the creation of the Global Fund 
     to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.
       The Global Fund, chaired by Health and Human Services 
     Secretary Tommy Thompson, is scaling up successful programs 
     on the ground and leveraging our allies to do their fair 
     share in the fight against AIDS. Grants

[[Page 18493]]

     by the Global Fund are putting half a million people with 
     AIDS on life-saving drugs--a six fold increase in the number 
     of people in Africa receiving these drugs.
       As we listen to our United Methodist brothers and sisters 
     particularly in Africa, it becomes quite clear that this bill 
     is one of the most critical pieces of legislation considered 
     by Congress. The full funding of this is necessary if we are 
     to make any significant impact in the pandemic. I thank you 
     for your leadership on this issue and wish you the very best 
     as you proceed forward with this important task.
           Peace and grace,
                                    Linda Bales, Program Director,
     Louise and Hugh Moore Population Project.
                                  ____

         Center for Health and Gender Equity,
                                   Takoma Park, MD, July 17, 2003.
     Hon. Robert Byrd,
     U.S. Senate, Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Byrd: I am writing to express my strong 
     support, on behalf of the Center for Health and Gender Equity 
     (CHANGE), for your effort to increase U.S. spending for 
     global AIDS programs by offering an amendment to the Defense 
     Appropriations bill.
       CHANGE, a U.S.-based international women's health and 
     rights organization, worked hard to develop and pass an 
     effective global AIDS policy to respond specifically to the 
     needs of women and girls in preventing HIV infection. While 
     we are disappointed with some of the harmful provisions--
     particularly in regard to HIV prevention efforts--we feel the 
     bill itself is a positive advancement and support fully 
     funding this initiative. It is critically important for the 
     U.S. government to appropriate a full $3 billion to combat 
     global AIDS and make good on our promise to do so. Cutting 
     unnecessary defense spending is an appropriate way to reach 
     the authorized funding amount and support the essential 
     Global AIDS Fund, since the President has failed to request 
     an adequate amount in his own budget and has discouraged 
     Congressional appropriators from providing sufficient funds 
     in the foreign operations budget.
       We applaud your leadership in this effort and are working 
     to ensure passage of your amendment on the Senate floor.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Jodi L. Jacobson,
                                               Executive Director.

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that the names 
of Senators Bingaman and Cantwell be included as cosponsors.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I yield the floor. I thank the distinguished 
Senator from Alaska for his patience and for waiting until we could 
finish our statements before he moves to table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Hawaii.
  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I stand with much reluctance to speak 
against the amendment proposed by the good Senator. But I would like to 
commend him first for bringing this matter to our attention.
  I think it should be noted that as of this moment this Nation has 
spent over $15 billion primarily in research. If this was a case where 
we had a vaccine or we had some drug or some medicine that could cure 
global AIDS and that we were not purchasing it in a sufficient 
quantity, that would be another issue. Then one could say this is an 
emergency and we need more drugs or we need more vaccines. But we are 
still in the process of developing this vaccine.
  Experience has shown us that by merely appropriating money does not 
find solutions with these problems. One must train technicians. One 
must take time to do research. Men and women who are experts in this 
area and who have a schedule are much more knowledgeable to tell us at 
this stage whether we should be spending so much. Finally, when we 
hopefully reach that moment when we can tell the world we have found 
the vaccine and we have found the drugs that can do it, then we can 
spend huge amounts.
  We have spent over $15 billion. It is not an easy problem. To say 
that it is complex would be an understatement.
  If this amount suggested by my friend and mentor would cure the 
problem, I think all of us here would be supporting it. But I think all 
of us realize we are still at the development stage.
  If you study the process followed by other development programs, you 
will note that we always start small and then grow up to a point where 
we can do the huge spending. But we still must develop the vaccine. We 
still must develop the medicine. And just spending money is not going 
to do that.
  Much as I want to support my dear friends, I find that I will be 
supporting my chairman in the motion to table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I had a conversation with the Senator 
from Iowa concerning the President's statement. I am informed by a call 
we made to the President's Director of AIDS Policy that in a background 
briefing with the press it was plainly spelled out that the President's 
request for 2004 was $2 billion but that there was an absolute 
commitment for $15 billion over 5 years.
  I will say this. There is no question that the amount of money in 
this account is higher. This is one of the things I have been trying to 
say all day, that in this bill are substantial amounts of money that 
relate to Iraq. That increase is for the procurement of aircraft, 
ammunition, and specialized equipment that was destroyed in Iraq. It is 
not being spent in Iraq, but it is being spent to replenish 
particularly the special operations command, special operations forces. 
They consumed a considerable amount of their equipment and supplies. 
That extra money will be in this account. It will be reduced $1.1 
billion if this amendment is agreed to.
  It would be my hope Senators would look at this as an amendment to 
take money from the Defense bill to meet the AIDS obligation. We will 
be back on this AIDS obligation next week, hopefully, when we get to 
the Health and Human Services bill.
  We had authorized $370 billion in the Defense authorization bill. We 
have found here $3.69 billion, despite the fact we already took out of 
this account $3.1 billion and allocated it to nondefense accounts.
  I do believe we have performed literally miracles--well, my 
squadron's motto in World War II was, ``We do the impossible 
immediately. Miracles take slightly longer.'' So I cannot say this was 
a miracle, but it sure was doing the impossible to try to find the 
money to try to meet the objectives of the Defense authorization bill, 
notwithstanding the fact that we have taken $3.1 billion out of it.
  Mr. President, there is no question that there is no one on the floor 
of this Senate who is more committed to the war on AIDS than this 
Senator. I do not know how many people understand it. I believe I do 
understand it in the way that it replicates cells, destroys cells. It 
really is a total global plague now.
  I am proud our President has made this commitment of $15 billion. 
Instead of standing here and challenging the commitment on the basis we 
have not provided $3 billion in the first year, we should applaud the 
President for making the commitment for $15 billion. I applaud him 
again today for that.
  I also hope the Senate will understand we have reviewed every request 
for equipment that has been made in addition to those items that were 
authorized. We have allocated the money as best we can. The Senator 
from Hawaii and I have had no disagreements at all on that.
  I, once again, am very proud of the support of my friend. And I do 
make a motion to table the amendment of the Senator from West Virginia, 
and I ask unanimous consent that vote on that motion take place at a 
time to be determined by the majority leader after consultation with 
the minority leader.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. REID. Reserving the right to object, Senator Byrd has 
specifically requested, many times--and I have relayed this, I think--
at least I tried to--that he wants a vote when he completes the debate. 
So we should have a vote now.
  Mr. STEVENS. I understand that.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

[[Page 18494]]

  The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. STEVENS. Will the Senator yield for a moment?
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senator finishes 
his remarks, I be recognized to make a unanimous consent request.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, the Senator from Alaska will be recognized 
following the conclusion of the remarks of the Senator from Iowa.
  The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. HARKIN. I thank the Presiding Officer, and I thank the chairman.
  Mr. President, I just want to clarify something to make the record as 
clear as I can. Earlier in my remarks, I had said the President, 
traveling in Africa, had stated that he wanted the full $3 billion for 
the AIDS funding in Africa for this year. The chairman of the committee 
had asked me about that, and I had said that I would come up with the 
documentation. Well, it is sort of half of this and half of that. I 
will admit now that the President did not specifically say: ``$3 
billion.'' I wanted to admit that for the record.
  However, the President did say--and I will quote his words exactly--
on July 12, in Abuja, Nigeria:

       The people of Africa are fighting HIV/AIDS with courage. 
     And I'm here to say, you will not be alone in your fight. In 
     May, I signed a bill that authorizes $15 billion for the 
     global fight on AIDS. This week, a committee of the House of 
     Representatives took an important step to fund the first year 
     of the authorization bill. And the Senate is beginning to 
     take up debate.

  And here is the key language:

       The House of Representatives and the United States Senate 
     must fully fund this initiative, for the good of the people 
     on this continent of Africa. . . .

  Well, to ``fully fund this initiative.'' I have a copy of the 
authorizing language. The authorizing language says, specifically, 
under paragraph A(2):

       Authorize the appropriation of a total $15 billion for 
     fiscal years 2004 through 2008.
  Specifically, the act authorized $3 billion to be appropriated in 
fiscal year 2004 for HIV/AIDS and related programs. So, specifically, 
the authorizing bill authorized $3 billion in this coming fiscal year. 
The President said:

       The House and the Senate must fully fund this initiative.

  He may not have said $3 billion, but what he said must mean $3 
billion because that is full funding of the bill for next year. It is 
right, he didn't use $3 billion, but he said he wanted it fully funded. 
If it is fully funded, it must be $3 billion for this next year.
  Secondly, the Secretary of State, on a briefing in South Africa, was 
asked a question:

       The House Appropriations Committee today cut back the first 
     year's funding from about $3 billion to about $2 billion.

  And Secretary Powell answered:

       I would, of course, have preferred full funding of the 
     President's request to make the best use of the money that 
     Congress has provided for this. And I'll wait and see the 
     congressional action and see how this ultimately emerges from 
     the Congress.

  So here we have the President saying he wanted it fully funded. He 
says:

       The House and Senate must fully fund this initiative.

  That can only mean that we must come up with the $3 billion. So while 
the President didn't specifically say $3 billion, that is the full 
import of his words that he spoke in Africa.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I asked for and have obtained a copy of 
the transcript that was made at the background briefing provided for 
the President's speech in Africa. This was made by Dr. Joseph O'Neill, 
the President's director for AIDS policy. He was asked this question by 
the press:

       Can you clarify something about the money issue? You've 
     talked about full funding, but no one has yet defined what 
     full funding is. Is it the $2 billion that the President 
     originally requested for next year? Or is it the $3 billion 
     that was in the authorization bill? Or is it something else?

  Dr. O'Neill answered:

       Full funding and what we are going after is $15 billion 
     over five years. Our request for this year, 2004, as you 
     know, is $1.9 billion if you exclude the tuberculosis and 
     malaria money.
       And I want to make a very clear point on this, because it's 
     something where there has been continuing confusion. We have 
     requested and will request $15 billion over five years. Now, 
     in order to be effective with those dollars, we would be 
     foolish to think we would spend the same amount every year. 
     In order to do--particularly to do the treatment that is the 
     cornerstone of this initiative--and I can say this because 
     I'm a practicing physician myself, I still [see] HIV/AIDS 
     patients, this is a very tough thing to do--in order to do 
     that, we need to build a lot of infrastructure, we need to do 
     a lot of training, particularly of health care workers. So 
     for the first year, it's going to take less money to get the 
     job done than it will in the outyears.
       So we've always been clear [on that], we've always tried to 
     be clear that we've always intended to ramp up these dollars 
     over five years for a total of $15 billion over five [years].

  That is the statement on which we relied. Again, I come back to the 
fact that we are talking, in this instance, about the problem of the 
other bills that do handle HIV/AIDS and not this bill.
  I understand the Senator from West Virginia would like to make a 
statement. I ask unanimous consent that he be permitted to make the 
statement before I renew the motion to table his amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the facts are staggering. More than 5 
million people are infected with HIV/AIDS each year. That is 15,000 
people infected each day, 625 people infected every hour, more than 10 
people every minute--people of virtually all ages, people in every 
corner of the world. Last year, more than 3 million people died from 
AIDS. The longer we wait to find a cure, the longer we wait to fulfill 
the pledge to the global HIV/AIDS trust fund, the longer we wait, the 
greater the tragedy.
  The Byrd amendment would allow the Senate to fulfill the humanitarian 
promise made to fight HIV/AIDS. This amendment would help to alleviate 
some of the misery endured by millions of AIDS-inflicted families 
around the globe for roughly what we spend in a single day to fund the 
Department of Defense.
  This amendment would make good on the Government's pledge to the 
world and the effort to combat the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. The 
President promised $15 billion in the next 5 years. Congress has 
authorized $3 billion for the next fiscal year. But the authorization 
without appropriation is a will-o'-the-wisp. The President's budget 
only provides $1.9 billion. This amendment would increase funding for 
the global AIDS/HIV initiative by $1.1 billion to $3 billion. The 
amendment would be offset by a $1.1 billion across-the-board cut in the 
amounts appropriated for the Defense Department procurement as well as 
for research, development, test, and evaluation. We are spending more 
than $1 billion a day for defense in this bill. Surely we can afford to 
spend $1 billion more in a year to combat AIDS and HIV.
  I reiterate that a few days ago--last week it was, I believe--
President Bush visited five African countries. He again pledged that 
the United States would play a leading role in combating AIDS. The 
President repeatedly promised to do all in his power to make sure that 
Congress fully financed his proposed 5-year, $15 billion program to 
attack the disease in the world's poorest countries. This is the 
President's chance. Why wait? He may not be around here for 5 years. 
Who knows, right? The President may not be in power for 5 years. He may 
not be around here 5 years. Why not help him to fulfill his commitment 
today? Three billion dollars in 1 year--$3 billion--to attack this 
disease.
  On July 10, 2003, the Senate voted in a sense-of-the-Senate 
resolution 78 to 18 to provide full appropriations for the $15 billion 
AIDS initiative touted by our President, including $3 billion in fiscal 
year 2004. Now is the time, Senators, to step up to the plate and honor 
your commitment. Now is the time to help the President to honor his 
commitment.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment and to vote no 
on the motion to table.

[[Page 18495]]

  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I renew my motion to table the Senator's 
amendment and ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.


            Unanimous Consent Agreement--Executive Calendar

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that immediately 
at the conclusion of the next vote, the Senate proceed to executive 
session for consideration of Calendar No. 291, Allyson Duncan, to be a 
U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit; provided that there then be 
10 minutes for debate equally divided between Senators Dole and Edwards 
and, at the conclusion of that time, the Senate proceed to a vote on 
the confirmation of the nomination without further intervening action 
or debate; provided, further, that immediately following that vote, the 
Senate proceed to a vote on the confirmation of Calendar No. 294, 
Louise Flanagan, to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of 
North Carolina; provided that following those votes, the President be 
immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate resume 
legislative session; provided, further, that the time for voting on 
each of the confirmations of these judges be limited to 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, will the Senator from Alaska modify his 
request to allow Senator Schumer to be recognized after the votes are 
completed to speak for up to 10 minutes? He has an amendment that has 
been worked out and he wants to speak, and that will finalize that.
  Mr. STEVENS. Yes. I so modify my unanimous consent request.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion to 
table amendment No. 1283.
  The yeas and nays are ordered and the clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I announce that the Senator from Texas (Mrs. 
Hutchison) is necessarily absent.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Florida (Mr. Graham), the 
Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), the Senator from Connecticut 
(Mr. Lieberman), and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Miller) are 
necessary absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) would vote ``Yea''.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 71, nays 24, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 288 Leg.]

                                YEAS--71

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bond
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Campbell
     Carper
     Chambliss
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     DeWine
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Levin
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Nickles
     Reed
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Voinovich
     Warner

                                NAYS--24

     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Chafee
     Clinton
     Corzine
     Dayton
     Dodd
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Harkin
     Jeffords
     Kennedy
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Pryor
     Reid
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Stabenow
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--5

     Graham (FL)
     Hutchison
     Kerry
     Lieberman
     Miller
  The motion to table was agreed to.
  Mr. STEVENS. I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. LEAHY. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. STEVENS. Prior to that time commencing on the nominations, I ask 
unanimous consent, other than the managers' package which is being 
cleared on both sides, that the only other amendments to the Defense 
appropriations bill to be in order will be: Senator Byrd's amendment, 
with Senator Byrd speaking for 20 minutes and 10 minutes for me; 
Senator Biden's amendment, 10 minutes for Senator Biden and 5 minutes 
for me; and I ask further that following disposition of those 
amendments the bill be read for the third time and the Senate proceed 
to vote on final passage of the bill without further intervening action 
or debate.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Reserving the right to object.
  Mr. BIDEN. Reserving the right to object.
  Mr. DASCHLE. I ask that the order be reversed; Senator Biden be 
recognized first and then Senator Byrd second.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, in the interest of my colleagues, there 
will be an opportunity next week, and I will not propose my amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there an objection to the unanimous consent 
request?
  Mr. STEVENS. That means other than the managers' package, the only 
amendment in order to this bill would be Senator Byrd on a 30-minute 
timeframe, 20 minutes for Senator Byrd and 10 minutes for myself; that 
will follow the 10 minutes of debate on the circuit court judge and the 
vote on that confirmation.
  I, again, renew my request for unanimous consent that following the 
disposition of those amendments and the circuit judge this bill be read 
for the third time and the Senate vote on final passage of the Defense 
appropriations bill with no further intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________