[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11993]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE

  (Mr. HIMES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, this week, Washington plays host to the 
International AIDS Conference, a conference that brings together 
activists, scientists, and people living with HIV to mourn those 
millions who have been lost to that disease around this world but also 
to celebrate some very real progress made against that disease.
  HIV is no longer a death sentence for those who are diagnosed. That's 
a very large accomplishment that the U.S. Government can claim some 
credit for through research at NIH, CDC, small things like the fact 
that the city of Washington can be host because the President's 
administration lifted the travel ban on people with HIV.
  Mr. Speaker, there is also something for us to learn. The Bush 
administration--which I didn't always agree with--also can take 
enormous credit for PEPFAR, a program which saved millions of lives in 
Africa and Asia and which earned us the respect and the love of people 
around this planet. We should learn from that, to work together to end 
this disease, to make sure that those with it are treated and that we 
prevent it and ultimately end it. That should be our goal.

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