[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14637-14638]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    INTERNATIONAL HIV/AIDS PROGRAMS

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to speak briefly about the funding 
to combat HIV/AIDS in the fiscal year 2018 Department of State and 
Foreign Operations appropriations bill, which was reported unanimously 
by the Senate Appropriations Committee on September 7.
  In May, the Congress received the President's fiscal year 2018 budget 
request, which included a $1 billion cut to international HIV/AIDS 
programs. The White House proposed to focus the President's Emergency 
Plan for AIDS Relief--the PEPFAR program--in 12 priority countries, 
while only maintaining current treatment levels in the other 24 
countries in which PEPFAR works. This would mean no lifesaving drugs 
for new patients in any of those 24 countries and the end of 
initiatives PEPFAR has undertaken to accelerate progress in those 
countries.
  Fortunately, the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, chaired 
by Senator Graham and of which I am ranking member, rejected the 
President's proposed cut and restored HIV/AIDS funding to the current 
level. The committee-reported bill includes a total of $6 billion for 
HIV/AIDS programs, including $4.32 billion for PEPFAR, $1.35 billion 
for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and malaria, and $330 million 
for HIV/AIDS programs administered by the U.S. Agency for International 
Development.
  The committee report accompanying the bill also reaffirms the key 
role PEPFAR plays in HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment around 
the globe. In 2016, PEPFAR supported more than 11 million people with 
lifesaving antiretroviral treatment and provided testing and counseling 
for more than 74 million people.
  During the committee markup of the Department of State and Foreign 
Operations appropriations bill, I offered an amendment that would have 
increased PEPFAR by $500 million. Funding for PEPFAR has been stagnant 
for several years, and the additional funds in my amendment would have 
enabled millions more people infected with the AIDS virus to receive 
lifesaving treatment. Regrettably, my amendment failed on a party-line 
vote.
  Nonetheless, the bill still succeeds in rejecting the 
administration's nonsensical and unacceptable reduction to HIV/AIDS 
funding. I want to be sure that all Senators are aware of this critical 
funding, which has received widespread, bipartisan support for many 
years.
                                 F_____
                                 

                            CHOLERA IN HAITI

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, in 2004 the United States voted to 
establish the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH, 
to police the country following years of political turmoil.
  While MINUSTAH was successful in bringing a semblance of order to the 
country, its mission was severely impacted by the 2010 earthquake which

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resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people and left hundreds 
of thousands more in need of assistance. Haiti has not fully recovered 
since then.
  Unfortunately, that was not the only tragedy that befell Haiti in 
2010. In October of that year, a cholera outbreak spread throughout the 
country, sickening hundreds of thousands and claiming the lives of more 
than 9,000. Even more tragically and unlike the earthquake, the 
outbreak could have been prevented, and the UN peacekeeping mission--
tasked with protecting the people--was at fault.
  The cholera outbreak was caused by an act of extreme negligence, when 
some UN peacekeepers disposed of human waste in a manner that 
contaminated the local water system. Before it happened, cholera was 
not a problem in Haiti. Today it is. In 2016, after years of refusing 
to accept responsibility, the UN acknowledged its role in the cholera 
outbreak and established a trust fund to address the problem, but so 
far, very little has been contributed.
  A provision I authored, which was adopted unanimously by the Senate 
Appropriations Committee and included in the fiscal year 2018 
Department of State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill, would 
provide the Trump administration with the authority to enable the 
United States to do its part to help.
  With MINUSTAH winding down in Haiti, $40 million in unused 
contributions are available to donor countries, and the UN has agreed 
that those credits may be used to help address the cholera problem 
caused by its own peacekeepers.
  The United States share of those credits is $11.7 million, and the 
provision I mentioned makes clear that the committee believes 
contributing to the trust fund would be an appropriate use of those 
funds. While this amount still falls far short of what is needed, if we 
believe in accountability for the UN, we should join other nations in 
providing our share of these funds to address this tragedy.
  This is not a tragedy that only harmed a few families. Nearly 10,000 
innocent people lost their lives through no fault of their own. They 
need help, and this is a small way for us to contribute.
  When the United States responds to natural or manmade disasters, 
whether the tsunami in Indonesia, earthquakes in Nepal, drought in 
Africa, or war in Syria, we don't debate whose responsibility it should 
be to care for the victims. We respond because we are able to, and that 
is what global leaders do when tragedy strikes. We did not cause the 
cholera outbreak in Haiti any more than we have caused countless other 
calamities around the world, but we can help. Even $11.7 million will 
make a difference in Haiti, including by leveraging contributions from 
other governments.
  I hope other Senators will follow the lead of the Appropriations 
Committee and lend their voices in support of this effort.

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