[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
[December 1, 2006]
[Pages 2144-2145]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on World AIDS Day
December 1, 2006

    Laura and I welcome our guests. This is World 
AIDS Day. It's a day for the world to recognize the fact that there are 
39 million people living with HIV/AIDS and a day to remember the fact 
that 25 million people have died of AIDS. It's a day, as well, for the 
United States to remember that we have a duty to do something about this 
epidemic, this pandemic.
    And today Laura and I met with the Secretary 
of HHS, as well as Mark Dybul, our U.S. Coordinator for our AIDS effort, and people 
who are involved with helping to save lives, people from our country and 
people from around the world who have come to share with us the stories 
of compassion and courage.
    This country is committed--we're committed in helping solve this 
problem by dedicating a lot of resources to the battle against HIV/AIDS. 
The American taxpayers have funded over $15 billion to help groups 
around this table save lives. Before the PEPFAR program--that's the name 
of the program that we--that's what we call the program that we dedicate 
money to, to help save lives--before it became into being, there was 
about 50,000 people receiving lifesaving drugs. Today, there are over 
800,000 people receiving lifesaving drugs, and we thank those who are on 
the ground in the countries around the world who are using taxpayers' 
money to save lives. We believe that it's one thing to spend money; we 
also believe it's another thing to say that we expect there to be 
results. And the American people need to know, we're getting good 
results with your money, and we'll continue to spend it wisely.
    We also--as we think about people affected with HIV/AIDS in 
countries around the world, we remember those who have got HIV/AIDS here 
at home. And it's very important for the American people to understand 
we're spending over $18 billion to help save lives here at home. And I 
call upon the Congress to reauthorize the Ryan White Act. The bill has 
passed the United States House of Representatives; the Senate has time 
to act before it goes on recess. It is an important piece of legislation 
that will enable us to continue our fight against HIV/AIDS domestically.
    I can't thank you all enough for coming, and I thank you for being 
such decent, compassionate people. The pandemic of HIV/AIDS can be 
defeated, and the United States is willing to take the lead in that 
fight. But we can't do it alone. And so for our international partners, 
we appreciate what you do. For the faith-based community, we thank you 
for hearing the universal call to love a neighbor. And for the 
taxpayers, we appreciate your generosity in showing the world the good 
heart and compassion of the American people.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 10:41 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the 
White House. The World AIDS Day proclamation of November 26 is listed in 
Appendix D at the end of this volume.

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