[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 48 (Monday, December 4, 2006)]
[Pages 2114-2115]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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

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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. A tape was not available for verification of the content of 
these remarks.