Article: New Legislation Reaffirms U.S. Commitment to Fighting AIDS

25 July 2001

Article: New Legislation Reaffirms U.S. Commitment to Fighting AIDS

Senators Frist and Clinton introduce GLIDER Act

By Scott Timmreck
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- In an effort to show that recent U.S. initiatives to help fight HIV/AIDS worldwide are not just political posturing, a newly introduced bill would expand those initiatives in several branches of the U.S. government, according to Senator Bill Frist (Republican of Tennessee).

Frist introduced the legislation, the "Global Leadership in Developing an Expanded Response (GLIDER) Act," at a press conference at the Capitol on July 24. "GLIDER's [intent] is to coordinate the global efforts [in fighting HIV/AIDS] on behalf of the United States of America," he said.

Frist and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (Democrat of New York) are the main proponents of GLIDER, which they hope will coordinate the best work of the departments of state, defense, labor, and health and human services to prevent and treat tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS throughout the world. The act authorizes a total of $850 million for international programs conducted through those agencies.

"I'm very hopeful that four, five, six years from now, we'll be able to look back and remember this day as the day that we planted a seed that will, in a very direct way, change the lives of not just hundreds and not just thousands, but hundreds of thousands of people," Frist said.

The new legislation comes on the heels of a $200 million promise from George W. Bush in May of additional U.S. funding towards the global trust fund for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. The United States provides about 50 percent of all the international assistance worldwide to fight HIV/AIDS, according to the State Department.

"What this bill recognizes is that the U.S. has been and must continue to be a leader in our own right, as well as leading others to do more in their own countries through multilateral efforts," Clinton said. "GLIDER is a very good start."

In its current form, GLIDER will make official the LIFE initiative, which brings together a number of government departments to devise a strategy for combating HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. In addition, the bill will call for the coordination of the departments' initiatives on the ground in order to streamline the work of their international staffs. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) will also receive benefits from GLIDER, including funds for programs to help countries develop health care infrastructure, in addition to investment insurance for private businesses interested in developing health care infrastructure.

The Defense Department's role under the legislation involves promoting prevention efforts and infrastructure development for foreign nations' armed forces. The Labor Department will play a more visible role, providing education programs in the workplace to dispel the ignorance and fear often associated with HIV/AIDS.

GLIDER also calls for the establishment of the Paul Coverdell Health Care Corps, an offshoot of the Peace Corps, which the late Senator Coverdell directed under the first President Bush. The Health Care Corps would give medical and nursing school graduates the opportunity to work in impoverished areas with people suffering from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, providing the volunteers with a stipend and the benefits of an overseas experience.

"The GLIDER Act captures the very best of our nation's own public health infrastructure to fight, internationally, a devastating disease that is crippling not only economies, and creating health pandemics throughout the world, but is destroying the family structure and economic structure of developing nations," Frist said.

According to Frist's and Clinton's figures, 36.1 million people worldwide are infected with HIV/AIDS, and three million people die of the disease every year. Tuberculosis kills two million people every year, they said, and malaria kills one million.

"What we're really capturing [with GLIDER], "Frist said, "is the great spirit of America, the spirit of being able to address problems bigger than any of us as individuals."