*EPF318 05/21/2003
Congress Sends AIDS Relief Bill to President Bush
(President expected to sign into law) (630)

By Charlene Porter
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The U.S. House of Representatives took final legislative action May 21 on a bill that authorizes up to $15,000 million for emergency HIV/AIDS relief. The assistance is targeted primarily to 14 nations in Africa and the Caribbean that are suffering some of the greatest consequences from the disease.

The final version of the bill is a close match to an HIV/AIDS relief program outlined by President Bush in his State of the Union message in January. The president is expected to sign the bill within days so that he may have the new law in hand when he attends a summit of the Group of 8 nations the first week of June.

The Bush administration urged Congress to act swiftly on the bill to meet that deadline. In his meetings with leaders of the world's other wealthy nations, Bush will attempt to use the new law as leverage to encourage other nations to increase their investments in spending on international disease and public health programs as the United States has now done.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson made a jump start on that plea May 20 when he met in Brussels with the European Parliament's committee on development and cooperation. Thompson urged European nations to boost their contributions to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Thompson is serving as chairman of the global fund in 2003. In that capacity, he reported to the European Parliament committee that the global fund is on the verge of running a deficit, and called for further support in order to allow the international fundraising partnership to fulfill its promise.
"I hope you will all partner with me in this effort, and reach out to those other sectors in Europe that could help support the global fund, such as private foundations and the business community," Thompson said. "I welcome your suggestions and insights on how we can address this shortfall, and make the fund a catalyst for a better tomorrow."
The legislation authorizes up to $200 million per year for five years in U.S. support to flow to the global disease fund. This provision was a matter of some controversy during the congressional debate. As written, the law does not offer an ironclad guarantee on the actual distribution of that annual contribution. A lesser amount than that might be approved during the appropriations process. Some lawmakers urged that a greater amount should be designated to the global disease fund, and that its distribution should be assured.

When it first considered the bill at the beginning of May, the House of Representatives added another amendment linking the U.S. donation to the global disease fund to the amount contributed by other countries. That provision says the U.S. contribution shall not exceed one-third of the amount put up by all donors.

At a congressional hearing May 7, Global Fund Executive Director Richard Feachem endorsed that strategy. "It's helpful. It's widely perceived as being reasonable and appropriate," Feachem said. The global fund director interpreted the House amendment as an assertion by the United States of its fair share of fund contributions. Feachem said other donors -- governments and private organizations alike -- should come forward to make commitments of their own. "We believe it is challenging" to the rest of the world, Feachem said

The $15,000 million AIDS relief package approved by Congress calls for bilateral assistance to the 14 countries which, according to the administration and the bill's sponsors, will reach 2 million people with anti-retroviral treatment, prevent 7 million new infections, and provide assistance to 10 million HIV-infected individuals and children orphaned by the disease.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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