AIDS Bill Would Lift US Global AIDS Spending by $1 Billion

A politically diverse coalition of US senators ranging from John Kerry to Jesse Helms plans to back legislation today that would more than double US payments for the fight against the global spread of AIDS. The proposal far exceeds spending suggestions from President Bush and, if adopted by Congress, could mark a turning point in US policy on fighting the disease in other countries.

This legislation is considered likely to pass because of its wide range of sponsors. The bill would not only increase US spending on global AIDS from about $1 billion this year to more than $2 billion per year, but it would also require the US government to come up with a five-year plan to significantly reduce the spread of AIDS around the world. It would provide new money for treatment, vaccines, and education.

"This is the broadest and most comprehensive approach to AIDS that has been put together since the subject has come up," Kerry (D-Mass.), said yesterday. "It is truly bipartisan." Senator William Frist (R-Tenn.), who co-authored the bill with Kerry, agreed, saying that he has worked for months to gain attention for the issue. "It has been a struggle to get the attention of my colleagues and the American people on the issue of the impact that this virus is having on humanity," Frist said. "It is crystal clear: it is devastating."

A White House spokesperson, Scott McClellan, said Bush is "strongly committed to fighting HIV/AIDS internationally" and said the president has proposed increasing global AIDS funding next year by $115 million. While that is far less than the $1 billion proposed in the Senate bill, McClellan said the White House has not seen the Senate proposal.

The bipartisan effort in the Senate has been prompted by increasingly dire reports about AIDS from around the world. An estimated 40 million people have HIV, with the majority in the countries of southern Africa.

The US has been criticized by leaders in the international community for not spending enough to fight global AIDS, so specialists on the disease said yesterday they were heartened by what seemed to be a change in policy. David Gold, vice president of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, said, "The US government in the past has had a really embarrassing level of commitment to human development. This is an important step, a much bigger commitment."

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