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Washington, D.C.—U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, made the following statement today in support of H.R. 5501, the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde Global Leadership against HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria reauthorization act of 2008. In addition to increasing funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the bill included provisions from Congresswoman Schakowsky’s Microbicide Development Act. H.R. 5501 passed the House this evening by a vote of 303 to 115.
“Thank you, Madame Speaker. I rise today in strong support of the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008.
I am particularly pleased that this legislation includes provisions from my bill, the Microbicide Development Act, which will bolster microbicide research and development programs. By strengthening, streamlining, and coordinating microbicide research, this provision will help fight a global pandemic which has devastated regions of the world and will save the lives of millions of women as part of a comprehensive program to stem the spread of global AIDS.
I also strongly support the much-needed increase in funding for PEPFAR. Since the program began in 2003, PEPFAR has provided anti-retroviral drugs to nearly 1.4 million HIV-positive people in across the globe. The legislation before us today would triple the current funding level, providing a total of $48 million for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria prevention and treatment.
The Senate version of the PEPFAR reauthorization, which we are considering today, strengthens the House-passed bill by removing a travel ban that has been in place for twenty years, barring entrance to the United States by people who are HIV positive. The United States is one of only a dozen countries with such a ban in place, along with Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Russia. The travel ban is a relic of a time when people with HIV were stigmatized and feared, and I strongly support revoking this archaic restriction.
This is not just a health care bill. This is a national security bill. Global pandemics, along with poverty, pose a serious risk to global stability, and carry significant economic, political, and military implications. It is vital that we respond in a comprehensive way, and I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.”
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