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CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES |
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Thank you Madame Speaker. I rise in full support of H.R. 5501. This bill reauthorizes critically important legislation. PEPFAR, which is a testament to the American people’s generosity of spirit, has achieved remarkable success. Because of PEPFAR, millions of sick and vulnerable people beyond our borders have received essential education, treatment and care. There are men in Nairobi, women in Hanoi, and children in Port-au-Prince who are alive today because PEPFAR exists. That knowledge should give us great pride. It should also fill us with a sense of humility, born of the understanding that we have helped create something larger than ourselves. I am gratified that the bill we consider today—appropriately named after two beloved chairmen of the Foreign Affairs Committee who devoted themselves to the cause of fighting AIDS—preserves the careful compromises that gave life to this life-giving program. I want to highlight an aspect of H.R. 5501 that has not received much attention to date. In February 2007, I introduced H.R. 848, which called for the addition of fourteen Caribbean nations as so-called “focus countries” under PEPFAR. As the representative of the nearly 4 million U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico, I am particularly aware that the people of the Caribbean have always been good friends and neighbors to the United States. We share a unique and resilient bond. The sons and daughters of the Caribbean who have ventured north to our shores have enriched the life of this Nation. H.R. 848 was co-sponsored by Congresswoman Donna Christensen and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, who have been tireless advocates for individuals living with HIV/AIDS. We were heartened when the language of H.R. 848 was included in H.R. 5501. H.R. 5501 reflects a bipartisan agreement forged through deliberations among Democrats and Republicans on the Foreign Affairs Committee; the White House; and the State Department’s Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator. Each of these groups recognized that the United States can do more to help the people of the Caribbean fight the AIDS pandemic that is ravaging their communities. Adopting a regional approach to fighting AIDS in the Caribbean, as H.R. 5501 does, is the right thing and the smart thing to do. There are currently fifteen focus countries targeted for increased assistance under PEPFAR. Only two—Haiti and Guyana—are in the Caribbean. But the AIDS pandemic has produced a humanitarian crisis that affects the region as whole. Along with sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean is the most severely impacted region in the world. In 2007, there were 230,000 adults and children living with HIV; 17,000 new HIV infections; a 1 percent prevalence rate; and 11,000 AIDS-related deaths. Statistics like these can have a mind-numbing effect. We must remember that behind each of these numbers lies a tragic story of human suffering. In addition, the AIDS pandemic in the Caribbean poses a significant national security threat to the United States, because the disease undermines political stability and economic development in a region that President Bush has called our “third border.” Current spending by the United States to combat AIDS in the Caribbean is not sufficient to address the problem. Setting aside funding to Haiti and Guyana, U.S. assistance to the Caribbean has remained stagnant—and, in fact, even decreased slightly—since 2003. This approach is simply not sensible in light of the facts on the ground in the region. (####) |
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