FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 16, 2008 CONTACT: Matt Mackowiak
Sen. Hutchison: PEPFAR Bill Too Expensive in Current Economy
Would have supported at President’s Original Request Level of $30 Billion over Five Years
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), the Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, released the following statement after voting against S. 2731, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) bill:
“I have supported efforts to fund the fight against AIDS and other diseases around the world, and indeed in 2007 the U.S. was the largest donor in the world. However, I could not support $50 billion over five years when the President’s request was $30 billion and the program was initially funded at the $15 billion level in our current fiscal environment. I supported a number of fiscally responsible amendments to this bill, but we were unsuccessful.”
BACKGROUND
In 2007, the U.S accounted for more than 40% of disbursements by all governments, which was twice as much as the next closest contributor.
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