May 15th, 2003 - Mr. President, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1298.
Our world is in the midst of a health crisis. HIV/AIDS has taken hold of many parts of the world and left death and destruction in its wake. Millions have been affected…wives have lost husbands…parents have lost sons and daughters…small children have been left alone, orphaned after AIDS took the life of parents.
The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS reports that as of the year 2002, there were 29.4 million people living with this disease. Sadly, most of them are in sub-Saharan Africa. Estimates are that by the year 2020, an additional 55 million Africans will lose their lives to the epidemic.
Women are particularly affected and make up 58 percent of the HIV-positive population in sub-Saharan Africa. Perhaps even more troubling, 6 to 11 percent of women aged 15 to 24 were HIV positive in 2001, compared to 3 to 6 percent of young men. Women are dwarfed by men in economic and political affairs, and far too many of these women have no way to protect themselves. The political and cultural standards in many countries have left them unable to defend themselves from unwanted sexual activity and advances and their reluctance to submit to male domination. With this pandemic, these women are victimized yet again.
During my time as President of the American Red Cross, I saw firsthand the poverty and countless other socio-economic factors that make Africa particularly vulnerable to the spread of AIDS. Rwanda, for instance, is one of the areas with a high rate of adults infected with HIV. And Mr. President, while there, and in Goma, Congo, where a million Rwandans had fled from the bloodshed in their country, I saw 100’s of children with no parents, no home, no food, no clothes, no hope. To this day, I can close my eyes and see a little boy sitting by himself on a mound of dirt. He was probably 13 or 14 – his face was covered with dust and he was crying. The tears left little paths down both his cheeks. I sat beside him, and put my arm around him to try to comfort him but there was no reaction. Nothing moved, not a muscle moved, as the tears flowed. He was traumatized. This is the challenge we face…ending the poverty and despair of that little boy…and replacing them with hope and life.
Due to AIDS, the region is in a dangerous cycle that affects global health, the global economy and global security. Consider this: labor forces are decreasing because of the disease. Since there are fewer workers to farm the land, harvests are depleted, and famine is running rampant. As hopelessness sinks in, people become vulnerable and susceptible to evil terrorist predators. It is an endless cycle of despair…a boiling pot that cannot go unchecked.
Mr. President, this nation…the world’s global leader…cannot sit idly by. We must pass this bill today. An entire generation is in danger of being wiped out by HIV/AIDS.
This legislation takes a historic step in fighting this battle. It commits $15 billion dollars over the next five years to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. It establishes within the Department of State a coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS so that the U.S. can continue to lead on this issue. And it commits $1 billion dollars for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The legislation is the important springboard to real changes in Africa related to AIDS. It brings together many nations to participate in this effort, and through the conscience clause, allows for non-governmental and faith-based organizations to lend their efforts to eradicating this epidemic. This clause and the participation of community and faith-based organizations are vitally important.
The funding will work two-fold, through public private partnerships, to offer prevention and treatment.
At the Red Cross, I was also able to work firsthand on AIDS prevention education …ours was the first nationwide effort…so I know the benefits. The Red Cross has provided AIDS prevention education to more than 18 million people across the United States since 1985…more than 30,000 have been trained as HIV/AIDS education instructors. In the time since, our nation has made great strides in battling AIDS. People are taking precautions…and living longer.
But I also know firsthand that prevention efforts can sometimes get bogged down in controversy…there are so many different views and beliefs. But Mr. President, this is not the time for the Senate to engage in partisan or ideological delays. America is needed in this crisis; we are needed now…not next month…not next year. Lives are literally hanging in the balance on this bill…saving them should be our only focus. We must step forward now to help our global neighbors, to offer a helping hand to those who need it, to end the death and destruction.
We must pass this bill.
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