PEPFAR Reauthorization Update

From ONE:
Hey Folks,When it rains it pours. It looks like there's been a real breakthrough on PEPFAR reauthorization thanks to some good ol bi-partisan diplomacy, and maybe a bit of encouragement from concerned citizens. ;)The heart of the matter:
The bipartisan bill, dubbed the Lantos-Hyde US Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria Act, would allow the U.S. to provide lifesaving treatment through bilateral channels for at least three million AIDS patients; prevent 12 million new infections; provide care five million AIDS orphans; and train and support 140,000 new health professionals. The bill also provides $4 billion for the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis and $5 billion to fight malaria.It's not a done deal yet, there's still a lot to the process, but things were looking really bad there for a while, so this is extremely welcome news.This is just another FYI, you don't need to do anything on this. It's just good to know things are going in the right direction. Feel free to pass along to your groups if you think that's useful.
Thanks,
Josh Chernila, ONE

Washington, DC----FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Kimberly Cadena February 27, 2008 PHONE: (202) 669-0802 ONE Lauds House for Crafting Bipartisan PEPFAR Reauthorization Working with the White House, Berman and Ros-Lehtinen continue legacy of bipartisan support for lifesaving program Washington, D.C. – A late-night breakthrough cleared the way for bipartisan legislation aimed at fighting three of the deadliest diseases on the planet -- HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. The deal, crafted by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (CA-28), Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-18) and the White House, means that America's support for millions of people suffering from these diseases will grow substantially. "This legislation continues the American legacy of compassion and help for millions of people around the world struggling to survive the world's deadliest diseases in the world's worst conditions. HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis claim nearly five million lives each year. This bipartisan legislation will bring greater resources and a strong response to these diseases. This legislation will save lives," ONE President and CEO David Lane said. After Berman and Ros-Lehtinen reached a bipartisan agreement with the White House on the proposal late Tuesday night, the House Foreign Affairs Committee today approved the five-year expansion of PEPFAR. "Chairman Berman, Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen and the White House deserve enormous credit for coming together on this effort. They have proved that bipartisan leadership is not an oxymoron in Washington, D.C. When our leaders step away from partisanship and come together in common purpose, they can achieve amazing things," Lane added. The bipartisan bill, dubbed the Lantos-Hyde US Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria Act, would allow the U.S. to provide lifesaving treatment through bilateral channels for at least three million AIDS patients; prevent 12 million new infections; provide care five million AIDS orphans; and train and support 140,000 new health professionals. The bill also provides $4 billion for the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis and $5 billion to fight malaria. "PEPFAR is an American legacy that has saved the lives of at least 1.4 million people so far, mostly in Africa, who have HIV/AIDS and many more from malaria and tuberculosis – three of the deadliest killers in our world. ONE urges the House and Senate to move on this legislation quickly," Lane said. Treatment has been one of PEPFAR's greatest successes, allowing more than 1.4 million people with HIV/AIDS around the world to receive lifesaving ARV treatments. The new legislation transitions PEPFAR from an emergency response to a sustainable response program, providing for expanded training for 140,000 new health care professionals and community care workers. The bill also strongly focuses on prevention, a necessary evolution of the program in order to stop the spread of the disease. The new legislation includes comprehensive efforts that place a special emphasis on women and on the underlying factors which make them vulnerable to HIV infection, including a focus on violence against women. Lane concluded, "Bipartisan PEPFAR reauthorization means that not only will we see our commitment through to continue providing lifesaving anti-retroviral drugs to those individuals, but that we also will be able to treat more individuals with the virus, saving more lives and protecting more families and communities. This agreement is a strong and positive way to begin this process. We look forward to Congress passing this historic legislation later this year." ONE is a movement of millions of Americans working with more than 150 of the nation's leading relief, humanitarian and advocacy organizations to rally Americans -- ONE by ONE -- to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. For more information, please visit: ONE.org. - # # # -

From Eloise:
This morning I attended the mark-up of the PEPFAR bill by the House Foreign Affairs, Africa & Global Health Subcommittee. Unfortunately there were so many people wanting to observe that I ended up in another packed room watching on a TV. Leadership of the subcommittee had reached a compromise last night. Others on the subcommittee had not seen the compromise bill until they arrived for the mark-up. No amendments were allowed. Some members were upset that they had not had time to read through the bill. One member was angry the “$50 million dollars was being spent on people who just need to learn to change their behavior” when we can’t even take care of our own people. He mentioned that we are not taking care of our veterans and that he had a family member without health insurance. One of his colleagues commented that he was glad to know that he supported health insurance for all. In the end, the compromise bill was passed by the subcommittee by voice vote. The amendment we had heard was coming for development of a TB vaccine was included in the compromise bill. At this point it looks like all the TB stuff stayed in the bill. Great job! Eloise