San Francisco archbishop calls for Pelosi to support HIV/AIDS bill

Published: 2008-04-03

SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- Federal lawmakers must maintain their bipartisan commitment in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco said in an April 1 letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The archbishop's letter came before the House voted to pass President George W. Bush's $50 billion, five-year President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. The program has provided $19 billion since it was inaugurated in 2003. It must be reauthorized this year. On April 2 the House approved the measure in a 308-116 vote. The Senate's version of the bill was passed out of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee in March and is waiting to be considered on the floor of the chamber. "It is in the best interests of those served by PEPFAR life-saving programs to have a bill that can be supported by both parties as well as the current implementers of this very effective program," he wrote. "While there are certainly improvements that the Catholic community would like to see, in the interests of preserving the bipartisan consensus that is reflected in the committee bill, we ask that you ensure a swift and clean consideration of the bill," the archbishop said. Archbishop Niederauer was referring to the bill to reauthorize PEPFAR: the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008, known as H.R. 5501.

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