House lawmakers praised for bipartisan vote to approve HIV/AIDS bill

Published: 2008-04-04

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 April 2 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. Archbishop Niederauer noted that while "the Catholic community would like to see" improvements in the measure, he had urged Pelosi to "ensure a swift and clean consideration of the bill." In an April 3 statement, Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, Fla., chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, welcomed the "bipartisan spirit" of the vote on "our nation's flagship program to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria." 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. The House action "sends two messages to anyone wondering about our nation's commitment to the world's poor and vulnerable: The United States will continue its solidarity with those affected by these terrible diseases, and such programs must continue to support morally appropriate evidenced-based prevention and treatment activities that have been shown to save lives," Bishop Wenski said.

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