|
 |
 |
|
Senate Reaches Deal on Global HIV/AIDS Bill
-
06/25/08 05:15 PM ET
The Senate has reached a deal to reauthorize a federal program to fight HIV and AIDS worldwide.
The extension of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which had called for $15 billion in funding when it was created five years ago, calls for $50 billion more to combat HIV and AIDS. It had been stalled by a group of seven Republican senators, led by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), due to their concerns over the spending increase.
"I would certainly hope that my colleagues on the other side would not block this bipartisan agreement -- especially with the G-8 Conference coming soon," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in a statement announcing the deal. "If the other side does choose to block us from moving forward, I am determined to move forward and plan on offering a consent agreement so that we can complete this legislation early in the next work period."
Reid thanked Sens. Joe Biden (D-Del.) and Richard Lugar (R-Neb.) for leading negotiations over the reauthorization. He also acknowledged Coburn, a spending hawk who has also been a supporter of the program, for his work on the bill.
See Reid's full statement after the jump.
The extension of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which had called for $15 billion in funding when it was created five years ago, calls for $50 billion more to combat HIV and AIDS. It had been stalled by a group of seven Republican senators, led by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), due to their concerns over the spending increase.
"I would certainly hope that my colleagues on the other side would not block this bipartisan agreement -- especially with the G-8 Conference coming soon," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in a statement announcing the deal. "If the other side does choose to block us from moving forward, I am determined to move forward and plan on offering a consent agreement so that we can complete this legislation early in the next work period."
Reid thanked Sens. Joe Biden (D-Del.) and Richard Lugar (R-Neb.) for leading negotiations over the reauthorization. He also acknowledged Coburn, a spending hawk who has also been a supporter of the program, for his work on the bill.
See Reid's full statement after the jump.
REID ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE ON GLOBAL HIV/AIDS BILL
Washington, DC
Most Viewed RSS Feed »
