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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. Read more...

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) said Wednesday he would accept an offer to be Barack Obama's running mate.

"I don't think that is something you say no to," Bayh said. "The answer is yes."

"If someone who will be leading the country comes to you and says, 'I need your help. I want you to do this,' Of course, if you care about serving your country, that's something you do," the Indiana senator said.

Bayh supported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y) through the primary and was one of her top surrogates throughout the campaign. Clinton won Indiana, a longtime GOP stronghold, but recent polling shows Obama competitive in the state.

Asked if vetting had begun, Bayh said, "I can't talk about that, otherwise I'd disqualify myself for consideration."

- Michael O'Brien

Congress will receive testimony tomorrow from a former Army ranger who says the Library of Congress turned her down for a job after learning of her gender transition.

Diane Schroer, a former Airborne ranger, will testify tomorrow in the House Education and Labor Committee when it examines transgender discrimination in the workplace.

Schroer says she accepted a job as a terrorism research analyst for the Library of Congress, but when she told her would-be employers that she was in the process of a male-to-female gender transition, the offer was rescinded. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is representing Schroer in a discrimination lawsuit against the Library of Congress.

The ACLU is calling the hearing Congress's first on transgender issues, though hearings on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act last year dealt with transgender discrimination.

The committee decided to hold the hearing earlier this year expecting that it would assist one of its subcommittees in drafting legislation to address transgender discrimination, the ACLU told The Hill.

National Center for Lesbian Rights Legal Director Shannon Minter will also testify at tomorrow's hearing.

Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) said he didn't do anything wrong in giving a 2004 university commencement speech that borrowed from another address given by Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), the Associated Press reported.

Augusta Chronicle columnist Don Rhodes raised questions about Miller's 2004 University of West Florida speech after finding out that it contained similar passages to one that Rhodes heard Isakson give at a recent commencement ceremony. Rhodes found the similarities after hearing Isakson's address and doing an Internet search about some of its passages.

Isakson's staff told Rhodes that the Georgian was the first to give the speech. Miller has since said that he was wrong to post a copy of his speech on his website without crediting Isakson. Miller's staff noted that the Florida congressman acknowledged Isakson's address when he actually gave the commencement speech.

A Miller spokesman told the Associated Press that Miller has since apologized to Isakson but considered the speech fair since credit has been given to Isakson's general concept.

Here are two similar passages Rhodes found in the speeches:

ISAKSON: "I hope you'll take your graduation diploma today and not frame it and put it on the wall but treat it like a passport and have it validated over and over and over again; wherever you go and wherever you travel."

MILLER: "In a few minutes you are going to receive a diploma. You can frame it or hang it on the wall -- do whatever you'd like with it. But if I were you, I'd treat it like a passport. I'd have it validated over and over and over again as you go through life ... as you continue your education, move through your career development, or in whatever interests you choose to pursue."

A relative of Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) was kidnapped Tuesday in Mexico but later released, according to the El Paso Times.

The relative, who hasn't been named, was kidnapped in Juarez and later set free after U.S. law enforcement agencies intervened, the newspaper reported. Three federal agencies were involved, according to the newspaper: Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Agency. The newspaper did not specify when the kidnapping happened.

Reyes's office has not commented on the report.

Juarez, a border city opposite El Paso, Texas, has been the site of nearly 500 deaths due to recent violence, which caused some of the city's residents to move to the United States, the newspaper added.

The Democratic Party leads the GOP by 13 percentage points in generic polling for House races, maintaining its lead from last week, Rasmussen reported today.

Of those polled, 47 percent said they would vote for their district's Democratic candidate, while 34 percent said they would vote Republican. Last week the Democrats enjoyed a 14 percentage point advantage.

Rasmussen surveyed 7,000 Americans June 16-22 for the poll.

John McCain is expressing outrage over a Supreme Court ruling Wednesday that bars the death penalty from being imposed on those convicted of raping children.

"Today

John McCain suggested in a People magazine interview that he's open to selecting a woman as a running mate.

When a reporter pointed out there weren't any women veep possibilities at a recent event at McCain's ranch, the Republican said, "One, it was a social weekend, and two, not necessarily."

McCain pointed out that former eBay CEO Meg Whitman was at the event, which was also attended by possible vice presidential picks Mitt Romney (R-Mass.), Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R).

Download more of McCain's interview here and read more below. The interview appears in the magazine that goes on stands this Friday.

Whats the last romantic thing you've done for her [Cindy]?

Lets see. Over the weekend we ordered out, which was nice. Chinese. Didn't have to entertain anybody. Didn't have to have a political conversation. Didn't have to ask for money.

You' re not a flowers and diamonds kind of guy?

You know, I have not missed one of those occasions because I'm very blessed to have staff that reminds me [laughs].

What do you splurge on?

Coffee, newspapers, books. I stop in bookstores whenever I can. But I don't have a lot of expensive tastes and cant think of anything that Ive spent a lot of money on.

You've gotten Heidi Montag's endorsement. Who are you working on next?

Were most pleased by Wilfred Brimley [laughs]. You know, I hadn't thought about the question, but since I like Jack Bauer so much, Kiefer Sutherland. I doubt he would be on board; hes probably already selected Senator Obama. I'm a big "24" fan.

Whats the last movie you saw?

"Indiana Jones." I really loved the movie because the old guy wins.

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), the master of earmarks who has been targeted by Democrats and criticized by Republicans, sat down for a interview with The Hill

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan sees a lot a similarities between Barack Obama's campaign and the presidential campaign of then Governor George W. Bush eight years ago.

Obama's campaign "has a theme that is very similar to the one this president ran on," McClellan said during an address in San Francisco. McClellan explained that, like Bush in 2000, Obama is running on change and portrays himself as a bipartisan promising to work across the aisle in order to get things done.

McClellan said many of Obama's themes are the same that originally attracted him to working for Bush.

Bush echoed McClellan's sentiments earlier this month ahead of his trip to Europe.

"I mean, they say, 'we want change,'" Bush said. "And I tell people every time I ran for politics I said, 'we want change.'"