Lois Capps: “Devoting significant resources to the biggest health threat in the world, the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, is an excellent…”

“Devoting significant resources to the biggest health threat in the world, the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, is an excellent use of taxpayer dollars, as long as we focus on prevention efforts that work. For example, the people of Uganda have had great success controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS, and they did it with a comprehensive program that did stress abstinence and fidelity, but also emphasized the importance of using condoms. The Pitts amendment would move significant dollars away from that proven model by providing $5 billion to strictly abstinence-only programs. It will push aside proven comprehensive programs in favor of questionable models designed to appease a right-wing constituency. Let us not miss the opportunity to do good by misspending precious resources on abstinence-only programs. We should not condemn more people to death by AIDS by tying hands with ideology. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the Pitts amendment and strongly support H.R. 1298.”