Tom Lantos: “Mr. Chairman, I had the honor on Tuesday to join Senators Lugar and Biden and the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman…”

“Mr. Chairman, I had the honor on Tuesday to join Senators Lugar and Biden and the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde) at the White House as the President called for Congress to quickly approve comprehensive HIV/AIDS legislation. The President has since announced his strong support for our bill. When the President spoke to us, he asked that Congress make the ABC strategy used in Uganda and elsewhere as the model for our prevention efforts. I could not agree more with the President. To quote him, ``The ABC strategy is effective by emphasizing abstinence, marital fidelity as well as condoms to prevent HIV transmission.'' Mr. Chairman, I quote President Bush on the ABC strategy because there is some confusion in Washington as to what it means. Some Members of Congress attribute the dramatic success of Uganda's HIV/AIDS prevention program solely to abstinence and marital fidelity programs. While these components of the ABC strategy have been effective, Ugandans also use an average of 80 million condoms per year, and that figure is increasing. While I certainly respect the fact that some religions may have moral objections to the use of condoms, many other faiths actively promote their use as a medically proven way to stop the transmission of HIV.”