Jeff Flake: “I too rise in reluctance to support this amendment in that the chairman does not support it. But I respect the gentleman…”

“I too rise in reluctance to support this amendment in that the chairman does not support it. But I respect the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith), and I believe that we need to take into account that this is the first bill of the year, I believe, that actually goes over budget. We are 50 percent over budget. What the President asked for was $2 billion in the first year. We are going for $3 billion. I think it sets a bad precedent for the rest of the year if we are starting out this way. As the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith) also pointed out, the U.N. Global Fund and others that will absorb this money may have a hard time absorbing it that quickly anyway, and I believe that is why the President only asked for $2 billion in the first place. We should note that the Global Fund has been criticized by its head, who is currently Secretary Tommy Thompson, who said that it has some inefficiencies. One thing that has been noted is that the Office of the Secretariat spent $11 million on salaries last year for 65 staff members. That is an average of $170,000 per employee. I would challenge those who say that we need to put this money in that quickly. We ought to go with the original request from the President, and I would urge support of the amendment.”