Howard Berman: “I am pleased and proud to be here today to commend not only Chairman Berman but the late Tom Lantos and Henry Hyde for…”

“I am pleased and proud to be here today to commend not only Chairman Berman but the late Tom Lantos and Henry Hyde for their wisdom and their foresight in putting together this most important legislation. Ladies and gentlemen, I just returned from south Africa and I am pleased to announce that while I was there, I was recognized and given the Order of the Companions of Oliver Tombo Award for my work to help dismantle apartheid in South Africa, and basically for being a friend of south africa's. I was very proud. But as I sat there talking with President Umbeke and others, I was reminded that in south Africa there is an estimated 5.5 million people living with HIV and AIDS. That is more than any other country in the world. Over 18 percent of the adult population of south Africa is infected by HIV. Infected persons include thousands of well-educated professionals, such as doctors, nurses, civil servants, and teachers. In recognizing that we have done a great job in helping to promote democracy and get rid of apartheid, the enemy now is HIV and AIDS and tuberculosis.”