Cord Byrd: “the facts are staggering. More than 5 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS each year. That is 15,000 people…”

“the facts are staggering. More than 5 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS each year. That is 15,000 people infected each day, 625 people infected every hour, more than 10 people every minute--people of virtually all ages, people in every corner of the world. Last year, more than 3 million people died from AIDS. The longer we wait to find a cure, the longer we wait to fulfill the pledge to the global HIV/AIDS trust fund, the longer we wait, the greater the tragedy. The Byrd amendment would allow the Senate to fulfill the humanitarian promise made to fight HIV/AIDS. This amendment would help to alleviate some of the misery endured by millions of AIDS-inflicted families around the globe for roughly what we spend in a single day to fund the Department of Defense. This amendment would make good on the Government's pledge to the world and the effort to combat the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. The President promised $15 billion in the next 5 years. Congress has authorized $3 billion for the next fiscal year. But the authorization without appropriation is a will-o'-the-wisp. The President's budget only provides $1.9 billion. This amendment would increase funding for the global AIDS/HIV initiative by $1.1 billion to $3 billion. The amendment would be offset by a $1.1 billion across-the-board cut in the amounts appropriated for the Defense Department procurement as well as for research, development, test, and evaluation.”