Mike Pence: “I don't need to tell you the HIV/AIDS pandemic has infected more than 60 million people worldwide, killed more than 25…”

“I don't need to tell you the HIV/AIDS pandemic has infected more than 60 million people worldwide, killed more than 25 million people, orphaned 14 million in its wake, and today, nearly 70 percent of the people in the world who are afflicted with HIV/AIDS reside in Africa. In 2003, President Bush called on Congress to create a program to address the worldwide HIV/AIDS pandemic. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, was an extraordinary bipartisan achievement of compassion, and unfortunately, the majority in Congress has put forth a reauthorization drafted to this bill that will be considered tomorrow that puts at risk America's commitment to HIV/AIDS efforts. The Democrat proposal will take a successful bipartisan achievement, do away with funding requirements for abstinence, and also mandate the integration of family planning services into PEPFAR, which would transform the program potentially into a mega funding pool for organizations with an abortion promotion agenda. PEPFAR must not be hijacked in partisanship or domestic public policy issues. We owe the world a bipartisan remedy to meet the global AIDS pandemic that meets the crisis with American resources and values, and I urge my colleagues to work on this legislation in a bipartisan and compassionate manner.”