Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I wish to recognize World AIDS Day. There was a time when Congress could put bitter partisan rancor and finger-pointing blame games aside and unite-around a cause. We did so to fight HIV/AIDS globally. Since 2003, the President's Plan for Emergency AIDS Relief, PEPFAR, has meant the difference between life and death for millions of people. In fact, just last year, I met a 30- year-old man named Simon in Namibia who said he would not be alive without the international community's HIV/AIDS assistance. With the generous support of the American people, the U.S. Government has committed more than $70 billion to bilateral HIV/AIDS programs; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and bilateral tuberculosis programs since the program's inception. We cannot declare victory yet--far from it. Only one-half of the 37 million people in the world living with HIV are receiving treatment. Globally, young women are twice as likely to acquire HIV as their male counterparts. One million people still died from AIDS-related illnesses worldwide in 2016. Let us not forget that people here in the United States are not immune. In Maryland, for instance, the most recent data indicate that, in 2016, almost 36,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS, and the State had the fifth highest rate of new HIV infections in the country.…”