Eva M. Clayton: “Mr. Speaker, given the loss of lives AIDS has caused internationally, the destruction of entire communities, and the…”

“Mr. Speaker, given the loss of lives AIDS has caused internationally, the destruction of entire communities, and the long-term impact of economic growth, we should strengthen our commitment and effort to fight the devastating disease. With children dying at the age of 15 or younger, with the life expectancy of only 45 years for children born in many countries now in the latter part of the 1900s and 2000 in Africa, clearly this is a human tragedy, an epidemic unknown to mankind and current civilization. To ignore the problem is to our peril. To know the impact of AIDS and to ignore it is indeed to our shame. Secretary Colin Powell has stated that HIV/AIDS is a national-international security issue that the Bush administration plans to address, and I applaud them for that effort. I also applaud the pharmaceutical industry for dropping its lawsuit... Now we must increase the effort to provide affordable, and the emphasis is on affordable for Africa and affordable for those living in developing countries, affordable anti-AIDS drugs to all who need them.”