Eliot Engel: “This is truly something all of us can take pride in. The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) has certainly led the…”

“This is truly something all of us can take pride in. The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) has certainly led the way. Mr. Chairman, this is a bipartisan, middle-of-the-road bill, a good bill. We should allow no ideological fights in this bill. This is not a fight about abortion; it is a fight about saving lives. The Uganda approach, which has abstinence and marital fidelity and condoms, and we have to have condoms if we are going to fight this battle, is a very well-balanced approach. Let us look at AIDS. AIDS has killed over 20 million people since the epidemic began. Another 8,000 people die each day, with 68,000,000 deaths predicted by 2020 unless the world takes action. Experts say a strong global response could prevent nearly two-thirds of those new infections, saving tens of millions of lives. What this bill does is respond to this crisis. It authorizes the bold initiative announced by President Bush.”