Thomas Daschle: “I rise to commemorate the beginning of a tragic chapter in human and medical history. Twenty years ago today the first…”

“I rise to commemorate the beginning of a tragic chapter in human and medical history. Twenty years ago today the first cases of AIDS were diagnosed. Since that initial diagnosis in 1981, the toll wreaked upon humanity by this disease is mind boggling. Twenty-two million people have already died. And an additional thirty-six million people have become infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. In 1981, no one imagined the impact HIV/AIDS would have in the ensuing two decades. And, unfortunately, no one would have imagined that the United States would be as slow as it has been to respond to what has become a grave international crisis. International public health experts estimate that the global fight against AIDS demands at least $7 billion per year. Meanwhile, in the last 15 years combined, the United States has invested only $1.6 billion or a little over $100 million per year to fight this pandemic. In 1999, a year during which nearly five and a half million people in Africa alone were newly infected, the United States invested just $142 million, less than .001 percent, of our foreign assistance budget that year, to fight AIDS. Too much time has been lost, and too little leadership has been demonstrated by America. President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Secretary Powell have indicated they now recognize this pandemic for what it is: a national security threat. It is time that we begin dedicating the resources that such a threat demands.”