Thomas Daschle: “Senator Byrd has once again laid before the Senate a critical challenge. The numbers he has cited are staggering…”

“Senator Byrd has once again laid before the Senate a critical challenge. The numbers he has cited are staggering, confirming what we all know too well: that the world has never known a pandemic greater than the AIDS pandemic. At the end of last year, there were nearly 43 million people living with HIV. Since January 1, there have been at least 15,000 new HIV infections daily, meaning that we can expect another 45 million infections by 2010. These numbers do not begin to tell the story of the suffering--that story I have seen in the faces of suffering mothers and fathers, daughters and sons throughout Africa and Central Asia. We simply must do more to stop this crisis. Given the enormity of this challenge, I regret that I cannot vote for Senator Byrd's amendment. The amendment would pay for this vital increase with a rescission in other defense programs. Just as I have objected to the President's cuts in other vital global health programs to fund the limited AIDS funding increase in his budget, I must vote against this important amendment. But this will not be the last word. As soon as we can--on the Labor appropriations bill or on the foreign operations appropriations bill--I will work with my colleagues to provide new money for this vital fight. New resources that will fund the promise we made earlier this year with the global AIDS authorization. New resources that will not come out of a bill that must fund our Armed Forces and other emerging threats.”