Patrick Leahy: “I support this amendment of my friend, the distinguished senior Senator from West Virginia. A couple of months ago, at…”

“I support this amendment of my friend, the distinguished senior Senator from West Virginia. A couple of months ago, at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the President spent a good deal of time talking about the global AIDS crisis, the worst public health threat in human history. I commend him for that, and for going to Africa, which highlighted the devastation caused by AIDS there. President Bush has shown real leadership on AIDS, although it is important to mention that a bipartisan group in Congress has been pushing for stronger action on AIDS for years. A short time after the President's Coast Guard Academy speech, we passed the United States Leadership Against AIDS, TB and Malaria Act, which authorized $15 billion over 5 years to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. That was consistent with what the President proposed in his State of the Union address back in January. It was an important step. It showed that we are beginning to take the AIDS pandemic seriously. But that was an authorization bill. It did not appropriate any money. For all intents and purposes, it was like writing the check with out enough money in the bank. Let me explain. The President's budget request contains only $1.9 billion of the $3 billion we authorized for AIDS for fiscal year 2004. $1.9 billion is a good step, but we should do more. It remains to be seen whether the promise of that authorization bill--a promise with which I agree--will be fulfilled.”