February 8, 2008

PEPFAR Proposals Cause Stir Among Republicans

With President George W. Bush traveling to sub-Saharan Africa this month to rally for a $15 billion increase for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)—bringing total proposed spending on the program to $30 billion over the next five years—a Democrat-supported bill calling for a bigger increase and plan revisions has caused a stir among conservative groups, the Associated Press (AP)/StarTribune.com reports (startribune.com, 2/7).

According to the article, a bill proposed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos of California calls for a $50 billion five-year PEPFAR plan and the elimination of a 2003 provision requiring a third of the program’s funding to be spent on prevention programming that emphasizes abstinence. Lantos also suggests lifting bans that prevent giving PEPFAR aid to countries where prostitution is legalized. He also advocates that PEPFAR funds not be kept from certain family planning clinics on the grounds that they allow abortion.

Conservatives, such as Representative Mike Pence of Indiana argue that this change “would transform the program into a mega-funding pool for organizations with an abortion-promotion agenda.”

A spokesman for Lantos told the AP that the bill includes a “conscience clause” that would allow for conservative or faith-based groups to refuse participation in any programs they find objectionable.

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Michael Bailey, Columbus, Ohio, 2008-02-12 16:35:53
This is one more reason to VOTE OUT REPUBLICANS in the coming presidential elections, and to elect the right Democrat....the one with a solid background and a knowledge of the AIDS crisis.And that is NOT Obama.