In December, International Relations Committee Chairman and conservative congressional stalwart Henry Hyde, R-Ill., led House approval of a $1.3 billion authorization bill to fight AIDS globally. An admitted HIV-policy newbie, Hyde insisted in an interview with POZ, “You don’t have to be a flaming liberal to be concerned about the scourge of AIDS.” The authorization bill calls for the U.S. to commit $750 million to the United Nations’ global AIDS fund, with additional money for global prevention, treatment and assistance to developing countries in obtaining antiretroviral therapies. The dollar amount, Hyde said, represents “a more realistic assessment of the dimensions of the problem” than the Bush administration’s original, much-criticized offer to the UN of $200 million.