Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 1298 - United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(House Rules)

(Rep. Hyde (R) IL and 4 cosponsors)

The Administration commends the House International Relations Committee for reporting H.R. 1298, which would provide authorities and appropriations authorizations that in large part are consistent with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The Administration strongly supports House passage of H.R. 1298, and looks forward to working with Congress to enact a bill as soon as possible that will provide the Administration with the needed flexibilities to enable the President's historic global AIDS initiative which integrates care, treatment, and prevention in fourteen developing countries, to be effective. Ensuring that the Administration's Global AIDS Coordinator is able to determine and control resource allocations among activities and agencies in order to best seize opportunities and maximize funding will be a critical element of that flexibility.

The bill would authorize $15 billion over five years for HIV/AIDS programs and up to $1 billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for FY 2004. Having played a leadership role in establishing the Global Fund, the United States has increased its pledge to $1.65 billion (including a FY 2004-2008 pledge of $1 billion), which is nearly 50 percent of all pledges. In addition to authorizing the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the bill would also authorize continued international programs addressing HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria in more than fifty countries, which are currently administered by the Departments of State and Health and Human Services and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The Administration opposes any provision that would mandate contributions to the Global Fund in excess of the Administration's $200 million annual request for FYs 2004-2008, because those increases, among other things, would diminish important funding for direct bilateral assistance programs.

The Administration supports additional provisions that would prioritize the abstinence component of the ABC approach ("Abstinence, Be faithful, and use Condoms"), which has been successfully implemented in Uganda and other countries to reduce dramatically the percentage of infected individuals. In addition, because much of the health care in sub-Saharan Africa is provided by facilities associated with religious institutions and orders, the Administration supports additional provisions that would enhance the ability of faith-based organizations to participate in this initiative, by not requiring them to distribute condoms as a condition of their participation, if such activities violate a tenet of their faith. Finally, the Administration will work to ensure that the legislation provides for the Coordinator, in performing the interagency dispute resolution role assigned by the bill, to handle policy, program and funding disputes in a manner that is consistent with Presidential guidance and procedures.