Senate Should Approve $1.3B Authorization for International HIV/AIDS Spending, Los Angeles Times Editorial Says

Before leaving for the holiday recess, the House passed a $1.3 billion authorization for international HIV/AIDS spending, a Los Angeles Times editorial states, adding that the Senate "should follow suit quickly when it returns" this month. HIV/AIDS is a "national security problem" that "threatens to devastate economies" and "cripple military and police forces," according to a recent House report. The money provided by the House, a $625 million increase over last year's appropriation, would demonstrate that the United States is "serious about fighting the [HIV/AIDS] pandemic," the editorial continues. More than half of the funds would go to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The fund will not only provide treatment to people with HIV/AIDS in developing countries, but will help shore up infrastructure and fight other infectious diseases that "allow AIDS to sweep through the body like a conquering army," the editorial states. The editorial says that HIV/AIDS education is still needed in many developing nations because leaders "continue to deny that it's a problem within their borders," as the disease is primarily transmitted through sex. However, if Congress supplies the money necessary for the fund to operate, recipient nations will have to "face up to the problem," the editorial concludes, adding that "[s]tronger countries will have better footing for the fight" (Los Angeles Times, 12/28).