Los Angeles Times Editorial Calls for Compromise on International AIDS Funding
When deciding how best to allocate funding for international AIDS efforts contained in the fiscal year 2002 supplemental appropriations bill, Congress should choose a "middle tack" that earmarks a substantial portion of the funding for African efforts while granting President Bush the discretion to use some of the money how he sees fit, a Los Angeles Times editorial states (Los Angeles Times, 6/6). The Senate Appropriations Committee last month drafted a version of the bill that allocates $100 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, but several senators had proposed adding separate amendments granting more funding to international AIDS programs (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 5/22). The editorial notes that Democratic senators would like to see the United Nations distribute the majority of the HIV/AIDS funding. However, Republican lawmakers want the president be able to "more directly distribute the money to programs he deems effective." The editorial supports a compromise that would funnel a substantial portion of the funding to African HIV/AIDS programs and prevent Bush from using the funds to bolster anti-terrorism projects, while allowing the president to have the "freedom to use some of the money to leverage private charity and aid from other nations" (Los Angeles Times, 6/6).
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