Senate Passes $463B Spending Bill That Would Allocate $1.3B Increase To Fund International HIV/AIDS, TB Programs

The Senate on Wednesday voted 81-15 to approve a $463.5 billion spending resolution (HJ Res 20) for fiscal year 2007 that includes a $1.3 billion increase for international HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis programs, Reuters reports (Cowan, Reuters, 2/14). The resolution would bring the total for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to $4.5 billion. The $4.5 billion for PEPFAR includes $3.2 billion for the State Department's Global HIV/AIDS Initiative, $712 million for USAID's Child Survival and Health Program, and $494 million for CDC and HHS global HIV/AIDS activities. Of these amounts, $724 million from PEPFAR would be allocated for the U.S. contribution to the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, with $625 million coming from the State Department and USAID and $99 million from HHS. In addition to the PEPFAR funding, $248 million would be allocated to expand programs under the President's Malaria Initiative, an increase of $149 million. The resolution also allocates an additional $75.8 million in funding for the Ryan White CARE Act, which provides care and services to people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S., to bring its funding to $1.2 billion. The House on Jan. 31 passed the resolution (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 2/1). The bill now goes to President Bush, who has indicated he will sign it, the AP/Washington Post reports (Taylor, AP/Washington Post, 2/14).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.