Congress sends Bush expanded global AIDS program

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Congress on Thursday approved a large expansion of a program to fight AIDS and other diseases raging in Africa and elsewhere, sending the measure to President George W. Bush, who is expected to sign it into law.

By a vote of 303-115, the House of Representatives passed the bill authorizing $48 billion over the next five years to help treat and prevent AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. That is up sharply from the $15 billion Congress initially funded for the first five years of the program that began in 2003.

The Senate passed an identical bill on July 16.

Despite authorizing the funds, Congress must still pass separate legislation to deliver the money. It is unclear whether that will occur in this election year as Democrats and Republicans wrangle over the budget.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman, a California Democrat, said expanding the program "will allow us to significantly boost the health care workforce" in countries hard-hit by AIDS "and to increase the number of HIV-positive individuals receiving life-saving medicine."

Bush had requested $30 billion for 2009 to 2013, but has signaled a willingness to go along with the $48 billion for a signature program of his presidency.

Amid broad support for the legislation in Congress, some conservative Republicans said its huge cost was ill-advised, especially when the U.S. economy was in the doldrums.

"We have big hearts, but we need to use our brains. We cannot afford $50 billion of generosity to foreigners," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California.  Continued...