The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a bipartisan program signed into law by President George W. Bush 20 years ago, is one of the most effective foreign assistance programs the U.S. has undertaken. PEPFAR has secured lifesaving antiretroviral treatment for 20.1 million people, ensured 5.5 million babies were born HIV-free to mothers living with the virus, trained 340,000 health care workers to deliver HIV care, and supported 7 million orphans, vulnerable children and their caregivers.
In a disastrous act of self-sabotage, Congress has, thus far at least, failed to renew PEPFAR. And now its future is in jeopardy.
Yet, in a disastrous act of self-sabotage, Congress has, thus far at least, failed to renew PEPFAR. And now its future is in jeopardy.
As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world to see firsthand how this initiative saves lives and transforms vulnerable communities. I’ve also witnessed Republicans and Democrats in Congress working together over the years — putting aside political differences — to ensure the program is fully funded and to secure its future.
PEPFAR’s irrefutable success and its history of bipartisan support may prompt you to ask: Why hasn’t this Congress reauthorized it?
The answer is that, tragically, PEPFAR has become the latest casualty in America’s culture war on abortion. A conservative foundation falsely accused the Biden administration of using it “to promote its domestic radical social agenda overseas” — a claim with no basis in fact.
It’s no secret congressional Democrats and Republicans are deeply divided. Both parties are further apart ideologically today than at any time in nearly half a century. However, since its inception in 2003, PEPFAR has served as the model for bipartisan cooperation. It was established by a Republican president and enacted with near-unanimous congressional support, reauthorized three times over the span of four…
Read the full article here