AIDS funding Cuts

The House Appropriations Committee is considering $1.77 billion in cuts to the foreign aid portion of the fiscal year 2004 budget, which could affect funding for the president's global AIDS initiative, the Wall Street Journal reports (Wall Street Journal, 6/18). The global AIDS bill (HR 1298), which President Bush signed into law last month, authorizes $3 billion a year for five years to international HIV/AIDS programs, with up to $1 billion in FY 2004 going to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 6/4). Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), who manages the foreign aid budget, said that the committee will appropriate enough money for Bush to fund his initiative. However, there is a "huge gap" between the amounts currently being discussed and the $3 billion authorized by the bill, according to the Journal (Wall Street Journal, 6/18). In addition, although the measure authorizes up to $1 billion to go to the Global Fund, the amount actually appropriated may be less and is contingent upon the contributions of other countries. Under the measure, the United States can contribute up to $1 billion to the fund only if that amount totals no more than one-third of the fund's total contributions. Therefore, in order for the total $1 billion to be appropriated, other nations must contribute more money (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 6/4).