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``(c) TERMINATION EXPENSES.--Amounts certified as having been obligated for assistance subsequently terminated by the President, or pursuant to any provision of law, shall continue to remain available and may be reobligated to meet any necessary expenses arising from the termination of such assistance.
``(d) GUARANTY PROGRAMS.--Provisions of this or any other Act requiring the termination of assistance under this or any other Act shall not be construed to require the termination of guarantee commitments that were entered into prior to the effective date of the termination of assistance.
``(e) RELATION TO OTHER PROVISIONS.--Unless specifically made inapplicable by another provision of law, the provisions of this section shall be applicable to the termination of assistance pursuant to any provision of law.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the reading). Without objection, the Senate amendment is considered as read and printed in the Record.
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Iowa?
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, first I would like to thank the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. LEACH) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. LAFALCE) for their tremendous leadership on this issue. I would also like to thank my colleagues on the Committee on Banking and Financial Services. I would also, in addition, like to thank the Committee on Banking and Financial Services staff and the committee staff of the Committee on International Relations as well as my own staff for their hard work. But I want to especially thank my senior legislative assistant, Michael Riggs, who has worked tirelessly on this effort.
I must also recognize and give credit really to my predecessor and a great statesman, Congressman Ron Dellums, and members of the Congressional Black Caucus for their strong support. Ron has been sounding the clarion call about this pandemic of HIV/AIDS globally for many years. The drumbeat is now being heard. Today we see the collective work of Members of Congress, the Clinton administration, HIV/AIDS specialists and activists, faith-based communities, Africans, and the business community coming together.
At this moment, the global AIDS crisis is the most urgent humanitarian crisis of our time. It is estimated that 6,000 people die each day of AIDS in Africa . Since I introduced the AIDS Marshall Plan last August, nearly 3 million people have died.
This is not a Democratic issue, nor is it a Republican issue. It is a moral issue that demands a moral response. AIDS , like all diseases, knows no boundaries. There is no guarantee that the scale of the problem in one continent can be contained within that region.
So our message is clear. Today with the passage of this bill we will press forward with our commitment to fight the war against HIV/AIDS and to stem the tide of death. We know that with resources we can fight this war and save lives and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS .
Today we are taking a major step in the right direction. I am confident that the bill that we pass today will push us even further in our commitment to fighting AIDS in Africa . I believe that the quick pace at which we are moving reflects the urgency of this crisis.
Again, I want to thank the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. LEACH) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. LAFALCE). I want to say that today we are showing America and we are showing the world that Africa and the fate of humanity really does matter and that the United States is prepared to show leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS . This is really a defining moment for us all. It is a historic day. I am pleased that we are approving this important piece of legislation.
Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
Ms. LEE. Further reserving the right to object, I yield to the gentleman from Iowa.
Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I would like to simply thank the gentlewoman for her leadership, also that of her predecessor whom she mentioned, Mr. Dellums; staff, as well as, frankly, Mrs. Fogleman on our staff and Mr. McCormick on our staff and the Senate leadership and staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that has worked so closely with us.
By perspective, let me just very briefly say that nothing is more difficult than to provide some sort of perspective to issues of the day, but if we look at the 14th century, 20 million people died of the bubonic plague, and it would be hard to conclude that that was not the most important incident of the century. Today we have almost reached that figure with AIDS . Within a decade we may be at a multiple of that figure. It is anything but inconceivable not to conclude that exterminating this deadly disease is not the most important issue of our age.
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This approach that we have adopted is seminal. It is a part of the picture of dealing with AIDS , not the whole picture but a very significant part and with the combination of reduction in debt burdens of the developing world stands as the most significant effort the United States Congress has ever taken for the developing world and one of the most significant efforts the United States Congress has ever taken towards disease control and prevention.
This is an extraordinary, symbolic measure, one that we are going to have to build upon but a firm and thoughtful step in the right direction. Let me thank the gentlewoman again for her help and leadership in this cause.
Mr. LAFALCE. Mr. Speaker, I want to express my thanks to Chairman LEACH and to Chairman GILMAN for the cooperation they have shown in bringing this Senate amended language to the floor on an expedited basis. I also offer my congratulations to Congresswoman BARBARA LEE for her initiative on, and consistent commitment to, this legislation. Without her, this much-needed bill would not be becoming law. Moreover, she has led the fight for appropriations for this trust fund that will help the World Bank tackle the scourges of AIDS and tuberculosis that so tragically threatens the lives of too many people in Africa . No outcome was more gratifying than the amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that obtained funding for this legislation.
This country has a proud and longstanding tradition of providing humanitarian assistance--especially in a crisis. HIV/AIDS is an international epidemic of crisis proportions. The HIV/AIDS pandemic could come to rival, in other parts of the world, the destructive bubonic plague of the 1300s that devastated the continent of Europe.
Worldwide, HIV/AIDS has infected millions. Yet worldwide, we spend so very little to fight the disease and contain the pandemic. As we all know, although Sub-Saharan Africa has only 10 percent of the world's population, it suffers roughly 70 percent of the HIV/AIDS cases. We also know that if HIV/AIDS reaches a certain prevalence, it can explosively infect a population, and some areas in addition to Africa are threatened. No country in the world seriously threatened by this disease and unable to fight it alone should be ignored by our efforts.
Taking targeted and expeditious action to begin to fight the AIDS pandemic is both the moral and the sensible thing to do. Although there is as yet no known cure for the disease, we can make meaningful progress in containing it.
This trust fund has many unique features. None is more prominent than that the fund can receive contributions from anyone, not merely governments that are members of the World Bank. Moreover, these contributions will be deductible or expensible for the contributor. Consequently, although our government's share will be significant, the promise is great for leveraging this fund into a very large resource base to combat the worst plague to hit mankind since the Black Death in the Middle Ages.
Both the House and the Senate have appropriately provided for oversight of the monies in the fund. Many of the nations where AIDS /HIV is prevalent are also nations where corruption is highest. Consequently, the trust fund is endowed with effective monitoring devices to detect the illicit.
However, these safeguards are not so burdensome that the trust fund will be unduly hamstrung. Indeed, another unique feature of this fund is that its uses are so flexible. AIDS is a cunning enemy. The course and form differs from area to area. In some, education is the most effective weapon. In others, drugs, such as forms of AZT, can do the most good. The trust fund is not locked into one approach but is free to use all of them as circumstances warrant.
This will not be the last bill to come to this floor on AIDS . We now know the raw statistics on how the plague is totally out of control throughout a significant portion of the world. We now also know that even here, where there has been some progress against this disease, that this progress can be reversed. Consequently, for an undetermined number of Congresses to come, this chamber will be grappling with this opponent. However, the legislation we pass today and send to the President is a substantial step in the right direction.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Iowa?
There was no objection.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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