More news on the PEPFAR debate in the US Senate
Peter Witzler, student organizer for the Health Action AIDS Campaign with Physicians for Human Rights, gives us an update on the PEPFAR bill being debated in the US Senate.
http://students.phrblog.org/2008/07/14/pepfar-update/
As I write this, we are still unsure when the final PEPFAR bill will be voted on and exactly what it will look like. However, I wanted to take a step back to acknowledge the amazing work students have done to bring us to this point, where the Senate is debating a $50 billion dollar AIDS, TB and malaria program.
Just a over a month ago, I began writing about the legislative stalemate we were facing in the Senate. Not ones to sit on the side lines, PHR Student members answered the call to action by calling and emailing Senators Reid and McConnell to get the bill moving. But that still wasn’t enough. We hit the editorial pages of newspapers with letters to the editor and op-eds calling for PEPFAR’s speedy passage. June Chae, leader of the University of Illinois in Chicago PHR Chapter got her letter printed in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Even with overwhelming public support in the newspapers and bi-partisan support on Capitol Hill, obstructionist Senators still played politics with PEPFAR. AIDS advocates around the country decided to take it to the streets. Students in DC, Boston, and Chicago held Global AIDS superhero rallies to thank Senators who had been champions of the bill and hold accountable those who refused to act. Politcal leaders in DC final began to get the message: Stop playing politics with peoples lives and pass PEPFAR now! Senator Reid called for a 72 hour deadline to end negotiations and bring the bill to vote. Within hours of the rallies being announced, Senator Obama put a statement on his website calling for PEPFAR to be passed. Senator McCain went on the record, saying he would do everything he could to pass PEPFAR.
Our political leaders in DC like Senators Reid, McCain and Obama heard the voice of health professionals students along with the voices from the AIDS advocacy community. Last week the Senate burned the midnight oil to finally reach an agreement to move the bill forward at 11:21 PM. Unfortunately, some bad amendents to the bill that would cut funding or eliminate key provisions like the removal of the HIV+ travel ban are expected. The good news is, PHR members and our allies in the AIDS advocacy community have made their voices heard, and we fully expect those amendments to be defeated. We will be watching closely today as the final bill is voted on.
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