[stop-imf] Important AIDS message. Act now.

[Robert Weissman]

A rare divergence from the focus of this list. But this is vital stuff.
Those in the US, please act now.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [FUND] Frist reneges on Frist/Helms amendment. People with AIDS die.
Date: Thu, 06 Jun 2002 18:37:52 -0400
From: Paul Davis <pdavis@critpath.org>
>

[urgent: call congressional switchboard NOW - 202.224.3121. In two calls,
ask to be connected to each of your senators. TELL THEM TO VOTE FOR THE
DURBIN/SPECTER GLOBAL AIDS AMENDMENT TO THE EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL SPENDING
BILL. Call NOW - it will rarely matter that it is after 6PM.
To talk about this, call 215.833.4102 - Paul Davis, Health GAP]
--------------------------------------
Frist and Bush reneges on Jesse Helms.
People with AIDS die.

A few weeks ago, the world was electrified to learn that Senators Helms and
Frist were going to introduce a $500 million global AIDS amendment to the
emergency supplemental spending bill currently being voted on in the Senate.

The move from Helms and Frist was a positive development, in spite of the
fact that the proposal to some extent cut the political legs out from under
a stronger and better thought out bipartisan amendment from Senators Specter
and Durbin. Reams of positive headlines and editorials were generated, as
well as a great deal of applause from AIDS activists.

But it seems we were lied to.

At the 11th hour, Senator Frist was reportedly told by President Bush
personally to withdraw the amendment, and to reduce the bill to $100
million. President Bush also said that he will make some sort of unspecified
announcement next week on mother-to-child HIV transmission. All that is
known about next week's announcement is that it will not include new money.
Unlike an emergency spending bill, a new Bush proposal will necessarily take
money away from one account to fund another. It will also almost certainly
be of modest size and scope - more so than the Specter-Durbin amendment.

Just as with President Bush's criminally small initial contribution to the
Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, President Bush will get positive
press from what is an extremely damaging move. The continued refusal to give
a reasonable contribution to the Global Fund has starved the fund of
resources from the start. In spite of political pressure to decrease the
size of initial applications, the Global Fund will be bankrupted by this
Fall when the second round of grants are due.

The votes on amendment are happening tonight (Thursday evening), possibly
dragging on to Thursday.

Who failed people with AIDS in this murderous story?:
-Frist hurt people with AIDS with this last minute cut and run, _after_
 inadvertently damaging a better, cleaner, stronger bipartisan amendment.
-Senator Robert Byrd hurt people with AIDS when he refused to allow the
 Specter/Durbin amendment to come to be voted on in committee. This
 cruel maneuver meant that 60 votes were required to pass Specter/Durbin.

In spite of it all, a reasonable count of supporters and cosponsors puts the
Specter/Durbin bill currently (6:30 pm Thursday) at 56 votes. Democratic
leadership can still crack the whip hard on the three Dems known to oppose
the bill (Byrd, Bayh, and Conrad) and to line up the few wavering holdouts
(Miller, Landrieu). Senator Specter could easily line up just one or two
additional republicans to join the conservatives and moderates already
signed up (perhaps Santorum and Lugar). This would put the amendment over
the top, providing life saving benefits to the millions of people with AIDS
world wide currently under death sentence.

Now that President Bush and Senator's Helms and Frist have pulled out the
rug, activists plead with Senators Daschle and Specter to pull out the
stops. Please take every step to line up the few remaining votes needed as
if millions of lives depended on this vote.

After you have called both of your senators, please call Senator Daschle's
office & ask that the Democrats crack the whip!

Paul Davis
pdavis@critpath.org
Health GAP Coalition
ACT UP Philadelphia

+1.215.833.4102 mobile
+1.215.474.4793 fax