Congresswoman Barbara Lee on Passage of 2014 NDAA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2013
Contact: Carrie Adams (202) 225-2661
Washington, D.C.— Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee released the following statement on the Senate’s passage of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 (NDAA), which is expected to be signed into law by President Obama early next week:
“While this bill continues funding for the war in Afghanistan, fails to audit the Pentagon, does not close Guantanamo, and fails to reign in the NSA surveillence operations, I am pleased that my bipartisan amendment was included. This amendment requires a report to Congress on the use of the Uniform Code of Military Justice regarding military service members living with or at risk of contracting HIV. This report is essential to understanding how we can modernize discriminatry and outdated laws and practices related to HIV.”
Text of Report on Uniform Code of Military Justice and HIV/AIDS Amendment: Requires the Defense Secretary to report to Congress on the use of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the Manual for Courts-Martial, and related policies, punitive articles, and regulations with regard to service members living with or at risk of contracting HIV.
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Congresswoman Lee has been a leader in the fight against the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. She co-authored legislation signed into law creating the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria in 2000, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2003, the PEPFAR Reauthorization Act in 2008, and in 2005 legislation addressing the needs of orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS. She has also been a leader in the effort to establish a National AIDS Strategy, and is a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, Human Services & Education with jurisdiction over all domestic HIV/AIDS funding. She is the only United States representative on United Nations Development Programme’s Global Commission on HIV and the Law and was the original sponsor of legislation that lead to the repeal of the Immigration and Travel ban that barred the entry of HIV positive individuals. The repeal allowed the International AIDS conference to take place in July 2012 in Washington, D.C., which was held in the U.S. after 20 years.
Rep. Lee is a former Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and currently serves as CPC Whip and Chair of the Task Force on Global Peace and Security. Congresswoman Lee serves as a representative from the United States to the 68th General Assembly of the United Nations.