Rep. Barbara Lee Urges President Trump to Abandon Cuts to HIV/AIDS Programs, Warns of “Unthinkable Consequences”
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Lee released the following statement regarding proposed cuts to PEPFAR and other lifesaving HIV/AIDS programs:
“The passage of PEPFAR was one of the greatest moments of bipartisan cooperation in the history of our government. Understanding the life-and-death stakes of our fight against HIV, members of both parties have put aside our ideological differences to address this global pandemic over the last thirteen years.
“President Trump’s proposed reductions to PEPFAR and other HIV/AIDS programs would be a humanitarian catastrophe. If these cuts are enacted by Congress, we will lose decades of progress in the fight against HIV. More people will become infected, fall ill, and die of this preventable disease. More children will become orphans. Formerly healthy individuals will be unable to work, undermining global anti-poverty efforts.
“The consequences of cutting nearly $350 million from global and domestic HIV/AIDS programs are unthinkable. While I am confident that my colleagues in Congress will reject this morally bankrupt proposal, I am disturbed that the President of the United States has forsaken this bipartisan cause. After years of bipartisan progress on HIV/AIDS, we cannot afford to retreat from our global leadership just so President Trump can line the pockets of defense contractors.”
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