Senator Kerry spoke on the floor of the Senate yesterday in support of S.2731, the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008. The bill passed 80-16.
Among other things, the legislation appropriates funds to support the global fight against AIDS and other diseases through the year 2013, reauthorizing the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Also passed with the bill was Sen. Kerry's legislation to lift the 20 year old HIV/AIDS travel ban. The ban on travel was introduced by the late Sen. Jesse Helms in 1987, when fear and ignorance prompted the Congress to add it to the list of contagious diseases.
Senator Kerry released a statement on lifting the ban:
"Today we are one step closer to ending a discriminatory practice that stigmatizes all those living with HIV, squanders our moral authority, and sets us back in the fight against AIDS. By passing PEPFAR today the Senate not only has made a powerful statement about our commitment to eradicating HIV/AIDS but we have also voted to overturn the HIV travel and immigration ban that has no foundation in public health or common sense. There was no reason for this policy to still be on the books, and I am proud to have been part of eliminating this draconian ban. I sincerely hope we can get this to the President as quickly as possible to finally end this misguided policy."
As Senator Biden proclaimed after the vote, there isn't much to praise about President Bush's foreign policy. Except this. And both Senator Kerry and Senator Biden were quick to give due credit with the passage of the bill.
Video Credit: C-SPAN
Yesterday's Senate session and the vote on S.2731, Global HIV/AIDS programs, can be found at the C-SPAN archives.
Students with Physicians for Human Rights held a Global AIDS Superhero Rally outside Sen. Kerry's Boston office to thank him for his work on repealing the HIV travel ban and his support of PEPFAR. Don't miss their Flickr link to some great photos of the rally.
Video Credit: JohnKerryTV
