Tuesday Deadline for PEPFAR Agreement

According to this article from the Kaiser network, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has made this Tuesday the deadline for negotiators to reach an agreement on the legislation to re-authorize PEPFAR.  (See below for previous posts on this subject.)

Right now, the bill is being blocked by Sen. Tom Coburn and six others “because they are opposed to the legislation’s cost and “mission creep” into health and development efforts. In addition, they want language inserted into the measure that would guarantee that 55% of PEPFAR funding goes toward treatment, including antiretroviral drugs.”

On a brighter note, the same article notes that both Barack Obama and John McCain have co-sponsored the bill.  So it’s good to know that both likely presidential candidates are on board with PEPFAR.

~ by h.e.g. on June 20, 2008.