PEPFAR Passes 80-16

Three's a charm! July 16th, 2008 at 7:28 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons on http://www.one.org. After weeks of ONE Campaign members relentlessly writing and calling their senators, and great work by so many partner organizations, we’ve successfully unstuck billions of dollars in AIDS, TB and malaria funding tonight! We dodged several potentially devastating amendments over the last 2 days - pieces of legislation that would have put millions of lives at risk. We did lose one amendment-fight, however, so the total funding for PEPFAR for the next five years will now be $48 billion, instead of the original $50 billion. After tonight’s successful Senate vote, the bill will go back to the House and then onto the president to sign. We are hopeful those processes will be swift. Given how much we had to fight to reauthorize this bill this year- this is a great victory for us. Thank you to everyone who contacted their members of Congress to pass PEPFAR. Literally, millions of lives will be saved with this funding.Below, a quote from our Legislative Director Tom Hart:

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Even as Americans face serious concerns at home, the Senate has proved America’s commitment to providing lifesaving medicines to the world’s most vulnerable people. PEPFAR is an investment in people around the world; but it is also an example of America’s generosity and a critical piece of American diplomacy. By treating and preventing disease and saving lives, we can help to create more stable communities and a more secure future for Americans. Senators Biden, Lugar and Reid are true heroes for their persistence and patience in passing this bill. This legislation received strong support from co-sponsoring Senators on both sides of the aisle, including both Presidential candidates.

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After the jump find all the proposed amendments, their results, and those who voted for and against this bill.

For more information please visit: (http://one.org/blog/2008/07/16/pepfar-passes-80-16)