By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – British pop star Elton John urged U.S. senators on Wednesday not to ease up on the fight against HIV and AIDS, as Congress faces a September deadline for reauthorizing the multi-billion-dollar U.S. program to fight the disease.
“There is no better symbol of American greatness than PEPFAR, and you should all be very proud of your extraordinary efforts,” John, whose foundation has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to fight AIDS, told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on reauthorizing the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) via videolink.
Congress must reauthorize PEPFAR for another five years before Sept. 30.
PEPFAR, created in 2003 under Republican then-President George W. Bush, has been supported by both Republicans and Democrats. It is expected to be reauthorized, but the effort could be complicated by partisan divisions over raising the federal debt limit and cutting government spending.
“We need to keep our foot on the accelerator. We’ve come so far in such a short time, relatively. By extending PEPFAR for another five years and fully funding it, together we can continue the march toward ending AIDS for everyone everywhere and leave no one behind,” the singer said.
A set amount has not been set for the reauthorization, but Congress typically has approved $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion for PEPFAR each year.
U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator John Nkengasong told the committee PEPFAR has saved 25 million lives and created health networks that have helped fight outbreaks of Ebola and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lawmakers said they wanted a “clean” reauthorization, leaving current legislation unchanged.
“The next five years will determine whether we meet the goal of ending the global HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030,” said Senator Bob Menendez, the committee’s Democratic chairman.
“I urge my colleagues to join me in working to reauthorize PEPFAR without delay and without new mandates and directives,” said Senator Jim Risch, the panel’s top Republican.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
