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LOU CHIBBARO J
Friday, July 04, 2008
An
effort
by
Senate
Majority
Leader
Harry
Reid
(D-Nev.)
to
secure
passage
before
the
July
4
holiday
of
legislation
to
repeal
the
U.S.
ban
on
foreign
visitors
and
immigrants
with
HIV
broke
down
last
week
when
at
least
two
Republican
senators
refused
to
allow
a
vote
on
the
legislation.
The
two
senators,
Jim
DeMint
(R-S.C.)
and
Jeff
Sessions
(R-Ala.),
objected
to
unrelated
provisions
in
a
U.S.
global
AIDS
relief
bill,
to
which
the
repeal
of
the
HIV
visitors
and
immigrant
ban
is
attached.
Similar
to
lawmakers’
past
objections
to
the
legislation,
known
as
PEPFAR
(the
President’s
Emergency
Plan
for
AIDS
Relief),
DeMint
and
Sessions
took
issue
with
provisions
in
the
bill
dealing
with
the
level
of
funding
for
AIDS-relief
programs
in
developing
countries
in
Africa,
Asia
and
the
Caribbean
and
how
much
of
the
funds
should
go
to
medical
treatment.
The
two
did
not
object
to
the
provision
in
the
PEPFAR
bill
calling
for
repeal
of
an
existing
immigration
law
that
bans
foreign
visitors
who
test
positive
for
HIV
as
well
as
foreigners
with
HIV
who
seek
permanent
U.S.
residency
as
immigrants.
Congress
passed
the
ban
in
1993
when
advocates
expressed
fears
that
foreign
nationals
with
HIV
could
spread
AIDS
in
the
U.S.
and
overload
health
care
providers
in
U.S.
urban
centers
that
were
already
struggling
to
treat
Americans
with
AIDS.
Before
Congress
passed
the
ban,
the
U.S.
Public
Health
Service
had
used
its
existing
authority
under
immigration
law
to
ban
foreigners
with
HIV
from
entering
the
U.S.
AIDS
advocates
say
that
administrative
decision
by
the
Public
Health
Service,
which
is
an
arm
of
the
U.S.
Department
of
Health
and
Human
Services,
should
also
be
reversed
once
Congress
repeals
the
statutory
ban
on
HIV
visitors
and
immigrants.
Gay
rights
and
AIDS
advocacy
groups
pushing
for
repeal
of
the
HIV
visitors
and
immigrant
ban
said
they
remain
hopeful
that
the
Senate
will
pass
the
repeal
soon
after
it
returns
from
its
Fourth
of
July
recess
on
Monday.
“We’re
still
quite
optimistic
about
the
chances
of
this
passing,”
said
Adam
Francoeur,
policy
coordinator
for
Immigration
Equality,
a
New
York-based
group
that
advocates
for
immigration
rights
for
gays
and
people
with
HIV
and
AIDS.
“The
repeal
effort
has
not
been
a
controversial
issue
in
the
PEPFAR
debate,”
Francoeur
said.
Sens.
John
Kerry
(D-Mass.)
and
Gordon
Smith
(R-Ore.)
led
efforts
in
the
Senate
to
attach
the
repeal
language
to
the
PEPFAR
bill,
which
calls
for
spending
$50
billion
on
global
AIDS
relief
efforts
over
a
period
of
five
years.
Sens.
Joe
Biden
(D-Del.)
and
Richard
Lugar
(R-Ind.),
the
chair
and
top
ranking
GOP
member
of
the
Senate
Foreign
Relations
Committee
respectively,
enthusiastically
supported
attaching
the
repeal
provision
to
the
PEPFAR
bill.
At
their
urging,
the
committee
approved
the
bill
in
March
and
sent
it
to
the
Senate
floor
for
quick
consideration.
Seven
Republican
senators,
led
by
Sen.
Tom
Coburn
(R-Okla.),
then
put
holds
on
the
bill,
preventing
a
Senate
vote
until
at
least
60
senators
agree
to
vote
to
break
the
hold.
Reid
spokesperson
Jim
Manley
said
Reid
held
off
on
attempting
to
break
the
holds
because
he
was
uncertain
whether
supporters
could
line
up
60
votes,
even
though
far
more
than
60
senators
have
expressed
support
in
principle
for
PEPFAR.
Last
week,
both
Reid
and
Coburn
announced
they
had
reached
a
compromise
over
key
differences
between
the
two
parties
on
PEPAR,
including
a
stumbling
block
over
whether
a
provision
requiring
at
least
55
percent
of
the
PEPFAR
funds
should
be
earmarked
for
medical
care
and
treatment.
Such
a
provision
is
included
in
the
existing
PEPFAR
law,
which
Congress
passed
in
2003
and
which
has
been
hailed
as
one
of
the
Bush
administration’s
most
successful
foreign
aid
programs.
Under
the
Reid-Coburn
comprise,
“more
than
half”
of
PEPFAR
funding
would
go
to
treatment.
The
agreement
also
calls
for
restricting
PEPFAR
funds
from
going
to
what
some
senators
considered
“wealthier”
developing
countries
like
China
and
Russia.
Reid
said
June
27
that
he
would
attempt
to
bring
the
PEPFAR
bill
to
a
vote
the
week
after
the
holiday,
when
the
Senate
returns
from
its
recess.
But
he
said
he
was
concerned
that
a
few
remaining
Republican
dissenters
would
continue
to
take
steps
to
block
the
vote.
The
House
of
Representatives
earlier
this
year
passed
a
separate
version
of
PEPFAR
that
does
not
include
a
repeal
provision
for
the
HIV
visitor
and
immigrant
ban.
House
Democratic
leaders
have
declined
to
say
why
they
chose
not
to
add
the
repeal
provision
to
the
bill
but
have
said
they
would
go
along
with
the
Senate
version
in
a
House-Senate
conference
committee.
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