Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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The Wall Street Journal - May 9, 2003
David Rogers, Staff Reporter
"This will be the cleanest and most efficient way to go," predicted the Tennessee Republican, but his decision means bypassing old allies on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who favor a more aggressive U.S. commitment to multilateral efforts to fight AIDS overseas.
A specific battleground is the Geneva-based Global Fund to Fights AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Foreign Relations bill, which authorizes as much as $2.2 billion for the fund over the next two years, is both more generous and imposes fewer conditions on when U.S. contributions will be made available.
Given the tight Republican budget, final funding will have to be re-examined before the foreign-aid budget is finalized next fall. But the fiscal pressure on the fund is real, and a U.S. government report this week warned the organization is in danger of running out of money. "I want more for the Global Fund and less of the restrictions," said Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, the ranking Democrat on Foreign Relations, who appeared caught by surprise by Mr. Frist's decision. Wednesday night, Mr. Biden, together with Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R., Ind.) and Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass), had filed their own bill in anticipation of its being called up.
But Mr. Lugar said he was told by Mr. Frist of his decision Thursday morning, and the two discussed the matter later in the day with the president, aides said.
"He feels the president feels it is the most likely way to getting a bill passed," Mr. Lugar said. "And the president very much wants to get an AIDS bill passed."
Mr. Bush wants quick action to help him leverage further international support for the AIDS cause when the leading industrial nations meet in France next month. But to get past the House, the administration has already had to strike deals giving priority to abstinence programs. The conservative antipathy for the fund has only grown stronger in the current post-Iraq war, anti-United Nations politics. Mr. Frist is being pulled to the right by his new leadership responsibilities to the full Republican caucus and Mr. Bush.
Write to David Rogers at david.rogers@wsj.com
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