House considering cuts that could affect AIDS efforts

The House Appropriations Committee is considering $1.77 billion in cuts to the foreign aid portion of the fiscal 2004 budget, which would result in funding cuts for the newly approved $15 billion, five-year international AIDS initiative, The Wall Street Journal reports. The initiative calls for funding of $3 billion each year for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment efforts in developing nations. However, there is a "huge gap" between that level and the amount of funding currently being discussed by the committee, the Journal reports. The committee also is reportedly considering a much smaller contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria than the $1 billion called for under the AIDS initiative.