Durbin launches Global AIDS Emergency Task Force

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) on Thursday launched a bipartisan, bicameral Global AIDS Emergency Task Force to offer a forum for lawmakers to "help shape and strengthen" global HIV/AIDS initiatives. The task force has already recruited 32 representatives and senators as participants. Durbin said the primary goals of the task force are to educate members of Congress about HIV/AIDS and the most effective responses to the pandemic; to develop a congressional strategy to maximize U.S. efforts in the fight against AIDS; and to join with lawmakers around the world to form partnerships to combat the disease. Durbin called President Bush's proposed $15 billion international AIDS initiative "a starting point in the global fight against AIDS, and it is my hope that this new task force will be an effective forum to build on and further shape that commitment."