Senators seek to double Bush's contribution to global AIDS fund

A bipartisan effort led by senators Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) seeks to more than double President Bush's proposed 2006 contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, The Washington Post reports. Bush's proposed 2006 budget includes $300 million for the global fund, but Durbin and Santorum want to boost that amount to $800 million. The senators sent a letter in early March to the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to "underscore the importance of the United States' commitment to international HIV/AIDS assistance programs," according to a press release from Santorum's office. The press statement says the senators are urging the committee to increase spending for the global fund. If the committee does not take action, the senators plan to introduce a budget amendment for the additional funding on the full Senate floor, according to the Santorum release. "Every country and every person must take responsibility for the globalization of health, but the United States, as the world's wealthiest and most powerful nation, should take the lead in securing resources to fight the global AIDS pandemic," Durbin told the Post.