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USA/Africa: Urgent Senate Action Date distributed (ymd): 010709 Document reposted by APIC
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Region: Continent-Wide Issue Areas: +US policy focus+
SUMMARY CONTENTS:
This posting contains an urgent action alert, for U.S. residents, with information from Health Gap International, for support of an amendment transferring $593 million in the supplemental appropriations bill FOR THIS YEAR'S BUDGET from the failed Osprey Helicopter to the Global Health Fund. This amendment may be acted on in the next 48 hours. Calls to Senate offices could make a real difference in its chances of success.
[Note: This posting, as particularly applicable for US residents, is being distributed only to the addresses on the Africa Policy Electronic Distribution List that are identifiable as on US-based host computers. It is not possible to filter by e-mail address non-US residents with addresses on such computer hosts as compuserve.com and other US-registered computer systems. If you are not in the U.S. and are not a U.S. citizen, please forward this to those of your U.S. contacts for whom you think it would be appropriate.]
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From: Paul Davis <pdavis@CritPath.Org> To: Multiple recipients of list <healthgap@CritPath.Org>
Paul Davis pdavis@critpath.org Health GAP Coalition ACT UP Philadelphia +1.215.474.6886 direct tel. +1.215.474.4793 fax +1.215.731.1844 ACT UP
URGENT: Calls needed NOW! Amendment for FY 01 $ for Global AIDS
Senator Feingold, D-Wisconin, this morning (Monday, 9 July) introduced an amendment to the supplemental appropriations bill that would move $593 million from the Osprey Helicopter to the Global Fund.
Calls are needed NOW.
. Senate floor debate tomorrow (Tuesday) . Vote Wednesday (probably)
Targets are listed at the end of this message.
202.224.3121: Congressional Switchboard (will connect you to your senators, even if you don't know their names. Ask for the person who deals with "funds to fight the global AIDS crisis" (you could get an AIDS/health, international affairs, or appropriations/budget person).
[For more information on communicating with members of Congress see http://thomas.loc.gov/tfaqs/02.htm]
Tell them it is urgent to support the Feingold Amendment to the Adminstration's supplemental budget request for $593 million. Tell them you would support much higher levels now and in the future. (groups are asking for $1-7 billion for the global fund for FY 02).
Funds released through a supplemental budget request puts real money on the table now. Current budget authorization fights are more about messages and symbolic stances. Current appropriation negotiations are for NEXT year's budget (FY 2002).
The Bush Admin's $18 billion supplemental budget request being voted on by the Senate this week is almost entirely for military spending.
The Feingold money is 'budget neutral,' fully offset by a smallish adjustment to the Navy's $40 billion exploding helicopter program. The $593 comes from the Osprey procurement fund. Enough money is left to keep the Osprey production line open. The amendment reassigns some of the money for acquiring new Osprey craft to the Global AIDS and Health Fund.
New money for the global fund would be a huge boost to get it funded at meaningful levels.
Currently, the Bush Administration's paltry contribution to the Global Fund derailed a tremendous amount of momentum, serving to lower the contributions of many donors while positioning the President as a leader. The President's $200 million is entirely reassigned money from existing accounts to be disbursed in 2002.
If we can get more serious money on the table in the Senate, it will serve to change the nature and tone of the discussion during the G8 Summit in Genoa towards a meaningful response to the global AIDS catastrophe. $593 million for FY01 can shift debate away from spurious arguments about prevention versus treatment, or whether the global fund should be used to purchase watches.
TARGETS:
This is moving quickly and has not been vetted with the Democratic leadership yet. To make this a reality, calls will need to go to a few strategically placed senators, then to as many as possible individuals, on the committees who will be looked to, then finally to a few Republicans who could help guard against Ds that would support the Osprey program.
1. Senators whose vote will be looked to for guidance
Daschle, IA Kennedy MA Frist, TN Bayh, IN Leahy VT Chaffee, RI Helms, NC Kerry, MA
2. Democratic Appropriators
Robert Byrd, WV Daniel Inouye, HI Frist, TN Hollings, SC Patrick Leahy, VT Tom Harkin, IA Barbara Mikulski, MD Harry Reid, NV Herb Kohl, WI Patty Murray, WA Byron Dorgan, NE Dianne Feinstein, CA Dick Durbin, IL Tim Johnson, SD Mary Landrew, LA
3. Dems on Armed Services Committee:
Carl Levin, MI Edward Kennedy, MA Joe Lieberman, CO Max Cleland, GA Mary Landrew, LA Jack Reed, RI Daniel Akaka, HI Bill Nelson, FL Ben Nelson NE Jean Carnahan, MO Mark Dayton, Minnesota
4. The handful of moderate Repubs
Olympia Snow, MA Lincoln Chaffee, RI Bob Smith, NH Arlen Specter, PA
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From: Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <healthgap@CritPath.Org>
The text of the Feingold amendment to increase funding for the Global Fund follows below. It takes money from funding for the Osprey helicopter for FY 2001 only; under the amendment, production could resume in FY 2002.
Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org> Essential Information P.O. Box 19405, Washington, DC 20036, USA Tel: 1-202-387-8030 Fax: 1-202-234-5176 http://www.essential.org
AMENDMENT NO._863 Calendar No._____
Purpose: To increase the amount provided to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, and to offset that increase by rescinding amounts appropriated to the Navy for the V-22 Osprey aircraft program.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES - 107th Cong., 1st Sess.
S. 1077
Making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2001, and for other purposes.
AMENDMENT intended to be proposed by Mr. FEINGOLD
Viz:
On page 28, beginning on line 9, strike "100,000,000," and all that follows through line 13, and insert the following: "693,000,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That this amount may be made available, notwithstanding any other provision of law, for a United States contribution to a global trust fund to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis:
Provided, further, That the entire amount made available under this heading is designated by the Congress an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended:
Provided further, That the entire amount under this heading shall be available only to the extent that an official budget request for that specific dollar amount that includes the designation of the entire amount of the request as an emergency requirement as defined in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended, is transmitted by the President to the Congress:
Provided further, That the total amount of the rescission for `Aircraft Procurement, Navy, 2001/2003' under section 1204 is hereby increased by $594,000,000.".
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Message-Id: <200107100048.UAA10392@server.africapolicy.org> From: "APIC" <apic@igc.org> Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 21:41:55 -0500 Subject: USA/Africa: Urgent Senate Action
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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