Senate Committee Approves Global HIV/AIDS Spending Bill to Help HHS, Labor Department Fight AIDS Abroad
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would fund activities at HHS and the Department of Labor to fight HIV/AIDS in developing nations, Reuters Health reports (Rovner, Reuters Health, 6/27). The International AIDS Treatment and Prevention Act of 2002 (S 2649), sponsored by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), would give the HHS secretary the authority to implement HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services in developing countries (Frist release, 6/26). The bill would direct $400 million to the CDC for treatment and prevention activities, including programs to prevent vertical HIV transmission and transmission at health care facilities. The bill would also give the HHS Health Resources and Services Administration $40 million to "hel[p] communities develop and institute systems of care and to improve health infrastructure" and $50 million to train health care workers to provide HIV/AIDS services. The Labor Department would receive $10 million to develop programs to prevent HIV transmission in workplaces (Reuters Health, 6/27). The bill now moves to the full Senate for consideration (Frist release, 6/26).
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