The Bush Administration announced today that it will seek an authorization from Congress for $30 billion over the next five years to combat HIV/AIDS worldwide, a doubling of the current annual funding level. In 2003, President Bush proposed a five-year $15 billion effort to combat HIV/AIDS which Congress authorized until 2008. The following is a statement by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican, House Committee on Foreign Affairs: The spread of HIV/AIDS has become one of the most significant moral and security challenges confronting our world today. The announcement by President Bush will allow us to continue, and even increase, our efforts to combat the human suffering caused by this deadly pandemic. Millions of people are alive today because of ongoing U.S. efforts to prevent the spread of HIV and treat those suffering with AIDS. Yet, for all that has been accomplished, the fight has just begun. The President's announcement is a clear recognition of the need for a long-term commitment in this struggle and an opportunity to do something truly compassionate and of significant and lasting importance for the world's most vulnerable people. House Committee on Foreign Affairs (Republican Office)