Fighting HIV/AIDS

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By Jim DeMint

America is the greatest nation in the world. Yet, our future is uncertain. We face deficits as far as the eye can see and we are staring down the barrel of a looming entitlement crisis that threatens to bankrupt our country. Indeed, if action is not taken soon, we will reach a tipping point in our two major entitlement programs - Social Security and Medicare - in which the programs will pay out more money than they take in. Our national debt is more than $9 trillion and still Washington will spend $25,117 per household in 2008. We must admit we are a nation pressed to its fiscal limit.

It is against this backdrop that we hear renewed demands for immediate passage of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in Africa (PEPFAR). PEPFAR currently weighs in at $50 billion, more than three times President Bush's original 2003 proposal. To put this number in perspective, it is more than double the $22 billion we spend each year for our veterans. Meanwhile, back home the federal government cannot even pay doctors what they are owed under Medicare.

When considering PEPFAR we must think hard about our priorities.

This legislation also allows funding for programs that are counterproductive in the fight against AIDS.

Unlike the president's original 2003 legislation, which has been a significant success, this bill allows American dollars to fund programs that teach drug addicts how to inject safely, and prostitutes and homosexuals how to have safe sex. Aside from these practices being morally objectionable to many American taxpayers, they have proven ineffective. According to a recent Harvard School of Public Health Study, such programs have "limited impact" in curtailing the epidemic. The study argues that "reducing multiple sexual partnerships would have a greater impact on the AIDS pandemic and should become the cornerstone of HIV prevention efforts" in Africa. In short, PEPFAR's original commitment to abstinence programs in Africa was on the mark. The new bill misses that mark while tripling the funding.

It must be noted that the increasing calls for immediate passage of PEPFAR contain a distinct whiff of moral superiority. They accuse those of us concerned about America's fiscal collapse and PEPFAR's efficiency of cold-hearted indifference to the plight of our fellow human beings in Africa.

Far from being indifferent to human anguish, we are acutely aware that many Africans suffer pain and hardship as a result of the pandemic.

Though no one has a cure for AIDS, the United States is specially endowed with resources that can, at the margins, alleviate suffering.

I have supported, and continue to support, relief efforts that are well designed to assist Africans in this dark moment. However, because the best intentions do not always lead to the best results, I have an obligation to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used wisely and accomplish the program's intended goal.

For starters, rather than heaping additional tens of billions of dollars on the backs of our grandchildren by spending borrowed money, the president and Congress should seek to reduce spending in other areas to pay for the PEPFAR program. A truly compassionate PEPFAR program will find a way to both help AIDS victims in Africa and be fiscally responsible at home.

Second, Congress has a responsibility to the American taxpayer to ensure that aid to Africa is spent effectively. Besides spending money on ineffective programs, the PEPFAR bill actually sends American tax dollars to China and Russia - two countries that both enjoy budget surpluses right now. Until the bill corrects these problems, it does not deserve the blind support that its supporters demand.

Third, contrary to the tendencies of the current administration, government spending is not the solution to every problem. There can be a role for federal aid to Africa, but there are other answers as well. No people in the world are more generous with their money than the American people. We have a long and proud tradition of charity in this country.

Just recently the popular TV show "American Idol" raised more than $65 million for aid to Africa and other charities. Before that Americans stunned the world with their generosity in the wake of calamitous tsunamis in Southeast Asia. Indeed, Americans set a record in 2007, giving nearly $300 billion to charity.

When Americans give of their own volition, there is a personal reward for both the giver and the recipient. Often times, government spending robs the individual from experiencing the personal reward that comes from individual charity.

There are enough crises around the world to bankrupt our nation 10 times over. We have a responsibility not to let our hearts run too far ahead of our minds. That said, America can assist Africa, and we can do it responsibly.

The president should call on Congress to trim back PEPFAR funding to his original request and he should bring the plight of the African people before the country. John F. Kennedy once suggested that Americans "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." In similar fashion, Mr. Bush has an historic opportunity to lead a national charity drive to help our friends in Africa. Ask Americans to help their suffering fellow man and they will.