WASHINGTON, July 24 /EMWNews/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi

released the following statement this evening in support of the Tom Lantos

and Henry J. Hyde Global Leadership Against HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis, and

Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008. The bill, which passed the Senate last

week, passed the House this evening by a vote of 303 to 115 and will now go

the President for his signature into law.



    "Today the House took an historic vote to pass landmark legislation to

reauthorize our initiatives to fight infectious diseases in the developing

world.



    "I thank the Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman and

Congresswoman Barbara Lee for their tremendous leadership on this

legislation.



    "This bill is appropriately named the Tom Lantos and Henry Hyde U.S.

Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria

Reauthorization Act.



    "Under the leadership of Tom Lantos and Henry Hyde, we passed the first

President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) legislation that

authorized $15 billion over five years. Today, we honor their legacy with

this legislation.



    "Working together with the Bush Administration and the Appropriations

Committee, we succeeded in providing life-saving anti-retroviral treatment

to nearly 1.5 million people, supporting care for nearly 6.7 million

people, including nearly 3 million orphans and vulnerable children, and

supporting prevention of more than 150,000 infant infections.



    "Now we must take the next step in fighting infectious diseases in the

poorest countries of the world.



    "The legislation Congress has passed will move us from the emergency

phase to the sustainability phase in fighting AIDS, Tuberculosis, and

Malaria. It will authorize $48 billion over five years to provide

life-saving HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention for men, women, and children

in the poorest countries of the world.



    "The legislation will dramatically strengthen health care delivery

systems, encourage new and innovative ways to deliver the ABC prevention

message, improve relationships with governments and NGOs, eliminate the

requirement that one third of the funding be used for abstinence programs,

eliminate the travel ban for visitors who are HIV positive, improve

services for women and girls, and build stronger linkages to health care

and hunger initiatives.



    "Few crises have called out more for sustained, constructive America

leadership.



    "Across the developing world, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has destroyed the

very fabric of nations, devastated the most productive members of these

societies, discouraged economic development, and orphaned 13 million

children.



    "The Leadership Against HIV/AIDS Act is our compact with developing

nations across the globe. It says that America stands with them in this

fight, that our commitment will not waver, and shows them America's true

face of compassion."