US Congress Welcomes Bush Plan to Fight AIDS in Africa

Broadcast: Jan 30 2003

 

President Bush's proposal to Congress to devote $15 billion to the fight against AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean has been welcomed by lawmakers on Capitol Hill. But some are asking where the money will be coming from.

In his State of the Union address, President Bush urged Congress to approve $15 billion in spending for AIDS over the next 10 years. $10 billion of this would be new spending.

Senate Republican leader Bill Frist of Tennessee called the president's proposal "a remarkable¹ and unprecedented² commitment" to combating AIDS.

The president's proposal also got a good reception from members of the Congressional Black Caucus³.

The group represents African-American lawmakers in Congress. It had been urging the president for some time to take a bold step in dealing⁴ with the global AIDS problem.

Elijah Cummings, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus said: “The HIV/AIDS ¹⁾epidemic⁵ is killing⁶ millions of people in Africa, because they are not receiving proper care. Eight-thousand people are dying from AIDS each day in Africa. By 2010, it is predicted that 40 million children will be orphaned⁷ as a result of the disease,”

However, other lawmakers are concerned that domestic priorities may end up preventing the president's proposal from being realized.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee says she is waiting for details from the White House, and warns that money for AIDS should not be taken from other areas such as children's health.

"We cannot rob Peter to pay Paul," she said. "This pandemic needs billions and billions of dollars immediately. He indicated that $10 billion would be new money. We want to see where that new money is coming from. How can there be new money when these tax cuts, $640 billion plus, are on the table and the other initiatives for the wealthiest in our country?"

For his part, President Bush expanded on his comments about AIDS Wednesday in a speech in Michigan. "We have a chance to use our wealth and our abilities to help cure that epidemic that ²⁾plagues a group of people," he said. "I call upon the ²⁾generosity⁸ of the American people, at this time of tragedy, where thousands are dying, where thousands of children are being orphaned, to join in a great cause, a great humanitarian⁹ cause, a cause to solve unimaginable problems, to help the people who are needlessly dying."

The invigorated effort to fight AIDS and help orphaned children would focus on some of the hardest-hit countries of Africa, including Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Ivory Coast, and in the Caribbean - Haiti and Guyana.

Dan Robinson VOA news, Washington.

 

1)    epidemic [7epi5demik]adj.流行的, 传染的; n.时疫,流行, 流行病

2)    plague[plei^]n.瘟疫, 麻烦, 苦恼, 灾祸vt.折磨, 使苦恼, 使得灾祸

3)    generosity [7dVenE5rCsiti]n.慷慨, 宽大

 

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

8 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

9 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。