Dems Blast Bush Lies on AIDS Funding

House Panel Votes to Increase Foreign AIDS Funding by 40 Percent

"As we speak, the president is in Africa touting how his initiatives will address these tragedies," said Rep. Nita M. Lowey (D-N.Y.). "These contentions are largely a fraud."

Democrats expressed dismay at the overall funding limits, charging that the United States was spending half as much of its wealth on foreign aid as it was during Ronald Reagan's presidency.

Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) called the foreign aid allocation "a moral disgrace," and "shameful."

"It's not a 30-second spot," said Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), noting that the president had stressed his commitment to fighting AIDS during stops in African countries where the disease is rampant. "If it's not funded it says we're not serious about our commitment."

Since his State of the Union address in January, the president has repeatedly promised to spend $15 billion on the international AIDS battle over the next five years, an average of $3 billion annually.

However, the president's 2004 budget requested only $2 billion. Today a senior Republican acknowledged that Bush's upbeat rhetoric has lead to misconceptions about the pace of assistance.

"I have to tell you quite candidly that the president compounds the problem by continuing to talk about $3 billion while he's in Africa," said Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), chairman of the foreign operations subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee.