Congressional Republican independence has occurred so seldom during the reign of President Donald Trump that we should commend the action recently taken by GOP senators to reject Trump’s proposal to claw back $400 million from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief or PEPFAR (“Senate passes $9 billion in spending cuts to public broadcasting, foreign aid requested by Trump,” July 17). This is the George W. Bush era program that has provided HIV treatment and preventive services for the past 22 years, saving more than 26 million lives in low-income countries.
Congress should reject any subsequent action taken by the U.S. Department of State to sharply reduce U.S. assistance to the AIDS program in clear defiance of Congressional intent.
— John R. Leopold, Stoney Beach
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