Former President George W. Bush on Friday defended the HIV/AIDS treatment program started during his presidency from possible Trump administration cuts.
Bush said in a Washington Post op-ed that the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, has saved “nearly 12 million lives” since its inception in 2003, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
“It is clear that the generosity of the American people has had a huge impact — one that reflects the view that all lives are precious, and to whom much is given, much is required,” Bush wrote. “This lifesaving work also has a practical purpose for Americans. Societies mired in disease breed hopelessness and despair, leaving people ripe for recruitment by extremists. When we confront suffering — when we save lives — we breathe hope into devastated populations, strengthen and stabilize society, and make our country and the world safer.”
President Trump has proposed deep cuts to the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, the agency responsible for administering most U.S. foreign aid projects. The $10 billion in cuts to so-called “soft power” efforts at the State Department have emerged as a flashpoint in Trump’s budget proposal.
Proponents of the cuts have argued the U.S. pours too much taxpayer money into development projects with little federal oversight and initiatives that don’t produce verifiable results, while opponents of funding reductions have argued that foreign aid efforts serve a diplomatic purpose as well as a humanitarian one.
“As the executive and legislative branches review the federal budget, they will have vigorous debates about how best to spend taxpayers’ money — and they should,” Bush wrote. “I argue that we shouldn’t spend money on programs that don’t work, whether at home or abroad. But they should fully fund programs that have proven to be efficient, effective and results-oriented. Saving nearly 12 million lives is proof that PEPFAR works, and I urge our government to fully fund it.”
