Executive Council (5-01) "call[ed] upon the U.S. government and international agencies to dramatically increase efforts to address this [AIDS] crisis through funding programs of education and awareness . . .assist[ing] families affected by AIDS . . . and mak[ing] affordable medications available to those infected."

The U.S. Senate will soon consider a broadly bipartisan bill, the "Kerry-Frist bill", to create a comprehensive U.S. strategy to help combat global AIDS and other infectious diseases, including preventing mother-to-child transmission, expanding programs for education, prevention and treatment, and providing deeper debt relief. The bill would authorize $2.1 billion for next year and $2.5 billion for 2004. These levels are roughly twice current spending and would cover the U.S. share of a proposed international target to raise $10 billion to fight the pandemic.

Please immediately contact your Senators via email, letter or call our toll free number at (800) 513-3472 and ask them to support the Kerry-Frist AIDS bill and full funding of this bill in the appropriations process. More info is available at www.episcopalchurch.org/eppn/hivaidrs.html.

To find your Senators, please follow this link: http://capwiz.com/rollcall/home/

You are receiving this alert as a service of the Episcopal Public Policy Network, a grassroots community of more than 10,000 Episcopalians throughout the United States who call, write and email their members of Congress and the Administration to advocate the positions of the Church. Please share this information with a friend.

The Episcopal Public Policy Network is coordinated by the Church's Office of Government Relations, located next to the U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court, and Senate office buildings in Washington, DC. We are a part of the Peace and Justice Ministries Office of the Episcopal Church.

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