Budget cuts should not include U.S. global AIDS program

"Now is not the time for the United States - or any other country - to reduce spending on programs that deliver life-saving drugs at so tiny a cost," a Des Moines Register editorial states, noting the relatively small cost of PEPFAR.

The editorial concludes: "Yes, the federal budget must be balanced. But there are ways to reduce spending that do not result in the unnecessary deaths of people. The United States should continue to be a global leader in working to stop the spread of a disease that currently afflicts 33 million people. Using a miniscule fraction of our tax money to save lives was the right thing to do when President Bush expanded AIDS spending. It is the right thing to do now, too" (6/1).