'Cruelty And Madness': Dick Durbin Slams Trump, Elon Musk For Gutting USAID's AIDS Program

Forbes Breaking News

During remarks on the Senate floor Monday, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke about the Trump administration's shuttering of USAID.

Transcript

00:00Mr. President, I didn't agree with former President George W. Bush on a lot of things.

00:07But I have repeatedly given him credit for making the United States the world's leader

00:13in stemming the HIV-AIDS epidemic in some of the poorest parts of the world.

00:20That was 22 years ago.

00:23The program is called the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR.

00:30PEPFAR, in its companion effort, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria,

00:36dramatically curtailed the AIDS epidemic that was ravaging many parts of the world.

00:42PEPFAR alone has saved more than 26 million lives.

00:48Thank you, President George W. Bush.

00:51Both of these programs provide retroviral drugs for those with AIDS,

00:56allowing them to continue to live productive lives and prevent the spread of disease at childbirth.

01:04They have been so effective that many have forgotten just how devastating AIDS was in many parts of the world.

01:12At one point, killing more than 2 million people every year

01:15and leaving 14 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa.

01:19In some countries, life expectancy had dropped to 20 years.

01:24A few years ago, we took a look at the nation of Malawi.

01:29PEPFAR and Global Fund programs increased the number of Malawians living with AIDS

01:33and receiving treatment from 5% to nearly 90%.

01:37Thank you, President George W. Bush.

01:40These programs are not only the right thing to do, but also highly effective examples of American soft power.

01:49And until recently, a stark contrast to what China and the other nations in the world were doing.

01:55So imagine my reaction to the Trump administration's decision at the highest level

02:01to gut this life-saving bipartisan program under the heartless tutelage of the president's unelected billionaire buddy,

02:10Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world.

02:15Never elected to anything.

02:19Gleefully, senselessly, dancing on stage with a chainsaw

02:23so he can cut programs just like President Bush's PEPFAR.

02:27It's been estimated by experts that the gutting of USAID

02:32could jeopardize the health of more than 20 million people worldwide,

02:37including 500,000 children.

02:40What a contrast.

02:41Republican President George W. Bush will go down in history

02:45as a caring man who symbolized what the United States means to the world.

02:52A giving, caring people who have helped so many poor people

02:56in nations, many of whom will never visit,

03:01made them, put them in a position where they could survive.

03:05The Trump administration says that no programs were actually cut,

03:09just paused.

03:11The reality is far different.

03:13Any of us who've raised a family

03:15can remember when that baby needed a bottle

03:19and was darn determined to let you know about it.

03:24Screaming and shouting until you finally put that bottle in her mouth

03:28and she quieted down.

03:31So now, the Trump administration says

03:33when it comes to feeding programs

03:35for babies and infants and children around the world,

03:38because they're screaming and they're hungry,

03:41just tell them we've decided to pause the program.

03:43Pause the program.

03:47Parents laugh out loud when you consider that possibility.

03:51Just last month,

03:52the Trump administration dismissed

03:54the few remaining public health officials

03:56overseeing programs for pregnant women with HIV

03:59in low-income countries.

04:02Don't tell me that you've dedicated public service

04:05to strengthening families

04:06and then take away this basic need

04:09so that mothers giving birth to babies

04:12don't have to worry about HIV and AIDS.

04:15All the experts at the Centers for Disease Control,

04:18the State Department and USAID,

04:20have been terminated or waiting for reassignment.

04:23That's the Trump record.

04:25That's what he'll be remembered for in history

04:27if we go along with him.

04:28Even with some funding restored,

04:30how will the critical work continue

04:32without professional staff to carry it out?

04:35Like so many White House policies,

04:37this is cruelty and madness

04:39and certainly not efficiency.

04:42In upcoming funding bills

04:44and any rescission's effort,

04:47it'll be up to Congress,

04:49all of us in Congress,

04:50not the Democrats alone,

04:52we're in the minority,

04:53but Democrats and Republicans together

04:55to protect and restore

04:56these critical life-saving programs

04:58that are both the right thing to do

05:00and the strategic thing to do.

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