‘Stalemate’ on AIDS relief to drag into 2024

Key Facts

• “I am not going to roll over nor are my colleagues in the House,” Smith said, adding that he considers a compromise on this issue “bogus” and “a complete capitulation.”
• Tom McClusky, the director of government affairs at Catholic Vote, said he and other anti-abortion advocates are working with Smith and other hardliners in Congress to oppose extending PEPFAR without restrictions, and said efforts to reach a compromise have ended in a “stalemate.”
• But Democrats in Congress and supporters of the program argue that only a five-year renewal gives groups providing services on the ground the stability they need to hire staff and create long-term plans, while a short-term reauthorization or no reauthorization could convince other countries that the U.S. commitment to ending HIV and AIDS is waning.
• There is no sign that either Democrats or Smith and his allies are willing to bend, and the deadlock means a PEPFAR reauthorization bill could have a hard time riding on a larger spending package early next year — if one comes together at all.

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