A protest in Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)’s office over AIDS funding ended in arrests Monday morning.
Protesters from Housing Works and Health GAP held a sit-in in McCarthy’s office, according to video from Politico reporter Alice Miranda Ollstein. In the video, posted to X, activists sit on the floor, chanting, “Pass PEPFAR Now McCarthy.”
Seven activists were arrested for unlawful entry by Capitol Police, according to The Hill. They had occupied McCarthy’s office for about 10 to 15 minutes, the paper reported.
PEPFAR, or the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, was started by Republican President George W. Bush in 2003. However, current Republicans in Congress are blocking a reauthorization effort backed by President Joe Biden, over allegations from the Heritage Foundation that PEPFAR funding has gone to abortion providers. These claims are disputed by the Biden administration as well as AIDS charities working with PEPFAR.
“It’s just dumbfounding to me that the charge has been taken seriously,” Shepherd Smith, co-founder of the Children’s AIDS Fund International, told the Washington Post.
PEPFAR, which has a $7 billion budget, is due to expire on September 30, unless the reauthorization passes. While anti-abortion groups like the National Right to Life Committee and the Family Research Council are fighting the reauthorization of the AIDS funding bill, groups including Planned Parenthood, the Human Rights Campaign and UNICEF have called for its passing.
A number of Republicans who were involved with the original bill, including former Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen from Florida and former Senator Bill Frist from Tennessee are lobbying hard in favor of reauthorizing the bill, according to Politico.
“Allowing a significant lapse in the program would erode our international standing at a time when we are in a geopolitical competition with China and Russia,” Frist told the outlet. “Throughout our country’s history, no initiative has had a more profound impact or saved more lives around the world than PEPFAR.”
He also put to bed the abortion funding claims from critics.
“In response to assertions that PEPFAR supports abortion, I’ve seen no evidence to support that claim,” Frist said. “On the contrary, the program gives the children of HIV-positive mothers an opportunity for a life full of promise.”
Representative Chris Smith from New Jersey, who is leading the fight against PEPFAR, is in favor of a stop-gap bill providing one year of funding—instead of the five-year reauthorization—in order to keep the program until anti-abortion restrictions can be passed, according to Politico. He also said that the danger of PEPFAR lapsing is a “false narrative,” saying that the program could continue. PEPFAR briefly paused during 2013 and 2018, according to Politico, but was extended by the end of those years.
PEPFAR has been credited with saving 25 million people during its lifetime.