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Congress Preserves PEPFAR Funding in Trump’s $9 Billion Rescission Bill

A rare bipartisan surge in the Senate preserved key funding for HIV/AIDS relief after the administration’s foreign aid freeze upended global treatment programs.

FILE - Florence Makumene holds HIV medication that she received through funding from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), along with her hospital records book, at her home in Harare, Zimbabwe, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Ufumeli, File)
PEPFAR's HIV/AIDS relief efforts narrowly escaped being stripped of funding.
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Overview

  • Senate Republicans and Democrats voted together to strip the $400 million PEPFAR rescission from the $9 billion package, and the House quickly approved the amended bill for the president’s signature.
  • Since its 2003 launch, PEPFAR has delivered HIV treatment and prevention in over 50 countries, with U.S. data crediting the program for saving more than 25 million lives.
  • Experts say service delivery remains hampered by January’s foreign aid freeze and the partial dismantling of USAID, which curtailed prevention services for high-risk populations.
  • The White House’s FY2026 budget proposal requests $2.1 billion for PEPFAR—a 38% reduction from 2025 funding—prompting UNAIDS to warn of up to six million additional infections by 2029 if cuts stand.
  • Claims by OMB Director Russell Vought that PEPFAR funds supported abortion advice in Russia have been refuted by senior program officials and multiple audit reviews.