Bush proposes expanded AIDS, bioterror funding

President Bush proposed on Tuesday night a tripling of U.S. contributions to treat and prevent AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean, as well as an increase in funding for the development and purchase of new bioterrorism countermeasures. The president announced a five-year, $15 billion Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief that will be targeted at 14 African and Caribbean countries. The White House said the plan will prevent 7 million new infections and provide antiretroviral drugs for 2 million HIV-infected people. The president said that the cost of anti-retroviral drugs to treat AIDS "has dropped from $12,000 a year to under $300 a year," but details of which drugs will be purchased have not been released. ...