Recently the House of Representatives passed a Continuing Resolution to fund the federal budget for the rest of the fiscal year 2011. The legislation slashes programs that save the lives of some of the poorest people on the planet. These programs have been championed by Republicans and Democrats in the past, but now some of the most cost-effective programs our government funds to help combat pandemic diseases and eliminate poverty are on the chopping block.

One of the proposed cuts? $450 million in contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis. This cut will mean that approximately 10.4 million bed nets that help prevent malaria will not reach people who need them; 6 million treatments for malaria will not be given; 3.7 million people will not be tested for HIV; and 372,000 tests and treatments for tuberculosis will not be administered.

via News-Leader.com.