Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives reached a key compromise last week clearing the way for a vote that could more than triple US funding to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

The bill renews the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a $15-billion, five-year law created by President Bush in 2003. Its new incarnation would provide $50 billion over the next five years, with $9 billion of that earmarked for fighting tuberculosis and malaria, which often affect patients with AIDS. Crucially, it does not require, as did its predecessor, that one-third of HIV/AIDS prevention money be spent on advocating abstinence. Instead, it asks countries to justify to Congress any decision to spend less than 50% of prevention dollars on promoting abstinence and faithfulness.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is working on its own version of the bill aiming for a similar compromise on the abstinence language.