This report summarizes the Administration's FY2004 request for international HIV/AIDS spending would commit $450 million to a new Global AIDS Initiative to be administered by the Department of State. This is the principal component of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, announced in the State of the Union Message on January 28, 2003. The Administration is seeking $300 million for the President's Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative in FY2004, up from $200 million in the FY2003 request. The Senate-passed omnibus appropriations bill for FY2003 would provide $400 million for the Global Fund.

A series of studies by the Air Force, the National Reconnaissance Office and NASA have identified the critical role played by large optics in fulfilling many of the space related missions of these agencies. Whether it is the Next Generation Space Telescope for NASA, high resolution imaging systems for NRO, or beam weaponry for the Air Force, the diameter of the primary optic is central to achieving high resolution (imaging) or a small spot size on target (lethality). While the detailed requirements differ for each application (high resolution imaging over the visible and near-infrared for earth observation, high damage threshold but single-wavelength operation for directed energy), the challenges of a large, lightweight primary optic which is space compatible and operates with high efficiency are the same. The advantage of such large optics to national surveillance applications is that it permits these observations to be carried-out with much greater effectiveness than with smaller optics. For laser weapons, the advantage is that it permits more tightly focused beams which can be leveraged into either greater effective range, reduced laser power, and/or smaller on-target spot-sizes; weapon systems can be made either much more effective or much less expensive. This application requires only single-wavelength …