A major international conference on global AIDS policy opened in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, the first time the event has been on U.S. soil in two decades. Hundreds of people marked the conference’s first day with a rally on the National Mall calling for cheaper antiretroviral drugs and greater international aid. At the conference’s opening panel, Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee of California called for a new push to help AIDS patients worldwide.

Rep. Barbara Lee: “I think we must redouble our efforts, redouble our commitment to PEPFAR, to the global fund, to our domestic national HIV-AIDS strategy and plan, which I believe President Obama has so boldly put forward. That is the right thing to do. But it’s been a bit quiet in this country, and we need to make some noise. We need to put eradicating HIV and AIDS at the front burner of our political agenda both here and abroad.”