House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) died Monday from esophageal cancer at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., the New York Times reports. Lantos was 80 years old (Herszenhorn, New York Times, 2/12). Lantos had recently been involved in reauthorization hearings for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 2/8). President Bush in a statement released Monday said he appreciates Lantos' efforts to fight HIV/AIDS and address other human rights issues worldwide (White House statement, 2/11).

Paul Zeitz, executive director of the Global AIDS Alliance, said Lantos was an "indispensable leader in the field of global AIDS and poverty," adding that the "fight against HIV/AIDS has lost a real hero. His leadership will be sorely missed" (Lagos/Wildermuth, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/12).