WASHINGTON – The Senate voted Wednesday to triple spending for a much-acclaimed program that has treated and protected millions in Africa and elsewhere from the scourges of AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

The 80-16 vote committed the United States to spending up to $48 billion over the next five years for the most ambitious foreign public health program ever launched by the United States.

Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted in favor of the measure.

The legislation would replace and expand the $15 billion act that President Bush championed in a State of the Union address and Congress passed in 2003. That act expires at the end of September.

In a statement, Bush said that when the program was launched in 2003, about 50,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa were receiving anti-retroviral treatment for HIV-AIDS. Today, the program supports lifesaving anti-retroviral treatment for more than 1.7 million people around the world, he said. It also has supported treatment and prevention programs that have helped HIV-positive women give birth to nearly 200,000 infants who are HIV-free.

“Traveling in Africa earlier this year, Laura and I had our most recent opportunity to witness the effectiveness of this program,” he said. “We were honored to see the doctors, nurses and caregivers of all faiths working to save the lives of their fellow citizens. And we met the patients, including many children, who understand and appreciate America’s generosity.”