AIDS has claimed the lives of millions of Africans (every day, an estimated 8000 die from the virus) and a multitude of children have been orphaned as a result. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) proposed an amendment to the AIDS relief bill which would have required the development and implementation of a plan to assist those individuals who are caring for orphaned children whose parents have died from the virus. In the view of Progressives, those children deserve care and support and they voted for Boxer's amendment on those grounds. Democrats voted overwhelmingly in favor of Boxer's proposal but, on a nearly party-line vote, the amendment was defeated 45-50.