By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) - Members of the U.S. Senate sought on Thursday to pass bipartisan legislation to more than triple funds to fight AIDS in Africa and other countries, but some Republican foes vowed to block it because of its cost.

President George W. Bush had called for a doubling of U.S. funding to help fight a global battle against AIDS.

There are indications his administration would go along with more aggressive spending, according to congressional aides. But he has had difficulty convincing some fellow Republicans in Congress to go along.

Supporters of the proposed $50 billion in U.S. funds over five years had hoped the legislation would be approved by the Senate before a July 7-9 meeting in Japan of leaders from major industrialized countries. The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the measure on April 2.

If the Senate embraces the $50 billion passed by the House, health groups hope that would pressure Japan and other major Western economies at the meeting to increase their contributions as well.

But with time running out before Congress begins a holiday recess at the end of this week, Sen. Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican, threatened to block passage.

"Senator DeMint objects to a huge increase in deficit spending and the lack of real oversight to ensure funds are going for medical purposes to help those in need," said DeMint spokesman Wesley Denton.

The government reported on Thursday that the "President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief," or PEPFAR, is supplying HIV drugs to 1.73 million people worldwide, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. That is up from the only 50,000 or so in sub-Saharan African being treated in 2003 when the program was initiated.

During the first five years of the program, PEPFAR was funded at $15 billion. Bush called for a doubling of funds for the next five years, to $30 billion.

With AIDS raging in Africa and other poor countries, the U.S. Congress has been pushing for a more aggressive attack against that disease, along with malaria and tuberculosis.

The proposed boost in U.S. funding could provide treatment for an estimated 3 million to 5 million victims of HIV, malaria and tuberculosis in 12 African countries, Vietnam, Haiti and Guyana. Twelve million people would be targeted for disease prevention, according to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee aide.

For example, PEPFAR supports prevention of mother-to child-transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Progress toward passing the bill in the Senate came after Sen. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, reached a deal this week with Senate Foreign Relations Committee leaders on a formula calling for more than half of the funds to be dedicated to broadly defined treatment and care.

"After many rounds of negotiations, we have reached a deal in principle with several leading Republican senators," said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat.

More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since it was first recognized more than a quarter century ago. About 40 million people now live with HIV, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa where it is spread primarily through heterosexual sex. (Additional reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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