[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 184 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 184

  Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to pediatric and 
                            adolescent AIDS.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 12, 1996

  Mr. Serrano (for himself, Mr. Studds, Mr. Hilliard, Mr. Yates, Mr. 
 McDermott, Ms. Valazquez, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Frost, Mr. Green of Texas, 
 Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Romero-Barcelo, Mr. Waxman, Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas, 
  Mr. Miller of California, Mr. Dellums, Mr. Johnston of Florida, Mr. 
Gonzalez, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Towns, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Filner, Mr. Stokes, 
  Mr. Cummings, Mr. Martinez, Mrs. Maloney, Mrs. Meek of Florida, Ms. 
Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Manton, Mr. Owens, and Mr. Nadler) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
                       the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to pediatric and 
                            adolescent AIDS.

Whereas more than 510,000 individuals in the United States have been diagnosed 
        with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (commonly known as AIDS) and 
        319,849 have died from the disease;
Whereas the Public Health Service has estimated that there are currently between 
        630,000 and 900,000 persons in the United States infected with HIV;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 6,948 cases 
        of pediatric AIDS and 2,354 cases of adolescent AIDS as of December 
        1995;
Whereas, because 1 in 5.5 of all reported AIDS cases is diagnosed in the 20- to 
        29-year-old age group and the median incubation period between human 
        immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and AIDS diagnosis is nearly 10 
        years, most of those people in their twenties who are diagnosed with 
        AIDS were adolescents when they became infected;
Whereas AIDS was the sixth leading cause of death among children aged 1 to 4 in 
        1993 and if the incidence of AIDS continues to increase, within the next 
        10 years AIDS may become the fifth leading cause of death among children 
        of all ages in the United States;
Whereas AIDS is now the leading cause of death in the United States among 
        persons 25 to 44;
Whereas by the year 2000, between 72,000 and 125,000 children and adolescents in 
        the United States will have lost their mothers to HIV/AIDS;
Whereas in 1994 reported AIDS cases among women continued to grow at a faster 
        rate than among men;
Whereas the Public Health Service estimates that approximately 100,000 women in 
        the United States are infected with HIV and an estimated 7,000 are 
        expected to give birth to children each year, and without intervention 
        approximately 1,000 to 2,000 of these children will be infected with 
        HIV;
Whereas 90 percent of children with AIDS have a parent with, or at risk for, HIV 
        infection;
Whereas 23.3 percent of reported pediatric AIDS cases in the United States have 
        occurred in New York City, and the South Bronx has the highest HIV 
        seroprevalence rate among newborns in the United States;
Whereas Philadelphia ranks among American cities most impacted by reported AIDS 
        cases among children age 0 to 13; and the latest heel-stick test showed 
        that 1 in 205 women were HIV positive in Philadelphia; and
Whereas ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by AIDS, with 75 
        percent of women with AIDS and 81 percent of children with AIDS being 
        African-American or Hispanic: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) it is important that the people of the United States 
        diligently seek preventative measures and better solutions to 
        care for women and youth, including helping them gain access to 
        HIV services and treatment and other sexually transmitted 
        disease clinical therapies;
            (2) early intervention and education resources must be made 
        available to all citizens, especially youth and other high-risk 
        groups, to make them more aware of AIDS and the risks 
        associated with engaging in unprotected sexual activity or 
        substance abuse;
            (3) the Health Care Financing Administration and the Public 
        Health Service should work with appropriate State officials to 
        help design optimal care packages needed for children, youth, 
        and families with AIDS or HIV infection especially as health 
        care system reforms are undertaken; and
            (4) States and localities should recognize relatives, 
        extended family members, and other nonbiological relatives as 
        an appropriate source of foster care for children with AIDS 
        whose parents can no longer care for them, subject to the same 
        review and afforded the same benefits as other foster parents.
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