110 HCON 413 IH: Expressing the sense of Congress on the U.S. House of Representatives 2008-09-15 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. CON. RES. 413 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 15, 2008 Ms. Lee (for herself, Ms. Waters, Mr. Waxman, and Mrs. Christensen) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of Congress on the need for a national AIDS strategy.

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that more than 1,000,000 people are currently living with HIV in the United States; Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 56,300 individuals were newly infected with HIV in 2006; Whereas approximately 25 percent of individuals with HIV are unaware that they are infected; Whereas the estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention utilizes a new methodology that has resulted in more accurate estimates of new infections than the previous methodology; Whereas previous estimates of HIV infection rates undercounted the rate of infection by 40 percent; Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have determined that the leading transmission category of HIV infection is male-to-male sexual contact, followed by heterosexual contact and injection drug use; Whereas the 2000 United States Census noted that African-Americans account for approximately 13 percent of the population of the United States, but in 2006 African-Americans accounted for 45 percent of new HIV infections; Whereas, of the estimated 18,849 people under the age of 25 who were diagnosed with HIV between 2001 and 2005, more than 60 percent were African-American; Whereas the rate of AIDS diagnoses for African-American adults and adolescents is 10 times higher than that of their White counterparts and the rate of diagnoses for Black women is nearly 23 times the rate for White women; Whereas, in 2006, Black women accounted for 61 percent of new HIV infections among women and had an infection rate that was almost 15 times higher than that of White women; Whereas AIDS is the leading cause of death for Black women between the ages of 25 and 34; Whereas the Black AIDS Institute notes that there are more African-Americans living with HIV in the United States than there are people living with HIV in 7 out of the 15 focus countries served by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief; Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that socioeconomic issues impact the rates of HIV infection among Blacks, and studies have found an association between higher AIDS incidence and lower incomes; Whereas, in 2006, Hispanics accounted for 18 percent of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses, but account for approximately 15 percent of the overall population, according to the Bureau of the Census; Whereas, in 2005, HIV/AIDS was the fourth leading cause of death among Hispanic men and women between the ages of 35 and 44; Whereas, in 2006, Hispanic women were 5 times more likely to have AIDS than non-Hispanic White women; Whereas, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, funding for domestic HIV prevention programs was decreased by more than $40,000,000 in the 5-year period beginning with fiscal year 2003 and ending with fiscal year 2008, despite the evidence that HIV infections continue to increase in at-risk communities; Whereas, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the President’s fiscal year 2009 budget requests a decrease of $15,700,000 for the Minority AIDS Initiative, despite the fact that HIV has a disproportionate impact on African-Americans and other racial and ethnic minority populations; Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are engaging in outreach programs to increase HIV testing in jurisdictions with the highest AIDS case rates among African-Americans, and those outreach programs are expected to identify approximately 20,000 previously undiagnosed cases; Whereas, despite those efforts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have noted that new strategies are warranted to increase HIV testing, particularly among persons who are disproportionately affected by HIV infection; Whereas the United States must do more to address the disproportionate impact of HIV and AIDS in minority communities; Whereas the United States needs to address the stigma faced by individuals living with HIV and AIDS and help communities have an open discussion about HIV and the behaviors that contribute to increased transmission rates; Whereas the United States needs to ensure that prevention efforts are founded on a base of scientific evidence and reinforce interventions that have proven successful; Whereas the United States must do more to provide education and testing in the communities most at risk; Whereas the United States needs to involve individuals living with HIV and AIDS in the development of policies and programs regarding prevention and treatment; and Whereas the United States needs to develop a comprehensive national AIDS strategy that will unite efforts to prevent new HIV infections, treat HIV and AIDS, reduce stigma, and increase education about HIV and associated conditions: Now, therefore, be it

That Congress— (1)calls upon the President to develop a national AIDS strategy, with the input of individuals living with HIV and the communities that have been adversely impacted by the AIDS epidemic; (2)calls upon the Federal Government to partner with African-American communities, particularly faith-based groups and community-based organizations, to develop strategies to reduce and reverse the impact of the epidemic upon Black communities; (3)calls upon the Department of Health and Human Services to increase education and outreach regarding HIV prevention, testing, and treatment, to ensure that all people in the United States are aware of how to protect themselves from infection; and (4)calls upon the people of the United States to educate themselves about HIV infection and the ways in which they can protect themselves.