[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4914 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4914

 To amend the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, 
and Malaria Act of 2003 to provide for the integration of food security 
and nutrition activities into prevention, care, treatment, and support 
                              activities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 19, 2007

  Mr. Payne (for himself, Ms. Watson, Ms. Woolsey, Ms. Jackson-Lee of 
Texas, and Mr. Miller of North Carolina) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, 
and Malaria Act of 2003 to provide for the integration of food security 
and nutrition activities into prevention, care, treatment, and support 
                              activities.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Global HIV/AIDS Food Security and 
Nutrition Support Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The spread of HIV/AIDS is exacerbated by poverty, and 
        economic and social vulnerability, disempowerment, and 
        inequality.
            (2) Food insecurity has a direct detrimental impact on 
        prevention, care, and treatment of HIV/AIDS.
            (3) Programming for HIV/AIDS must address the underlying 
        factors that contribute to the spread of the disease in order 
        to be effective and sustainable.
            (4) The World Food Program estimates that 6,400,000 people 
        affected by HIV will need nutritional support by 2008.
            (5) The highest rates of HIV infections are in countries 
        with significant rates of malnutrition, especially in sub-
        Saharan Africa.
            (6) People living with HIV/AIDS are less productive due to 
        illness, which contributes to food insecurity for such 
        individuals and their households through loss of wages and/or 
        decreased agricultural production.
            (7) People caring for HIV-infected persons are often less 
        productive because of the demands of caring for those persons, 
        which in turn can lead to food insecurity for the infected 
        person and the entire household.
            (8) Adequate nutrition can extend the time that people 
        infected with HIV are able to work and be productive.
            (9) Food insecurity is often cited by people living with 
        HIV/AIDS as their number one concern.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) malnutrition, especially for people living with and 
        affected by HIV/AIDS, is a clinical health issue with wider 
        nutrition, health, and social implications for HIV-infected 
        individuals, their families, and communities that must be 
        addressed by United States HIV/AIDS prevention, care, 
        treatment, and support programs;
            (2) international guidelines established by the World 
        Health Organization should serve as the reference standard for 
        HIV/AIDS food and nutrition activities supported by the 
        President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR);
            (3) the Coordinator of United States Government Activities 
        to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally (commonly known as the ``Global 
        AIDS Coordinator'') should make it a priority to work with 
        other United States Government departments and agencies, 
        donors, and multilateral institutions to increase the 
        integration of food and nutrition support and livelihood 
        activities into prevention, care, and treatment activities 
        funded by the United States and other governments and 
        organizations;
            (4) for the purposes of determining which HIV-infected 
        individuals should be provided with nutrition and food support, 
        a patient with a body mass index of 18.5 or less should be 
        considered ``malnourished'' and should be given priority for 
        nutrition and food support;
            (5) programs funded by the United States Government should 
        include therapeutic and supplementary feeding, food, and 
        nutrition support and should include strong links to 
        development programs that focus on support for livelihoods; and
            (6) the inability of HIV-infected individuals to access 
        food for themselves or their families should not be allowed to 
        impair or erode the therapeutic status of such individuals with 
        respect to HIV or related comorbidities.

SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States to--
            (1) address the food and nutrition needs of HIV-infected 
        and affected individuals, including orphans and vulnerable 
        children;
            (2) fully integrate food and nutrition support into care, 
        treatment, and support programs carried out under the United 
        States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria 
        Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-25; 22 U.S.C. 7601 et seq.);
            (3) ensure that--
                    (A) care, treatment, and support providers and 
                healthcare workers are adequately trained such that 
                they can provide accurate and informed information 
                regarding food and nutrition support to patients 
                enrolled in treatment and care programs and those 
                affected by HIV; and
                    (B) HIV-infected individuals identified as food 
                insecure, as well as their households, are provided 
                with adequate food and nutrition support; and
            (4) effectively link food and nutrition support to HIV-
        infected individuals and their households and communities 
        provided under Public Law 108-25 to other food security and 
        livelihood programs funded by the United States Government and 
        other donors and multilateral agencies.

SEC. 5. INTEGRATION OF FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION ACTIVITIES INTO HIV/
              AIDS PREVENTION, CARE, TREATMENT, AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES.

    Section 301 of the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, 
Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-25; 22 U.S.C. 
7631) is amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 
following:
    ``(c) Integration of Food Security and Nutrition Activities Into 
Prevention, Care, Treatment, and Support Activities.--
            ``(1) Statement of policy.--Congress declares that food 
        security and nutrition directly impact a patient's 
        vulnerability to HIV infection, the progression of HIV to AIDS, 
        a patient's ability to begin an anti-retroviral medication 
        treatment regimen, the efficacy of an anti-retroviral 
        medication treatment regimen once a patient begins such a 
        regimen, and the ability of communities to effectively cope 
        with the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its impacts.
            ``(2) Requirements.--Consistent with the statement of 
        policy in paragraph (1), the Global AIDS Coordinator shall--
                    ``(A) ensure that--
                            ``(i) an assessment, using validated 
                        criteria, of the food security and nutritional 
                        status of each patient enrolled in anti-
                        retroviral medication treatment programs 
                        supported with funds authorized under this Act 
                        or any amendment made by this Act is carried 
                        out; and
                            ``(ii) appropriate nutritional counseling 
                        is provided to each patient described in clause 
                        (i);
                    ``(B) provide, as an essential component of anti-
                retroviral medication treatment programs supported with 
                funds authorized under this Act or any amendment made 
                by this Act, food and nutrition support to each HIV-
                infected individual who is determined to need such 
                support by the assessing health professional, and the 
                individual's household, for a period of not less than 
                180 days, either directly or through referral to an 
                assistance program or organization with demonstrable 
                ability to provide such support;
                    ``(C) coordinate with the Administrator of the 
                United States Agency for International Development, the 
                Secretary of Agriculture, and heads of other relevant 
                United States Government departments and agencies to--
                            ``(i) ensure that, in communities in which 
                        a significant proportion of HIV-infected 
                        individuals are in need of food and nutrition 
                        support, a status and needs assessment for such 
                        support employing validated criteria is 
                        conducted and a plan to provide such support is 
                        developed and implemented;
                            ``(ii) improve and enhance coordination 
                        between food security and livelihood programs 
                        for HIV-infected individuals in focus countries 
                        and food security and livelihood programs that 
                        may already exist in those countries;
                            ``(iii) establish effective linkages 
                        between the health and agricultural development 
                        and livelihoods sectors in order to enhance 
                        food security; and
                            ``(iv) ensure, by providing increased 
                        resources if necessary, effective coordination 
                        between activities authorized under this Act or 
                        any amendment made by this Act and activities 
                        carried out under other provisions of the 
                        Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 when 
                        establishing new HIV/AIDS treatment sites;
                    ``(D) develop effective, validated indicators which 
                measure outcomes of nutrition and food security 
                interventions carried out under this section and use 
                such indicators to monitor and evaluate the 
                effectiveness of such interventions; and
                    ``(E) support and expand partnerships and linkages 
                between United States colleges and universities with 
                colleges and universities in focus countries in order 
                to provide training and build indigenous human and 
                institutional capacity and expertise to respond to HIV/
                AIDS, and to improve capacity to address nutrition, 
                food security and livelihood needs of HIV/AIDS-affected 
                and impoverished communities.
            ``(3) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of the Global HIV/AIDS Food Security and 
        Nutrition Support Act of 2007, and annually thereafter, the 
        Global AIDS Coordinator shall submit to Congress a report on 
        the implementation of this subsection for the prior fiscal 
        year. The report shall include a description of--
                    ``(A) the indicators described in paragraph (2)(D) 
                and a description of the effectiveness of interventions 
                carried out to improve the nutritional status of HIV-
                infected individuals;
                    ``(B) the amount of funds provided for food and 
                nutrition support for HIV-infected and affected 
                individuals in the prior fiscal year and the projected 
                amount of funds to be provided for such purpose for 
                next fiscal year; and
                    ``(C) a strategy for improving the linkage between 
                assistance provided with funds authorized under this 
                subsection and food security and livelihood programs 
                under other provisions of law as well as activities 
                funded by other donors and multilateral organizations.
            ``(4) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Focus countries.--The term `focus countries' 
                means countries described in section 
                1(f)(2)(B)(ii)(VII) of the State Department Basic 
                Authorities Act of 1956 (as added by section 102(a) of 
                this Act) and designated by the President pursuant to 
                such section.
                    ``(B) Global aids coordinator.--The term `Global 
                AIDS Coordinator' means the Coordinator of United 
                States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS 
                Globally (as described in section 1(f) of the State 
                Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (as added by 
                section 102(a) of this Act)).
            ``(5) Authorization of appropriations.--To carry out this 
        subsection, there are authorized to be appropriated to the 
        Global AIDS Coordinator such sums as may be necessary for each 
        of the fiscal years 2009 through 2014.''
                                 <all>