[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 216 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 216

           Supporting the goals and ideals of World AIDS Day.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 1, 2009

Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Berman, 
Mr. Payne, Ms. Waters, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Himes, Ms. Jackson-Lee of 
Texas, Mr. Ellison, Ms. McCollum, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Nadler of New York, 
 Mr. Serrano, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. Rush, Mr. George Miller of California, 
Mr. Hare, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Moore of Kansas, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Lewis 
of Georgia, Mr. Grayson, Ms. Speier, Mr. Honda, Mr. Carson of Indiana, 
Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Castor of Florida, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, 
Mr. Markey of Massachusetts, Mr. Hastings of Florida, and Mr. Cleaver) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee 
 on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
           Supporting the goals and ideals of World AIDS Day.

Whereas the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that 
        since the identification of AIDS in 1981, about 65,000,000 people have 
        been infected with HIV, and more than 32,000,000 people have died of 
        AIDS worldwide;
Whereas in 2008, UNAIDS estimated that 33,400,000 people were living with HIV 
        around the world, over 2,000,000 people died of AIDS, and another 
        2,700,000 people were newly infected;
Whereas 280,000 children under the age of 15 died from AIDS in 2008, while 
        2,100,000 children were living with HIV, 90 percent of whom reside in 
        Sub-Saharan Africa;
Whereas each day over 1,000 children under the age of 15 become newly infected 
        with HIV, and only 10 percent of pregnant women worldwide receive 
        services to prevent HIV transmission to their newborns;
Whereas new infection rates among women are increasing, and now account for 
        15,700,000 infections and half of the adult population living with HIV/
        AIDS;
Whereas developing countries continue to bear the brunt of the AIDS pandemic 
        with Sub-Saharan Africa serving as the home of 67 percent of all adults 
        and children living with HIV, 60 percent of whom are women and girls;
Whereas people living with HIV/AIDS are frequently susceptible to other 
        opportunistic infections, and according to the World Health 
        Organization, in 2007 approximately 1,370,000 people living with HIV 
        were also estimated to be co-infected with tuberculosis;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that in 
        the United States, at the end of 2006, 1,106,400 people were living with 
        HIV, and 21 percent did not know they were infected;
Whereas a total of 583,298 people have died of AIDS in the United States from 
        the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic through 2007;
Whereas each year 56,300 people become newly infected with HIV in the United 
        States, and on average, an individual is infected with HIV every 9\1/2\ 
        minutes;
Whereas at the end of 2006, African-Americans represented 46 percent of all 
        people living with HIV in the United States, Whites represented 35 
        percent, Hispanics represented 18 percent, Asian-Americans and Pacific 
        Islanders represented 1 percent, and American Indians and Alaska Natives 
        represented less than 1 percent;
Whereas men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly young MSM of color, have 
        represented an increasing share of new HIV infections over the past 
        decade and each year MSM account for 53 percent of all new infections;
Whereas men account for roughly 75 percent of all people living with HIV in the 
        United States, and women represent 25 percent;
Whereas in the United States, African-American women are 18 times more likely to 
        become newly infected with HIV than White women, and Hispanic women are 
        5 times more likely to have AIDS than non-Hispanic White women;
Whereas 5,259 young people aged 13 to 24 were newly diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 
        2006, representing about 14 percent of all new diagnoses in the United 
        States during that year;
Whereas in order to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States, the Ryan 
        White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009 was enacted into law on 
        October 30, 2009, reauthorizing Federal HIV/AIDS care and treatment 
        programs for 4 years and making funding available to United States 
        metropolitan areas, States, and service providers to assist affected 
        families and persons living with HIV/AIDS with healthcare and support 
        services;
Whereas to further focus attention on the HIV/AIDS epidemic among minority 
        communities in the United States, in 1998, Congress and the Clinton 
        Administration created the Minority AIDS Initiative to provide funds to 
        State and local institutions and organizations to best serve the 
        healthcare costs and support the needs of racial and ethnic minorities 
        living with HIV/AIDS;
Whereas Congress provided $1,400,000 for the Office of National AIDS Policy 
        (ONAP) within the White House in the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act 
        in order to develop a National AIDS Strategy to better coordinate and 
        guide the Nation's response to HIV/AIDS;
Whereas ONAP has since conducted a series of town halls across the country to 
        solicit feedback directly from communities impacted by HIV/AIDS in order 
        to provide a basis for developing a National AIDS Strategy;
Whereas, on April 7, 2009, the CDC launched a new communication campaign, ``Act 
        Against AIDS'', to facilitate awareness, public education, health 
        literacy, health care provider marketing, and highly targeted behavior 
        change communication objectives in the fight against HIV/AIDS;
Whereas to address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, in 2000, Congress passed the 
        Global AIDS and Tuberculosis Relief Act, providing the first 
        contribution and the founding framework for what became the Global Fund 
        to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, which provides grants to 
        developing countries to combat the 3 diseases;
Whereas since the Global Fund was created in 2002, donors have pledged more than 
        $12,800,000,000 in funding, of which $4,400,000,000 has been donated by 
        the United States;
Whereas as of December 2009, the Global Fund has supported treatment to over 
        2,500,000 people for HIV/AIDS, directly observed treatment to 6,000,000 
        people for tuberculosis, and over 104,000,000 insecticide treated-
        bednets to fight malaria;
Whereas in order to further address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, in 2008, 
        Congress reauthorized the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 
        (PEPFAR) through the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global 
        Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization 
        Act, providing $48,000,000,000 over 5 years to combat the 3 diseases;
Whereas, between fiscal years 2009 and 2013, PEPFAR programs aim to support care 
        for 12,000,000 HIV-affected people, including children orphaned by AIDS, 
        support the prevention of 12,000,000 new HIV infections; and help at 
        least 3,000,000 people receive antiretroviral treatment;
Whereas, as of September 30, 2008, PEPFAR had supported the treatment of 
        2,100,000 people and supported the prevention of mother-to-child HIV 
        transmission during more than 16,000,000 pregnancies, and had 
        facilitated care for nearly 10,100,000 people, including more than 
        4,000,000 orphans and vulnerable children;
Whereas, between 2004 and 2009, Congress provided approximately $24,752,000,000 
        to combat global HIV/AIDS through PEPFAR and the Global Fund;
Whereas as a result of these and other efforts, the rate of new HIV infections 
        has declined by 17 percent since 2001 and the number of AIDS-related 
        deaths has declined by 10 percent over the last 5 years, due in part to 
        the expansion of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs;
Whereas since the availability of effective HIV/AIDS treatments in 1996 and the 
        increasing availability of treatments to prevent mother to child 
        transmission of HIV since 2001, approximately 2,900,000 lives have been 
        saved and approximately 200,000 new infections among children have been 
        prevented;
Whereas in 2001, representatives and heads of state of 189 countries, including 
        the United States, convened at the first-ever Special Session of the 
        United Nations General Assembly on HIV/AIDS and unanimously adopted the 
        Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS;
Whereas the United Nations Declaration of Commitment outlines prevention, 
        treatment, and funding methods for achieving the Millennium Development 
        Goal of halting and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015;
Whereas in 2006, the United Nations General Assembly convened a High Level 
        Meeting on AIDS, pledging to move toward the goal of universal access to 
        comprehensive prevention programs, treatment, care, and support by 2010;
Whereas in 2008, the United Nations General Assembly convened a second High 
        Level Meeting on AIDS to review progress towards achieving the goal of 
        universal access and the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS;
Whereas the concept of World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 World Summit of 
        Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention and was 
        established to focus attention on the HIV/AIDS pandemic;
Whereas December 1 is now recognized as World AIDS Day and has been taken up by 
        governments, international organizations, and charities around the 
        world; and
Whereas the theme of World AIDS Day 2009 is ``Universal Access and Human 
        Rights'' and is intended to focus attention on the goal of providing 
        universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care, and support 
        programs and the fundamental need to support and protect human rights 
        for all people, particularly vulnerable and marginalized populations, in 
        order to achieve this goal: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of World AIDS Day and 
        recognizes the 21st anniversary of observing this day;
            (2) commends the President, State, and local governments, 
        including their public health agencies, for recognizing this 
        day, for publicizing its importance among their communities, 
        and for encouraging individuals to undergo testing for HIV;
            (3) commends national, State, and local media organizations 
        for carrying messages in support of World AIDS Day;
            (4) supports continued funding for prevention, care, 
        treatment services, and research programs for persons living 
        with HIV/AIDS in the United States including, through the Ryan 
        White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act, the Minority HIV/AIDS 
        Initiative, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 
        National Institutes of Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental 
        Health Services Administration, the Office of Minority Health, 
        and the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
            (5) supports the development of a national AIDS strategy 
        with clear goals and objectives to reduce new HIV infections, 
        especially among African-Americans, men who have sex with men, 
        and other vulnerable communities;
            (6) supports continued funding for the President's 
        Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief and the Global Fund to Fight 
        AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria to provide prevention, care, 
        and treatment to combat HIV/AIDS in developing countries;
            (7) supports the goal of providing universal access to 
        comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care, and support 
        programs;
            (8) supports the goal of protecting human rights for all 
        people, including vulnerable and marginalized populations such 
        as men who have sex with men, injecting drug users, and sex 
        workers; and
            (9) supports efforts to address the factors that make 
        populations vulnerable to HIV/AIDS by decreasing poverty and 
        hunger, expanding educational opportunities for children, and 
        empowering women.
                                 <all>