[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 233 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 233

 Supporting the goals and ideals of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness 
                                  Day.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 27, 2010

 Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Mrs. Christensen, Ms. Waters, Mr. 
Meeks of New York, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Cao, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. 
Brady of Pennsylvania, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Rangel, 
  Mr. Carnahan, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Norton, Mr. Berman, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. 
 Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Towns, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Ellison, 
    Mr. Honda, and Ms. Edwards of Maryland) submitted the following 
 concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 
                              and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Supporting the goals and ideals of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness 
                                  Day.

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 
        the HIV, and 21 percent did not know they were infected;
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 a total of 583,298 people have died of AIDS in the United States from 
        the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic through 2007, and African-
        Americans account for approximately 40 percent of such deaths;
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 African-Americans account for approximately 12 percent of the population 
        of the United States, but accounted for 51 percent of all HIV/ADS cases 
        diagnosed in 2007;
Whereas although African-American teens (ages 13-19) represent only 15 percent 
        of all teenagers in the United States, they accounted for 68 percent of 
        new AIDS cases reported among teens in 2007;
Whereas young gay men of color bear a disproportionate burden of the epidemic, 
        with more new HIV infections in 2006 occurring among 13 to 29 year old 
        African-American men who have sex with men (MSM) than among any other 
        subpopulation of MSM;
Whereas in 2006, African-American 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 among African-American men, the leading transmission category of HIV 
        infection is sexual contact with other men, followed by intravenous drug 
        use and heterosexual contact;
Whereas among African-American women, the leading transmission category of HIV 
        infection is heterosexual contact, followed by intravenous drug use;
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 CDC notes that socioeconomic issues impact the rates of HIV 
        infection among African-Americans, and studies have found an association 
        between higher AIDS rates and lower incomes;
Whereas in 2007, the rate of AIDS diagnoses for Black women was 22 times the 
        rate for White women and the rate of AIDS diagnoses for Black men was 
        almost 8 times the rate for White men;
Whereas African-Americans are diagnosed with AIDS later than their nonminority 
        counterparts, are confronted with barriers in accessing care and 
        treatment, and face higher morbidity and mortality outcomes;
Whereas the CDC estimates that among persons whose diagnosis of AIDS had been 
        made during 1997 to 2004, African-Americans had the poorest survival 
        rates of any racial or ethnic group, with 66 percent surviving after 9 
        years compared with 67 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives, 
        74 percent of Hispanics, 75 percent of Whites, and 81 percent of Asians 
        and Pacific Islanders;
Whereas in 2006, AIDS was the fourth leading cause of death for African-American 
        men and the third for African-American women, ages 25 to 44, ranking 
        higher than for their respective counterparts in any other racial or 
        ethnic group;
Whereas in 1998, Congress and the Clinton Administration created the National 
        Minority AIDS Initiative to help coordinate funding, build capacity, and 
        provide prevention, care, and treatment services within the African-
        American, Hispanic, Asian Pacific Islander, and Native American 
        communities;
Whereas the Minority AIDS Initiative assists with leadership development of 
        community-based organizations (CBOs), establishes and links provider 
        networks, builds community prevention infrastructure, promotes technical 
        assistance among CBOs, and raises awareness among African-American 
        communities;
Whereas, on April 7, 2009, the CDC launched a new communication campaign 
        entitled ``Act Against AIDS'', to facilitate awareness, public 
        education, health literacy, healthcare provider marketing, and highly 
        targeted behavior change communication objectives in the fight against 
        HIV/AIDS;
Whereas as part of the ``Act Against AIDS'' campaign, the CDC launched a 
        $10,000,000, five-year partnership with 14 African-American 
        organizations to ``harness the collective strength and reach of 
        traditional, longstanding African-American institutions to increase HIV-
        related awareness, knowledge, and action within black communities across 
        the United States'';
Whereas the Black AIDS Media Partnership in conjunction with the CDC's ``Act 
        Against AIDS'' campaign has launched ``Greater Than AIDS'', a public 
        information campaign designed to reach African-Americans with life-
        saving information about HIV/AIDS and to confront the stigma surrounding 
        the disease;
Whereas, on February 23, 2001, the first annual ``National Black HIV/AIDS 
        Awareness Day'' was organized, with the slogan ``Get Educated, Get 
        Involved, Get Tested''; and
Whereas February 7 of each year is now recognized as ``National Black HIV/AIDS 
        Awareness Day'' and this year the slogan is ``HIV/AIDS Prevention--A 
        Choice and a Lifestyle'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of ``National Black HIV/
        AIDS Awareness Day'' and recognizes the 10th anniversary of 
        observing such day;
            (2) encourages State and local governments, including their 
        public health agencies, to recognize such day, to publicize its 
        importance among their communities, and to encourage 
        individuals, especially African-Americans, to get tested for 
        HIV;
            (3) encourages national, State, and local media 
        organizations to carry messages in support of ``National Black 
        HIV/AIDS Awareness Day'';
            (4) 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;
            (5) supports the strengthening of stable African-American 
        communities;
            (6) supports reducing the impact of incarceration as a 
        driver of new HIV infections within the African-American 
        community;
            (7) supports reducing the number of HIV infections in the 
        African-American community resulting from injection drug use;
            (8) supports effective and comprehensive HIV prevention 
        education programs to promote the early identification of HIV 
        through voluntary routine testing, and to connect those in need 
        to treatment and care as early as possible; and
            (9) supports appropriate funding for HIV/AIDS prevention, 
        care, treatment, and housing.
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