[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 333 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 333

           Supporting the goals and ideals of World AIDS Day.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 1, 2010

Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Ms. Edwards of Maryland, Mr. Rush, 
 Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Hinchey, 
Ms. Norton, Ms. Speier, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Stark, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Rangel, 
    Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Polis of Colorado, Ms. 
 McCollum, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Serrano, Mr. 
 Conyers, Mr. Meeks of New York, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Payne, and Mr. 
   Ellison) 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, more than 60,000,000 people 
        have been infected with HIV, and nearly 30,000,000 people have died of 
        AIDS worldwide;
Whereas in 2009, UNAIDS estimated that 33,300,000 people were living with HIV 
        around the world, 1,800,000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses, and 
        another 2,600,000 people were newly infected;
Whereas 260,000 children under the age of 15 died from AIDS in 2009, while 
        2,500,000 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 worldwide 53 percent of pregnant women in low and middle 
        income countries receive services to prevent HIV transmission to their 
        newborns;
Whereas the proportion of women living with HIV has remained stable at slightly 
        less than 52 percent of the global total;
Whereas developing countries continue to bear the brunt of the AIDS pandemic 
        with Sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 68 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 2008 approximately 1,400,000 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, more than 1,100,000 people are living with HIV, and 
        21 percent do not know they are infected;
Whereas a total of 597,499 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 2007, African-Americans represented 48 percent of all 
        people living with HIV in the United States, Whites represented 33 
        percent, Hispanics represented 17 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 in 2008 MSM accounted for 54 percent of all new infections;
Whereas men account for 73 percent of all people living with HIV in the United 
        States, and women represent 27 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 the United States as of November 2010, approximately 4,157 people 
        across 9 States have been placed on waiting lists to receive AIDS 
        treatment through the AIDS Drug Assistance Program authorized through 
        the Ryan White CARE Act;
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 
        and the FY2010 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 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 July 13, 2010, ONAP released the ``National AIDS Strategy for the 
        United States'' along with an accompanying ``Federal Implementation 
        Plan'' to achieve the goals of reducing new HIV infections, increasing 
        access to care and improving health outcomes for people living with HIV, 
        reducing HIV-related disparities and health inequities, and achieving a 
        more coordinated national response to the HIV epidemic;
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 
        $30,000,000,000 in funding, including $9,547,000,000 by the United 
        States, of which more than $5,130,000,000 has already been donated;
Whereas as of December 2010, the Global Fund has supported treatment to over 
        3,000,000 people for HIV/AIDS, directly observed treatment to 7,700,000 
        people for tuberculosis, and over 160,000,000 insecticide treated-
        bednets to fight malaria, saving an estimated 6,500,000 lives;
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, authorizing $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 4,000,000 people receive antiretroviral treatment;
Whereas, as of September 30, 2010, PEPFAR had supported the treatment of 
        3,200,000 people and in FY2010 alone supported the prevention of mother-
        to-child HIV transmission for more than 600,000 HIV-positive pregnant 
        women, allowing more than 114,000 infants to be born HIV-free, while 
        directly supporting care for 11,000,000 people, including 3,800,000 
        orphans and vulnerable children;
Whereas, between 2004 and 2010, Congress provided approximately $31,385,000,000 
        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 19 percent since 1999 and the number of AIDS-related 
        deaths has declined by 19 percent between 2004 and 2009, due in part to 
        the expansion of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs;
Whereas since the availability of effective HIV/AIDS treatments and the 
        increasing availability of treatments to prevent mother to child 
        transmission of HIV, approximately 5,200,000 people are currently 
        receiving antiretroviral therapy, an increase of 30 percent since 2008, 
        and the number of children infected with HIV through mother to child 
        transmission has been reduced by 24 percent since 2004;
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 2010 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 22nd 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) commends the work of AIDS service organizations and 
        community and faith based organizations that are providing 
        effective, evidence based, prevention, treatment, care, and 
        support services to people living with and vulnerable to HIV/
        AIDS;
            (5) 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;
            (6) supports the implementation of the National AIDS 
        Strategy and its goals to reduce new HIV infections, increase 
        access to care and improve health outcomes for people living 
        with HIV, reduce HIV-related disparities and health inequities, 
        and achieve a more coordinated national response to the HIV 
        epidemic;
            (7) 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;
            (8) supports the goal of providing universal access to 
        comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care, and support 
        programs;
            (9) 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
            (10) 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>