[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 360 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 360

 Expressing support for the sixth IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, 
Treatment, and Prevention and the sense of the House of Representatives 
 that continued commitment by the United States to HIV/AIDS research, 
  prevention, and treatment programs is crucial to protecting global 
                                health.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 20, 2011

Mr. Hastings of Florida (for himself, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Davis 
 of Illinois, and Mr. Butterfield) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition 
      to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing support for the sixth IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, 
Treatment, and Prevention and the sense of the House of Representatives 
 that continued commitment by the United States to HIV/AIDS research, 
  prevention, and treatment programs is crucial to protecting global 
                                health.

Whereas there are currently 33,400,000 people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide and 
        more than 25,000,000 have died of AIDS since the first cases were 
        reported in 1981;
Whereas in the United States, approximately 1,100,000 people are living with 
        HIV/AIDS and someone is newly infected with HIV every 9.5 minutes;
Whereas one in five individuals living with HIV is unaware of their infection, 
        and significant disparities persist across different communities and 
        populations with regard to incidence, access to treatment, and health 
        outcomes;
Whereas the United States is heavily engaged in both international and domestic 
        efforts to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic, including the President's 
        Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, 
        Tuberculosis (TB), and Malaria, the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS 
        Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), 
        the Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS (HOPWA) Program, and AIDS 
        research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH);
Whereas the biennial IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment, and 
        Prevention is the world's largest open scientific conference on HIV/
        AIDS, attracting about 5,000 delegates from around the world;
Whereas together with the International AIDS Conference, which will next be held 
        in Washington, DC, from July 22, 2012, through July 27, 2012, it 
        provides the world's leading scientists, clinicians, policymakers, and 
        community leaders with a unique opportunity to examine the latest 
        developments in HIV research and how scientific advances can practically 
        guide the national and global response to HIV/AIDS;
Whereas IAS 2011 takes place from July 17, 2011, through July 20, 2011, in Rome, 
        Italy, organized by the International AIDS Society in partnership with 
        the Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS), the leading technical and 
        scientific body of the Italian National Health Service;
Whereas this year's conference is of particular importance given the first 
        documented case of a patient being cured of HIV infection and global 
        resurgence of tuberculosis (TB), including multidrug-resistant 
        tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-
        TB);
Whereas known as the ``Berlin Patient'', Timothy Ray Brown's remarkable story 
        appeared in the December 8, 2010, article entitled, ``Evidence for the 
        cure of HIV infection by CCR5D32/D32 stem cell transplantation'', in the 
        scientific journal Blood;
Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), TB is 
        the leading cause of death among persons with HIV worldwide and XDR-TB 
        is resistant to the most powerful first-line and second-line drugs;
Whereas the improper treatment of TB in HIV-infected individuals perpetuates the 
        spread of this infectious disease as well as bolsters drug resistance, 
        which poses a tremendous threat to public health in the United States 
        and abroad;
Whereas improved efforts to prevent and treat TB among people living with HIV, 
        including the development of new, transformational antibiotic drugs, can 
        save millions of lives;
Whereas several organizations, including small business biotechnology companies, 
        developing therapeutic vaccines and other immune-based therapies are 
        presenting updates on their clinical research at IAS 2011;
Whereas the National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA) and Health People, 
        the first community-based organization for women infected with HIV in 
        the United States, are hosting the NAPWA ``Treatment Horizons: Pathways 
        to a Functional Cure'' satellite symposium, which is officially 
        affiliated with IAS 2011; and
Whereas therapeutic vaccine candidates and immune-based therapies such as those 
        being presented at IAS 2011 may lead to a ``functional cure'' for HIV/
        AIDS: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the sixth IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, 
        Treatment, and Prevention;
            (2) recognizes that continued commitment by the United 
        States to HIV/AIDS research, prevention, and treatment programs 
        is crucial to protecting global health;
            (3) seeks to prevent the transmission of HIV, as well as 
        tuberculosis (TB), multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), 
        and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), and 
        improve health outcomes in people living with HIV/AIDS;
            (4) commits to helping support a strong global response to 
        HIV/AIDS, protect the rights of those infected, and increase 
        access to testing, treatment, and care;
            (5) encourages the ongoing development of innovative 
        therapies and advances in clinical treatment for HIV/AIDS, 
        especially by small business biotechnology firms, and new, 
        transformational antibiotic drugs to treat infectious diseases 
        such as TB, MDR-TB, and XDR-TB; and
            (6) urges scientists, health care providers, policymakers, 
        community leaders, and all individuals committed to ending the 
        HIV/AIDS pandemic to attend the XIX International AIDS 
        Conference (AIDS 2012).
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