II 112th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 795 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 12, 2011 Mrs. Gillibrand introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To address HIV/AIDS in the African-American community, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the National Black Clergy for the Elimination of HIV/AIDS Act of 2011.

2.

Table of contents

The table of contents of this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. Sec. 3. Findings. Sec. 4. Definitions applicable throughout Act. Title I—Department of Health and Human Services Sec. 100. Definition. Subtitle A—Office of Minority Health Sec. 101. Services to reduce HIV/AIDS in African-American community. Subtitle B—Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Sec. 111. Grants for substance abuse and mental health services to public health agencies and faith-based organizations. Sec. 112. Services for HIV/AIDS affected youth who are separated from their families. Subtitle C—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sec. 121. Public health intervention and prevention activities. Sec. 122. HIV/AIDS prevention and education. Sec. 123. Building capacity of communities. Sec. 124. National media outreach campaign. Subtitle D—National Institutes of Health Sec. 131. Research to develop behavioral strategies to reduce transmission of HIV/AIDS. Sec. 132. Study of biological and behavioral factors. Subtitle E—Health Resources and Services Administration Sec. 141. Health care professionals treating individuals with HIV/AIDS. Subtitle F—Miscellaneous Sec. 151. Report on impact of HIV/AIDS in the African-American community. Sec. 152. Study on status of HIV/AIDS epidemic among African-Americans. Title II—Miscellaneous Sec. 201. Sense of Congress on National Black Clergy HIV/AIDS Awareness Sunday. Sec. 202. Sense of Congress on Federal agencies with responsibility for preventing, testing for, and treating HIV/AIDS. Sec. 203. Sense of Congress on Federal Bureau of Prisons procedures for inmates with HIV.

3.

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)It has been estimated that more than 1,000,000 people in the United States are living with HIV/AIDS, and approximately 500,000 of them are Black. Blacks are 8 times more likely to have AIDS than their White counterparts. Within the Black community, the subpopulation most disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS is Black men who have sex with men (MSM) with prevalence rates twice those of White MSM. Black women account for the majority of new AIDS cases among women and are 23 times more likely to be living with AIDS than White women and 4 times more likely than Latinas. (2)On October 7–8, 2007, 186 Black clergy, consisting of Baptist, COGIC, Methodist, Protestant, AME, and Pentecostal, together with, medical, policy, and AIDS leaders, were brought together by the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLCA), the oldest and largest Black AIDS organization of its kind in America, hosted by Time Warner, Inc., with other foundation support, to participate in the National Black Clergy Conclave On HIV/AIDS Policy. (3)The attendees included faith leaders across traditional, mega, and activist churches representing millions of congregants: the National Medical Association (NMA) representing 30,000 African-American physicians; the National Conference of Black Mayors; the National Caucus of Black State Legislators; and the Health Brain Trust of the Congressional Black Caucus and key African-American HIV/AIDS advocates from across the United States. This group developed a plan of action that has become the National Black Clergy for the Elimination of HIV/AIDS Act of 2011 to respond to the on the ground emergency in prevention, care, and treatment for AIDS in Black America. (4)In August 2007, the NMA, the oldest and largest organization representing 30,000 African-American physicians, released a consensus report entitled Addressing The HIV/AIDS Crisis In The African American Community: Fact, Fiction and Policy; and specifically called on the next President of the United States to declare HIV/AIDS in African-American communities a public health emergency and worked with NBLCA to organize clergy to advocate for the specific needs of Black physicians, their patients, and those at risk in African-American communities; and have pledged to advocate and work with clergy to develop, execute, and implement these initiatives as a part of their rightful role of leadership in African-American communities and culture. (5)The National Conference of Black Mayors has pledged to work with clergy, medical, and community leaders to develop and support these initiatives on a local level and to help them to continue to develop a policy agenda leading to the elimination of HIV/AIDS. (6)The National Caucus of Black State Legislators pledged to take the initiatives herein to their body and develop plans of action for Black State Legislators to work with local clergy, health departments, and CBOs to adopt and implement these initiatives on a national level. (7)At their April 2008 annual meeting, the National Policy Alliance (NPA), consisting of the Joint Center For Political and Economic Studies (secretariat) and the National Black Caucus of School Board Members, National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials; the Judicial Council of the National Bar Association; the National Association of Black County Officials; Blacks in Government and the CBC; NCBM; WCM, voted unanimously to support, endorse, and encourage the passage of the National Black Clergy for the Elimination of HIV/AIDS Act of 2011 and to organize their respective members to endorse and support the passage of this bill. (8)The World Conference of Black Mayors has ratified its support of these initiatives and legislation, and pledged to assist the clergy to take them internationally. (9)The National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, the Balm in Gilead, and the Black AIDS Institute have been recognized by the clergy for their tradition and history of service and will work with clergy to conduct community and policy development, linkages to local departments of health and other services, infrastructure development, education media, and fund development activities. (10)Bishop T.D. Jakes of the Potters House in Dallas, Texas, and Rev. Calvin O. Butts of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York, and chairman of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS have been recognized as the organizers of this group and will help guide and lead the development efforts of fellow clergy through this process. (11)The National Conclave on HIV/AIDS for Black Clergy calls upon the President, Congress, and corporate America to declare the HIV/AIDS crisis in the African-American community a public health emergency. (12)The Black clergy will aggressively seek to have every person under the sphere of their influence tested for HIV in order to know the person’s status. (13)The Black clergy will promote HIV/AIDS awareness to ensure that all Black clergy serving in their denominations and other congregations are equipped to address issues related to this disease in a factual and scientifically sound manner. (14)The Black clergy will use the ABC/D model as a behavioral guideline for prevention initiatives: (A)A–Abstain. (B)B–Be Faithful. (C)C–Use Condoms. (D)D–Don’t Engage in Risky Behaviors.

4.

Definitions applicable throughout Act

In this Act, the terms HIV and HIV/AIDS have the meanings given to such terms in section 2689 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300ff–88).