[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 177 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 177

           Supporting the goals and ideals of World AIDS Day.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 1, 2016

Ms. Lee (for herself, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. 
  Roybal-Allard, Mr. Pascrell, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Sires, Mr. 
Price of North Carolina, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Adams, Mr. Takano, 
 Ms. Speier, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Bass, Mr. Deutch, and Ms. 
 Jackson Lee) 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 78,000,000 people have 
        been infected with HIV, and more than 35,000,000 people have died of 
        AIDS worldwide;
Whereas in 2015, UNAIDS estimated that 2,100,000 people were newly infected with 
        HIV, 17,000,000 people living with HIV (46 percent of the total) had 
        access to antiretroviral therapy, and 1,100,000 people died of the 
        disease;
Whereas worldwide, 36,700,000 people are living with HIV, only 54 percent of 
        which know they are infected;
Whereas progress has been made globally in reducing mother-to-child transmission 
        of HIV, with new infections among children declining 50 percent since 
        2010;
Whereas progress in reducing new HIV infections among adults has slowed since 
        2010, remaining static at 1,900,000 new infections each year;
Whereas young women and adolescent girls bear a disproportionate burden of HIV 
        worldwide;
Whereas in 2015, 7,500 girls and young women aged 15 to 24 were infected with 
        HIV every week;
Whereas low-income and middle-income countries continue to bear the brunt of the 
        AIDS pandemic with Sub-Saharan Africa serving as the home of 69 percent 
        of all adults and children living with HIV, 56 percent of whom are women 
        and girls;
Whereas people living with HIV/AIDS are frequently susceptible to other 
        infections, such as hepatitis C and tuberculosis;
Whereas according to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least one-third of 
        those living with HIV are infected with latent tuberculosis, which 
        remains the leading cause of death among people living with HIV;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that in 
        the United States, 1,200,000 people are living with HIV and 13 percent 
        of those are not aware of their status;
Whereas more than 698,000 people have died of AIDS in the United States from the 
        beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, including more than 13,000 in 2013;
Whereas each year nearly 50,000 people become newly infected with HIV in the 
        United States;
Whereas women of color are disproportionately affected by HIV in the United 
        States;
Whereas the CDC estimates that African-Americans account for almost half (45 
        percent) of all new infections and represent more than one-third of all 
        people living with HIV in the United States, despite comprising just 12 
        percent of the population;
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 among all women diagnosed with HIV in 2014, an estimated 62 percent were 
        African-American, 18 percent were White, and 16 percent were Hispanic or 
        Latina;
Whereas in 2014, youth aged 13 to 24 accounted for more than 22 percent of all 
        new HIV diagnoses in the United States, with nearly half of youth aged 
        18 to 24 unaware of their status;
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 78 percent of new infections among 
        men and 63 percent of all new infections;
Whereas the national opioid epidemic is a threat to a resurgence of HIV cases 
        among people who inject drugs (PWID), with an estimated ten percent of 
        new cases attributable to injection drug use;
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 the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) released an update of the 
        National HIV/AIDS Strategy targeting reducing new infections, increasing 
        access to care, reducing disparities, and achieving a more coordinated 
        response by 2020;
Whereas in 2003 with bi-partisan leadership from President Bush, Congress 
        created the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the 
        largest commitment in history by a country to combat a single disease;
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 
        $33,000,000,000 in funding, of which $10,687,341,803 has been donated by 
        the United States;
Whereas as of December 2015, the Global Fund has supported treatment to over 
        8,000,000 people for HIV/AIDS, directly observed treatment to 13,200,000 
        people for tuberculosis, and over 548,000,000 insecticide treated nets 
        to fight malaria;
Whereas in order to further address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, in 2013, 
        Congress extended the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 
        (PEPFAR) through 2018 with the PEPFAR Stewardship and Oversight Act of 
        2013 to continue to address HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria;
Whereas, as of September 30, 2015, PEPFAR had supported life-saving treatment 
        for 9,500,000 men, women, and children and in FY2015 supported the 
        prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission during 14,700,000 
        pregnancies, and had facilitated care for more than 5,500,000 orphans 
        and vulnerable children;
Whereas as a result of these and other efforts, the rate of new infections among 
        children in the 21 countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have been most 
        impacted by the epidemic has declined by 60 percent since 2009, due in 
        part to the expansion of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs;
Whereas in September 2015, the world adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable 
        Development and the Sustainable Development Goals and the global 
        community collectively committed to a goal of ending the HIV/AIDS 
        epidemic by 2030;
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 recognized 
        by governments, international organizations, and charities around the 
        world; and
Whereas World AIDS Day 2016 is focused on ending AIDS by the year 2030 and to 
        fast track the end of the AIDS epidemic by 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 28th 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 implementation of the National HIV/AIDS 
        Strategy for the United States: Updated to 2020 (NHAS) and 
        achieving the goals within the NHAS Federal Action Plan;
            (6) supports continued funding for PEPFAR and the Global 
        Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria to provide 
        prevention, care, and treatment to combat HIV/AIDS in low-
        income and middle-income 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 MSM, people who inject drugs, and sex workers; and
            (9) supports efforts to address the factors that make 
        populations vulnerable to HIV/AIDS by combatting poverty and 
        hunger, expanding educational opportunities for children, and 
        empowering women and girls.
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