[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 78 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 78

           Supporting the goals and ideals of World AIDS Day.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 6, 2019

 Ms. Lee of California 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, since the identification of AIDS in 1981, an estimated 74,900,000 
        people have been infected with HIV, and more than 32,000,000 people have 
        died of AIDS and AIDS-related illnesses worldwide;
Whereas, in 2018, an estimated 1,700,000 people were newly infected with HIV, 
        23,300,000, people living with HIV (61 percent of the total) had access 
        to antiretroviral (ART) therapy, and 1,000,000 people died of the 
        disease;
Whereas worldwide, 37,900,000 people are living with HIV, only 79 percent of 
        whom know their status;
Whereas, since 2010, new HIV infections have declined by an estimated 16 
        percent, from 2.1 million to 1.7 million in 2018;
Whereas progress has been made globally in reducing mother-to-child transmission 
        of HIV, with new transmissions among children declining 41 percent since 
        2010;
Whereas girls and women make up more than half of the 37.9 million people living 
        with HIV worldwide;
Whereas young women and adolescent girls bear a disproportionate burden of HIV 
        worldwide (18,800,000);
Whereas AIDS-related opportunistic infections are the third-leading cause of 
        death among women aged 15 to 29 globally;
Whereas AIDS-related opportunistic infections remain the leading cause of death 
        among women aged 15 to 49 globally;
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 54 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 (TB);
Whereas 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, 1,100,000 people are living with HIV and 14 percent 
        of those are not aware of their status;
Whereas in the United States, more than 700,000 people with AIDS have died since 
        the beginning of the epidemic, including nearly 13,000 in 2014;
Whereas each year nearly 40,000 people become newly diagnosed with HIV in the 
        United States;
Whereas minority communities are disproportionately affected by HIV in the 
        United States;
Whereas the CDC has found that transgender people, sex workers, people who 
        inject drugs, and other vulnerable populations have prevention 
        challenges that impact HIV health outcomes and barriers for seeking 
        high-quality care;
Whereas the CDC estimates that African Americans account for almost half (43 
        percent) of all new infections and represent more than one-third of all 
        people living with HIV in the United States, despite comprising about 13 
        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 at the end of 2014, an estimated 59 
        percent were African American, 20 percent were White, and 16 percent 
        were Hispanic or Latina;
Whereas, in 2018, youth aged 13 to 24 accounted for more than 20 percent of all 
        new HIV diagnoses in the United States, with nearly half of youth aged 
        13 to 24 unaware of their status;
Whereas men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly young MSM of color, are 
        the population most affected by HIV;
Whereas, in 2018, MSM accounted for 66 percent of new diagnoses among men and 67 
        percent of all new cases;
Whereas the national opioid epidemic is a threat to a resurgence of HIV cases 
        among people who inject drugs (PWID), with an estimated 7 percent of new 
        cases attributable to injection drug use;
Whereas Southern States bear the greatest burden of HIV in the United States, 
        accounting for more than half of new cases in 2017;
Whereas, in order to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States, on 
        August 18, 1990, Congress enacted the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS 
        Resources Emergency (CARE) Act to provide primary medical care and 
        essential support services for people living with HIV who are uninsured 
        or underinsured;
Whereas the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program provides services and support for over 
        half of all people diagnosed with HIV in the United States and has been 
        reauthorized by Congress four times since it was first created (in 1996, 
        2000, 2006, and 2009);
Whereas to further focus attention on the HIV/AIDS epidemic among minority 
        communities in the United States, in 1998 the Minority AIDS Initiative 
        was established to provide funds to State and local institutions and 
        organizations to best serve the health care 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 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 $49,000,000,000 in funding (of which $15,000,000,000 has been 
        donated by the United States) and distributed $42,000,000,000 to over 
        120 countries;
Whereas, as of 2018, the Global Fund has saved lives by providing antiretroviral 
        (ARV) therapy for more than 18,900,000 people living with HIV, providing 
        access to treatment for TB for 5,300,000 people, and distributing over 
        131,000,000 insecticide-treated nets to fight malaria;
Whereas, in order to further address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, in 2003, 
        Congress and the White House created the President's Emergency Plan for 
        AIDS Relief (PEPFAR);
Whereas, 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, TB, and malaria;
Whereas PEPFAR is currently supporting treatment for 11,500,000 men, women, and 
        children; critical care and support for 6,200,000 orphans and vulnerable 
        children; and in fiscal year 2016, PEPFAR supported HIV testing and 
        counseling for more than 74,300,000 people, including 11,500,000 
        pregnant women;
Whereas, as a result of these efforts, more than 11,000,000 AIDS-related deaths 
        and nearly 17,000,000 HIV transmissions have been averted worldwide 
        since PEPFAR began;
Whereas the United States Federal Government has announced this year the 
        ``Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America'' initiative to end 
        domestic transmissions and the AIDS epidemic within the decade;
Whereas the international community has repeatedly and collectively committed to 
        the goals of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030 and creating an AIDS-
        free generation;
Whereas the concept of World AIDS Day originated in 1988 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, lawmakers, and organizations around the world; and
Whereas World AIDS Day 2019 is focused on communities making the difference 
        through recognizing the essential role that communities play in the AIDS 
        response at the international, national, and local levels: 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 29th anniversary of observing this day;
            (2) commends the President, State governments, and local 
        governments, including State and local public health agencies, 
        for recognizing this day, for publicizing its importance among 
        their communities, for encouraging individuals to undergo 
        testing for HIV, and for their other ongoing efforts 
        strengthened by the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative;
            (3) commends national, State, and local media organizations 
        for carrying messages in support of World AIDS Day;
            (4) supports the goal of ending HIV/AIDS, both in the 
        United States and around the world;
            (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 HIV/AIDS 
        Strategy for the United States: Updated to 2020 (NHAS) and 
        achieving the goals within the NHAS Federal Action Plan;
            (7) 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;
            (8) supports the goal of improving 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; and
            (10) supports efforts to address the factors that make 
        populations vulnerable to HIV/AIDS by combating poverty and 
        hunger, expanding educational opportunities for children, and 
        empowering women and girls.
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