[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 781 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 781

                Supporting the goals of World AIDS Day.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 1, 2020

   Mr. Booker (for himself and Mr. Sullivan) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
                Supporting the goals of World AIDS Day.

Whereas, as of the end of 2019, an estimated 38,000,000 people were living with 
        human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome 
        (AIDS), including 1,800,000 children;
Whereas, in the United States, more than 770,000 people with HIV/AIDS have died 
        since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, including nearly 16,000 
        deaths among people with diagnosed HIV in 2018, with the disease 
        disproportionately affecting certain populations;
Whereas each year nearly 40,000 people become newly diagnosed with HIV in the 
        United States;
Whereas communities of color are disproportionately affected by the spread of 
        HIV in the United States;
Whereas, in order to address the HIV epidemic in the United States, on August 
        18, 1990, Congress enacted the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources 
        Emergency Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-381; commonly referred to as the 
        ``Ryan White CARE Act'') to provide primary medical care and essential 
        support services for people living with HIV who would benefit from these 
        services;
Whereas the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program provides services and support for over 
        half of all people diagnosed with HIV in the United States;
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;
Whereas the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals established a global 
        target to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030;
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 the PEPFAR program remains the largest commitment in history by any 
        country to combat a single disease;
Whereas, as of 2019, PEPFAR has supported treatment for approximately 15,700,000 
        people, including by providing antiretroviral drugs to 2,600,000 
        pregnant women living with HIV to prevent the transmission of HIV from 
        mother to child during birth;
Whereas, in fiscal year 2019, PEPFAR directly supported HIV testing and 
        counseling for nearly 79,600,000 people;
Whereas the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, launched in 
        2002, has helped provide antiretroviral therapy to approximately 
        20,100,000 people living with HIV/AIDS and to 718,000 pregnant women to 
        prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS to their children, saving an 
        estimated 38,000,000 lives, as of 2019;
Whereas the United States is the largest donor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, 
        Tuberculosis and Malaria, and every $1 contributed by the United States 
        leverages an additional $2 from other donors, as required by law;
Whereas considerable progress has been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS, 
        including a 23-percent reduction in new HIV infections, over a 40-
        percent reduction in new HIV infections among children, and over a 30-
        percent reduction in the number of AIDS-related deaths between 2010 and 
        2019;
Whereas approximately 25,400,000 people had access to antiretroviral therapy in 
        2019, compared to only 7,800,000 people who had access to such therapy 
        in 2010;
Whereas research funded by the National Institutes of Health found that HIV 
        treatment not only saves the lives of people living with HIV, but people 
        living with HIV on effective antiretroviral therapy and who are durably 
        virally suppressed cannot sexually transmit HIV, proving that HIV 
        treatment is prevention;
Whereas it is estimated that, without treatment, half of all infants living with 
        HIV will die before their second birthday;
Whereas, despite the remarkable progress in combating HIV, significant 
        challenges remain;
Whereas there were approximately 1,700,000 new HIV infections in 2019 globally, 
        structural barriers continue to make testing and treatment programs 
        inaccessible to highly vulnerable populations, and an estimated 
        7,100,000 people living with HIV globally still do not know their HIV 
        status;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 
        37,000 people were diagnosed with HIV in the United States in 2018 and 
        14 percent of the 1,200,000 in the United States living with HIV are not 
        aware of their HIV status;
Whereas men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly young MSM of color, are 
        the population most affected by HIV in the United States;
Whereas southern areas of the United States bear the greatest burden of HIV, 
        accounting for 51 percent of new infections in 2018;
Whereas people living with HIV are frequently susceptible to comorbidities, such 
        as hepatitis B and C and tuberculosis;
Whereas the opioid and heroin epidemics have led to increased numbers of new HIV 
        infections among people who inject drugs;
Whereas the crisis has disproportionately affected nonurban areas, where HIV 
        prevalence rates have been low historically and have limited services 
        for HIV prevention and treatment and substance use disorder treatment;
Whereas, in 2020, the United States hosted the Conference of the International 
        AIDS Society, reinforcing the important leadership role the United 
        States plays in ending AIDS globally;
Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a significant burden on the public 
        health systems across the United States and the globe;
Whereas December 1 of each year is internationally recognized as ``World AIDS 
        Day'''; and
Whereas, in 2020, commemorations for World AIDS Day recognize the need for 
        ``Global Solidarity, Shared Responsibility'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) encourages people around the world to work to achieve 
        the goal of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, and 
        zero AIDS-related deaths, in order to end the HIV epidemic in 
        the United States and around the world by 2030;
            (2) commends the efforts and achievements in combating HIV/
        AIDS through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 
        2009 (Public Law 111-87), 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;
            (3) commends the efforts and achievements in combating HIV/
        AIDS made by PEPFAR, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, 
        Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the Joint United Nations 
        Programme on HIV/AIDS;
            (4) supports continued funding for prevention, care, and 
        treatment services, and research programs for communities 
        impacted by HIV and people living with HIV in the United States 
        and globally;
            (5) urges, in order to ensure that an AIDS-free generation 
        is achievable, rapid action by all countries toward further 
        expansion and scale-up of antiretroviral treatment programs, 
        including efforts to reduce disparities and improve access for 
        children to life-saving medications;
            (6) encourages the scaling up of comprehensive prevention 
        services, including biomedical and structural interventions, to 
        ensure inclusive access to programs and appropriate protections 
        for all people at risk of contracting HIV, especially in 
        communities disproportionately impacted;
            (7) calls for greater focus on the HIV-related 
        vulnerabilities of women and girls, including women and girls 
        at risk for or who have survived violence or faced 
        discrimination as a result of the disease;
            (8) supports continued leadership by the United States in 
        domestic, bilateral, multilateral, and private sector efforts 
        to fight HIV;
            (9) encourages input from civil society in the development 
        and implementation of domestic and global HIV policies and 
        programs that guide the response;
            (10) encourages and supports greater degrees of ownership 
        and shared responsibility by developing countries in order to 
        ensure the sustainability of the domestic responses to HIV/AIDS 
        by those countries; and
            (11) urges other members of the international community to 
        sustain and scale up their support for and financial 
        contributions to efforts around the world to combat HIV.
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