[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 461 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 461

       Commemorating and supporting the goals of World AIDS Day.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 30, 2021

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
       Commemorating and supporting the goals of World AIDS Day.

Whereas, as of the end of 2020, an estimated 37,700,000 people were living with 
        human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome 
        (AIDS), including 1,720,000 children;
Whereas, in the United States, more than 770,000 people with AIDS have died 
        since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, including nearly 16,000 deaths 
        among people with diagnosed HIV in 2019, with the disease 
        disproportionately affecting communities of color;
Whereas each year nearly 40,000 people become newly diagnosed with HIV in the 
        United States;
Whereas communities of color are disproportionately affected by 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 (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 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;
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 United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) 
        program remains the largest commitment in history by any country to 
        combat a single disease;
Whereas, as of 2020, PEPFAR has supported treatment for approximately 17,200,000 
        people, and has enabled 2,800,000 infants of mothers living with HIV to 
        be born HIV-free;
Whereas, in fiscal year 2020, PEPFAR directly supported HIV testing and 
        counseling for 50,000,000 people;
Whereas the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was launched in 
        2002, and, as of 2020, has helped provide antiretroviral therapy to 
        approximately 21,900,000 people living with HIV/AIDS and to 686,000 
        pregnant women to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS to their 
        children, saving an estimated 44,000,000 lives;
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 nearly 30-percent reduction in new HIV infections, an over 
        50-percent reduction in new HIV infections among children, and an over 
        45-percent reduction in the number of AIDS-related deaths between 2010 
        and 2020;
Whereas approximately 27,500,000 people had access to antiretroviral therapy in 
        2020, 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 1,500,000 new HIV infections in 2020 globally, 
        structural barriers continue to make testing and treatment programs 
        inaccessible to highly vulnerable populations, and an estimated 
        6,100,000 people living with HIV globally still do not know their HIV 
        status;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that nearly 
        37,000 people were diagnosed with HIV in the United States in 2018 and 
        14 percent of the 1,200,000 people 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 States bear the greatest burden of HIV in the United States, 
        accounting for 51 percent of new infections in 2018;
Whereas people living with HIV are frequently susceptible to other infections, 
        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, and 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 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 2021, commemorations for World AIDS Day recognize the need for 
        ``Ending the HIV Epidemic: Equitable Access, Everyone's Voice'': Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of World AIDS Day, 
        including the goal to achieve zero new HIV infections, zero 
        discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths;
            (2) commends the efforts and achievements in combating HIV/
        AIDS 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;
            (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 efforts to end the HIV epidemic in the United 
        States and around the world by 2030;
            (5) 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;
            (6) 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;
            (7) 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;
            (8) 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;
            (9) supports continued leadership by the United States in 
        domestic, bilateral, multilateral, and private sector efforts 
        to fight HIV;
            (10) encourages input from civil society in the development 
        and implementation of domestic and global HIV policies and 
        programs that guide the response;
            (11) 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
            (12) 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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