[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 64 (Thursday, May 9, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S4952]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             AIDS EDUCATION

 Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise today to commend the 
students and faculty at Cresskill High School in my State for proposing 
a weeklong focus on HIV/AIDS, from May 27 to June 2, 1996.
  It's true that this is one of many spotlights that have been trained 
on this epidemic; and it's true that there have been many seminars and 
educational forums designed to inform the public about the devastation 
this disease causes and the medical and other support services 
available to sustain individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS.
  But the fact is that despite statistics clearly demonstrating that 
AIDS is no respecter of racial, religious, ethnic, or economic lines, 
most people prefer to think it can't happen to them. The idea for this 
particular AIDS Education Week in New Jersey came from Jessica 
Pomerantz, a student at Cresskill High School, a suburban school in an 
area where families are not faced with problems of the inner cities. 
Jessica felt the need to talk about this precisely because she sensed 
that her fellow classmates were like most people--they believed they 
would never be the ones to get the AIDS virus. The fact is, as she 
says, AIDS is an equal opportunity killer. The fact is this AIDS 
education week is very significant.
  AIDS has become a defining facet of modern life: The 80,000 Americans 
reported with AIDS in 1994 alone represented one-fifth the total number 
of cases ever reported in the United States; AIDS infects one of every 
92 young American men ages 27 to 39; it's the leading cause of death 
among all 25-44 year olds and the fourth leading cause of death among 
all women.
  In New Jersey, some 50,000 people are infected with the HIV virus. 
We're fifth in the United States in reported AIDS cases, third in 
pediatric AIDS cases. Women represent 26 percent of all reported AIDS 
cases in New Jersey, the highest proportion of women with AIDS in the 
entire country. And women are the fastest-growing group of people with 
HIV/AIDS.
  Last December, the eighth observance of World AIDS' Day took as its 
theme, ``Shared Rights, Shared Responsibilities.'' Jessica and her 
fellow students at Cresskill High School have taken that message to 
heart. They understand the stake they have in this fight. They know 
they shouldn't and they cannot ignore it for the sake of their own 
future and the future of generations all over the world. ``We must 
protect our future,'' they say, ``by taking responsibility for our 
actions if we are to accomplish our goals.''
  Mr. President, I'm tremendously proud of these young people from New 
Jersey. I ask my colleagues to join me today in wishing them continued 
success.

                          ____________________