[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 77 (Wednesday, June 6, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             AIDS EPIDEMIC

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                               speech of

                          HON. JERROLD NADLER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 5, 2001

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, twenty years ago the medical world was 
riding a wave of confidence. Our scientists had conquered polio, 
tuberculosis, smallpox, you name it. We were ready for any new 
challenge. But no one was prepared on June 5, 1981 for the crisis that 
was to come. Some thought this new discovery to be a rare pneumonia, 
others a new form of cancer. It attracted minor attention at the time, 
but little did we know that the world was about to meet the most 
devastating epidemic of our time--AIDS.
  When we look back now at our response to the onset of AIDS, we see a 
nation that ignored an epidemic and a Congress reluctant to devote 
resources to finding its cure. Too many people believed that they could 
never contract AIDS and they failed to protect themselves from it. But 
no one is immune, and by the time we looked up AIDS had reached every 
community across the world. One need only look at the decimation of the 
African continent to see the dramatic consequences of our inattention 
to AIDS.
  In the last decade we have made great strides in this country in 
dealing with this terrifying crisis. Research funded by the NIH has 
yielded incredible breakthroughs in treatment, indefinitely prolonging 
the lives of people living with HIV. The Ryan White CARE Act has 
established a comprehensive program of treatment and support services, 
bringing a little hope and humanity to people living with HIV and AIDS. 
The HOPWA program is helping almost 60,000 people a year find the 
stable housing they need to live long and productive lives. We should 
be proud of these efforts.
  But there is a new epidemic that has beset us. It is called 
complacency. The flat funding for Ryan White proposed by the President, 
the rising number of HIV cases reported in women, the dramatic increase 
in HIV across communities of color. These should serve as a wake-up 
call to all of us that our work is nowhere near done. We must redouble 
our efforts in prevention and treatment if we hope to ever eliminate it 
from our midst. Before we can eradicate AIDS, we must eradicate the 
complacency that surrounds us.
  Mr. Speaker, anniversaries are a time for reflection, a time to look 
back at where we've been and look ahead to where we may be going. We 
have a lot to be proud of in our response to the AIDS epidemic, but 
let's take this opportunity to re-energize our AIDS policy and conquer 
this terrible disease once and for all.

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