[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 28, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H8489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H8489]]
                          RYAN WHITE CARE ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to speak on the 
importance of reauthorizing the Ryan White CARE Act. This act has been 
so valuable in providing services to those persons infected with HIV/
AIDS. I want to thank the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. 
Christensen) for her passion and her work and her advocacy on this 
issue. Her work has been unparalleled in this Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to encourage my colleagues to reauthorize the 
Ryan White CARE Act at $3.1 billion to ensure that today's health care 
needs of people living with HIV/AIDS and their families are adequately 
and consistently met. Today, unlike the past, those most likely to be 
infected with HIV are people of color, women, and our youths. This act 
directly funds medical and support services for approximately 533,000 
individuals and their families living with HIV/AIDS each year. Persons 
of color represent 88 percent, 88 percent of the clients that are being 
served.
  HIV/AIDS is no longer a death sentence. Great strides in medical 
technology have slowed the progression from HIV to AIDS, allowing 
people with HIV to live longer, to live healthier and more productive 
lives.
  This act should be authorized in a manner that allows it to fully 
respond to the needs for underserved and uninsured populations living 
with HIV/AIDS.
  Mr. Speaker, African Americans in this country are disproportionately 
affected with HIV/AIDS. In 2000, African Americans made up 12.3 percent 
of the U.S. population, but they account for 40 percent of the 
diagnosed AIDS cases. In North Carolina, my home State, the total 
number of new AIDS cases in 2003 was 1,083; 724 of these cases were 
found among African Americans.
  In fiscal year 2005, this act was funded at $2.073 billion, but that 
is not enough. Funding should not be shifted from one region of the 
country to another based on perceived severity of need. Instead, the 
act should be adequately funded so that it can ensure progress in 
regions where HIV infections have slowed while targeting regions that 
are being hard hit by the epidemic. By increasing the reauthorization 
level to $3.1 billion, the CARE Act will be able to provide services to 
both urban and rural areas, which will put an end to the competition 
between health care providers whose clients are desperately needing 
funding.

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