[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 129 (Thursday, October 6, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H8712-H8713]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LATINOS AND HIV/AIDS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Solis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SOLIS. Madam Speaker, today I rise to bring attention to the 
devastating impact the epidemic of HIV/AIDS continues to have on the 
Latino community nationwide. According to the latest data and 
statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
although Latinos make up

[[Page H8713]]

only 14 percent of the population of the U.S. and Puerto Rico, they 
account for 20 percent; that is about 164,000 of the more than 930,000 
AIDS cases diagnosed since the beginning of the epidemic.
  This epidemic has also affected women and young people in the Latino 
community. Latinas, unfortunately, represent a high 18 percent of new 
AIDS cases among women. Our teenagers accounted for 20 percent of the 
new AIDS cases among teens in the year 2002. In my own home State of 
California, an estimated 15,387 Latinos are living with AIDS, 
representing the second highest State in terms of the number of Latinos 
infected with AIDS nationwide.
  Unfortunately, while Latinos suffer disproportionately from HIV and 
AIDS, many are uninsured and are unable to gain access to adequate care 
services due to language and cultural barriers, lack of transportation, 
and fear of stigmatization. I want to highlight these concerns and also 
bring together our Nation and community towards the commitment of 
creating new alliances, adopting culturally specific and appropriate 
interventions, and advocating for new funding and resources targeted to 
those communities most adversely affected by this horrible epidemic.
  I have also introduced legislation supporting the third annual 
National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, which takes place on Saturday, 
October 15, 2005. This is a national day of awareness and prevention 
against HIV and AIDS in the Latino community.
  National Latino AIDS Awareness Day salutes the more than 76,000 
Latino AIDS survivors in the U.S. and the efforts of people living with 
HIV and AIDS, their volunteers, professionals, and their family 
members. It also recognizes and applauds the national and community 
organizations for their work in promoting awareness about AIDS, 
providing information and offering treatment to those who suffer from 
this deadly disease.
  The purpose of the resolution is straightforward and simple: the 
Nation can no longer afford to close its eyes and avoid the impact of 
this devastating disease. In fact, the theme of the National Latino 
AIDS Awareness Day is ``abre los ojos,'' or ``open your eyes.''
  While 40,000 new cases of HIV are reported each year, Congress has 
slashed funding for essential programs critical to providing 
comprehensive response to stopping the spread of this disease. Our 
communities have been asked for years to do more and more with less and 
less, and this Nation must open its eyes to work towards preventing the 
spread of the disease.
  I ask my colleagues to support this important resolution, and I look 
forward to the day when the House of Representatives adopts this 
approach and brings about an opportunity for more awareness and 
prevention of the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the Latino community.
  I also want to speak towards the importance of additional funding, 
supportive services, and capacity-building initiatives for those 
infected with the disease. A core component of the Nation's response to 
HIV and AIDS is the Ryan White Comprehensive Aids Resource Emergency 
Act, known as the CARE Act. I ask that Congress immediately reauthorize 
this important piece of legislation.
  Signed into law back in 1990 and reauthorized twice since then, the 
CARE Act is named after a young man, Ryan White, who was infected by 
HIV through treatment for his hemophilia, who taught the Nation 
strength in a time when no one knew much about this disease. 
Authorization for the CARE Act expired last week on September 30, 2005.
  It is important that Congress pass a new stronger and fully funded 
Ryan White CARE Act as soon as possible. After Medicaid, the Ryan White 
CARE Act is the largest payer of care and treatment services for AIDS 
patients in the U.S. Commonly referred to as ``the payer of last 
resort,'' the CARE Act serves those who fall through the cracks of 
traditional government-sponsored health care networks.
  At least one in every two individuals assisted through the CARE Act 
lives below the Federal poverty level, and about 25 percent are 
uninsured, and less than 10 percent have any private health insurance, 
and about 28 percent were enrolled in Medicaid.
  The CARE Act is organized into four titles and is essential to 
providing services to individuals with HIV and AIDS. Title I provides 
funds to 51 eligible metropolitan areas most heavily impacted by the 
epidemic; title II money goes to States and aids drugs assistance 
programs; and titles III and IV to community-based providers. Eighty-
five percent of all Ryan White CARE Act dollars are distributed through 
titles I and II of the act.
  According to the Department of Health and Human Services, Latinos 
represent about 20 percent of all the CARE Act clients in 2002.
  In addition to the four structured titles of the CARE Act, the 
Minority AIDS Initiative, MAI, and the Special Projects of National 
Significance, SPNS, span all of these titles.
  Through the Minority AIDS Initiative, each CARE Act title has a 
mandate to provide a minimum amount of funding to address the needs of 
minorities. However, due to the disproportionate amount of racial and 
ethnic minorities that continue to be infected with HIV/AIDS and the 
inequities that still exist, this funding is still not sufficient to 
meet the needs of communities of color.
  The epidemic of HIV/AIDS has had a deleterious effect on all 
communities of color.
  As the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Health Taskforce, I 
am committed to working on securing services for those infected and 
affected by HIV and AIDS.
  Madam Speaker, I ask for full funding of the Ryan White CARE Act--
$3.1 billion dollars--to address these concerns outlined today.
  It is important to address the critical issue of combating the spread 
of HIV and AIDS in communities of color through the thoughtful and 
targeted reauthorization of the CARE Act.
  Despite flat funding over the past few years, the CARE Act in its 
current form is still the best tool that has proven successful in the 
fight against HIV/AIDS.
  The CARE Act works--and given a renewed commitment in giving those on 
the front lines of the battle, whether they be private partnerships, 
government initiatives or local organizations specializing in outreach, 
prevention, testing and care, the CARE Act can work even better, as 
long as we ``abremos los ojos.''
  Also, I request unanimous consent to submit this statement for my 
colleague of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Luis Gutierrez.

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