[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 129 (Thursday, October 6, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H8713-H8714]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           MS. SOLIS'S SPECIAL ORDER ON LATINOS AND HIV/AIDS

  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise toy to discuss the devastating 
effect HIV/AIDS has had on the Latino community and communities of 
color across this country. Today, I am also pleased to be an original 
cosponsor of Congresswoman Hilda Solis' Concurrent Resolution to 
support the observance of National Latino AIDS Awareness Day. This bill 
was introduced at a pivotal time: the bedrock of our Nation's response 
to HIV/AIDS, the Ryan White CARE Act, expired last week on September 
30, 2005.
  Unfortunately, HIV/AIDS has a disproportionate stronghold in the 
Latino community. The numbers are disturbing. The CDC has reported that 
43,171 people were diagnosed with AIDS in 2003. Twenty percent of those 
reported were Latino, yet Latinos represent only 14 percent of the 
population. In the past 3 years, the number of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses 
among Latinos increased more than 14 percent. This disparity is on 
track to continue to grow even greater because the latest statistics 
show that AIDS diagnoses among whites has decreased three percent from 
2000 to 2003.
  These trends are especially evident in our urban areas. According to 
the City of Chicago Department of Health, the 2003 AIDS rate was 32.9 
per 100,000 people in Chicago. In the United States as a whole, the 
AIDS rate is half that.
  Chicago's high rate reflects the prevalence of AIDS in communities of 
color. In 2003, the AIDS rate for African-Americans in Chicago was 
three times the AIDS rate of Whites. Latinos also have a higher AIDS 
rate than whites in Chicago.
  This epidemic has left many of our metropolitan areas struggling to 
care for those affected by HIV/AIDS. Many of the minorities suffering 
disproportionately from HIV/AIDS do not have the access to the 
healthcare and other services they need. When Congress passed the Ryan 
White CARE act in 1990, we put in place programs that addressed these 
issues and, as a result, we have seen improvement in the way we treat 
and care for uninsured and underinsured people living with HIV/AIDS.
  But more needs to be done. AIDS has placed our country in a state of 
emergency. Indeed, this notion is expressed in the title of the 
legislation, the ``Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency, CARE Act.'' 
This emergency requires the attention of the Congress, and I am pleased 
to join Congresswoman

[[Page H8714]]

Solis today in calling for the reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE 
Act and cosponsoring her bill to support the observance of National 
Latino AIDS Awareness Day.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to recognize the disproportionate affect AIDS 
has on our communities of color, and I join my fellow Members of the 
Congressional Hispanic Caucus tonight to call on Congress to work 
swiftly to reauthorize and strengthen the Ryan White CARE Act and to 
make sure these programs are fully funded.

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