[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 27, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1292]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING NATIONAL HIV TESTING DAY

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                         HON. TIMOTHY H. BISHOP

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 27, 2006

  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise on the occasion of 
National HIV Testing Day.
  Mr. Speaker, more than one million Americans are currently living 
with HIV/AIDS. Of those, an estimated 320,000 people do not even 
realize that they carry the virus. Another 40,000 new transmissions are 
occurring every year in the United States, about half of which result 
from individuals who are unaware they are infecting others.
  Today, June 27, 2006, is National HIV Testing Day, which gives us an 
opportunity as a Nation to pause to acknowledge the terrible toll that 
HIV is taking on America and to recommit ourselves to the eradication 
of this terrible disease. Most importantly, perhaps, National HIV 
Testing Day is an occasion on which we reiterate our commitment to 
testing vulnerable Americans for HIV as a first step towards providing 
counseling, offering treatment and bringing an end to the spread of 
AIDS.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to note that one of the nation's leading 
manufacturers of HIV rapid test kits, Chembio Diagnostics, is located 
in Medford, New York, which happens to be in my district. For years, 
Chembio has been a major provider of HIV test kits across the globe, 
and recently they secured FDA approval to sell their test kits in the 
United States. For those employees in my district who engage in the 
important business of promoting testing for HIV, this day is of 
particular significance.
  In his 2006 State of the Union address, President Bush proposed to 
direct $93 million to the purchase and distribution of rapid HIV test 
kits for use in areas of the country with the highest rates of newly 
discovered HIV cases and the highest suspected rates of undetected 
cases. In response, we recently appropriated $63 million for this 
program. I strongly support the President's new testing initiative and 
the increased importance placed upon testing as part of the continuum 
of care and treatment we provide for HIV/AIDS patients in this country.
  For too long, testing has been an after-thought rather than a 
priority. I sincerely hope this is an area where we can find bipartisan 
agreement and move swiftly to provide more resources to prevent the 
spread of AIDS in the coming year and beyond. Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, 
I strongly encourage my colleagues to join me in observation of 
National HIV Testing Day and in recognition of Chembio's break-through 
achievement in this critically important, life-saving field.

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