[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 7, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H1313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        MINORITY AIDS INITIATIVE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, the first annual National Black HIV/AIDS 
Awareness Day was organized on February 23, 2001, with the message: Get 
educated, get involved, get tested. The National Black HIV/AIDS 
Awareness Day dates back to 1999 when the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention funded five national 
nonprofit organizations known then as the Community Capacity-Building 
Coalition, which are Concerned Black Men, Incorporated, of 
Philadelphia; Health Watch Information and Promotion Services, Jackson 
State University; Mississippi Urban Research Center; National Black 
Alcoholism and Addictions Council; and National Black Leadership 
Commission on AIDS.
  On February 23, 2001, the CCBC organized the first annual National 
Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The date was changed to February 7, the 
following year, that was in 2002, and now it is recognized on February 
7 of each year.
  Madam Speaker and Members, many members of the Congressional Black 
Caucus and many Members of Congress have joined in the struggle and the 
fight to find a cure to prevent HIV and AIDS. I need to congratulate 
all of these Members right in the CBC. I need to congratulate Barbara 
Lee, and Ed Towns, and Donna Christensen, and Mr. Cummings, and Eleanor 
Holmes Norton, and Diane Watson, and so many more for the years of work 
that they have put in on dealing with HIV and AIDS, and HIV and AIDS in 
the minority community.
  That is why back in 1998 I worked to establish the Minority Aids 
Initiative with the support of the Congressional Black Caucus and the 
Clinton administration. The Minority Aids Initiative provides grants 
for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs that serve minority 
communities and enables health care providers and community-based 
organizations to expand their capacity to serve these communities.
  The initiative received an initial appropriation of $166 million in 
fiscal year 1999, and was funded at slightly less than $400 million in 
the most recent spending cycle.
  However, the AIDS virus has continued to spread in the minority 
communities, and more needs to be done. This year I am calling for at 
least $610 million in funding to expand the Minority Aids Initiative, 
and redouble our efforts to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic which has 
been especially devastating to African Americans and other communities 
of color.
  But it is important to remember that HIV/AIDS affects us all. Over 1 
million Americans are living with HIV/AIDS, and 24 to 27 percent of 
them do not know they are infected. That is why on Monday I introduced 
H.R. 822, the Routine HIV/AIDS Screening Coverage Act, a bill to 
require health insurance plans to cover routine HIV/AIDS tests under 
the same terms and conditions as other routine health screening.
  Routine HIV/AIDS screening will allow thousands of African Americans 
and other infected individuals to find out about their infection, begin 
life-extending treatment and avoid spreading the virus to others. I 
also very soon will reintroduce the Stop AIDS in Prison Act, a bill to 
require routine HIV/AIDS screening of all Federal prison inmates upon 
entry, and prior to release from prison. The bill would also require 
HIV awareness education for all inmates and comprehensive treatment for 
those inmates who test positive.
  Madam Speaker and Members, we here today come on the floor of 
Congress, all of us, to speak about this because it is a pandemic. It 
is a pandemic in the world that must be dealt with. We must lead the 
way here in the United States of America.
  And for those of us whose communities are being overtaken by HIV and 
AIDS, we must stand up and be counted. We must ask for the money. We 
must demand the resources. We must take our heads out of the sand. We 
must call on all of the members of our community to accept personal 
responsibility. We must get our churches involved, all of our social 
clubs and organizations. Today we make a special appeal to them.

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