[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 184 (Tuesday, December 4, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H14137-H14138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2015
                         THE SURGE OF HIV/AIDS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Jones of Ohio). Under a previous order 
of the House, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, the surge of HIV/AIDS is on. 
And although we have had an extensive decades-long effort to overcome 
the devastation of HIV/AIDS, I believe it is appropriate to again 
declare not only a national emergency but a concern for the 
international crisis.
  Madam Speaker, you have heard my colleagues tonight, and I thank you 
for your presence and leadership here tonight to listen to many of our 
Members who have raised the question of the epidemic of HIV/AIDS. We 
have raised it because we have been in our districts on World AIDS Day, 
and I spent 24 hours, maybe 48 hours, 2 days visiting with a number of 
community groups meeting on the topic of HIV/AIDS. Domestically we 
still have a crisis, and certainly internationally.
  I joined the first Presidential mission to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and 
South Africa a few years ago to look at the rising crisis in Africa. 
Now we know that thousands upon thousands, millions of children have 
been orphaned by both parents, single parents, or having one parent 
being afflicted and then losing their life with HIV/AIDS. We know that 
it is prevalent in Africa to have grandmothers who are taking care of 
six and seven and eight and nine and ten grandchildren because of the 
loss of their parents. I am very gratified to see the work of the Gates 
Foundation, the Clinton Foundation that have brought necessary 
medicines to those who now can live with HIV/AIDS.
  But the key for us around the world and here in the United States is 
prevention. The largest percentage of those infected with HIV/AIDS 
today find themselves in the African American population. It is not 
just a disease that plagues the homosexual community, but it is a 
heterosexual disease as well. People who are hemophiliacs may be 
succumbed by HIV/AIDS. So the issue, as I said, is prevention, and we 
must work collectively together.
  I believe it is important to continue research to find a cure, a 
vaccine for HIV/AIDS. But as well, I believe it's important to continue 
to educate about how the disease is transmitted, how it can be 
transmitted from mother to infant, and how it can be stopped.
  Interestingly enough, we believe when we don't hear something, 
something has passed. But I will never forget going into a hut and 
seeing on the floor an afflicted man. He had both HIV/AIDS and 
tuberculosis. And who was caring for him? A 4-year-old. The only 
remaining healthy person in that whole area, that whole compound in 
Africa, was a 4-year-old taking care of an elderly dying man. When we 
in this world have come to that, there is a reason to raise our voices.
  So I salute the various institutions in my own community, the Harris 
County Hospital District, Ben Taub Hospital and the researchers and 
doctors who are there, the Thomas Street Clinic, who are continuing to 
care for those who are in need, the City of Houston's Health 
Department, the great program that they had at Texas Southern 
University, along with the hip-hop community, to emphasize the need for 
testing and prevention. I myself have held testing events with the 
faith community. We intend to hold more, and the emphasis is faith, 
hip-hop, whoever is willing to collaborate to ensure that people are 
tested.
  I advocate for testing to be part of everyone's physical examination, 
that insurance companies should pay for those tests to be diagnosed. A 
$2 test means you get a mail-back; a $10 test means right on the spot 
you get a diagnosis. That's what we should be doing to help those here 
in America.
  I also believe that we should test persons who have been 
incarcerated, men and women. Those going into the prison should be 
tested; those coming out of the prison should be tested, for that is 
how in many instances, besides drug utilization, that many of the HIV/
AIDS individuals who receive it are infected.
  Madam Speaker, this issue of HIV/AIDS is a family affair; it is a 
Nation's affair, and in order to save lives, we have to stand up and be 
counted. We cannot allow the stigma of HIV/AIDS to dominate our reason 
and our hearts. We must embrace those who have it and help them live 
the best quality of life that they can. More funding for community 
health clinics that will treat people with HIV/AIDS. But at the same 
time, we must wage a major campaign for those who are intravenous drug 
users, that we have clean needles; for those who have been 
incarcerated, that they be tested; for young people who are frivolous 
and believe that promiscuity is the way of life, we have to say ``no.'' 
And, frankly, we have to say that testing is not a shame. It is an 
honor to be tested to find out, one, that you're healthy, and to be 
tested to find out that you need treatment and you need to be careful.
  I hope, as we commemorate World AIDS Day, we recognize that it is an 
international circle, and that circle must never end until we find the 
cure for HIV/AIDS, we stamp it up, and provide people with a better 
quality of life.
  Madam Speaker, I stand here today to recognize the importance and 
significance of World AIDS Day.


                   about world aids day--december 1st

  Established by the World Health Organization in 1988, World AIDS Day 
serves to focus global attention on the devastating impact of the HIV/
AIDS epidemic. Observance of this day provides an opportunity for 
governments, national AIDS programs, churches, community organizations 
and individuals to demonstrate the importance of the fight against HIV/
AIDS.
  It has been 25 years since the first AIDS cases were reported. Since 
then countless researchers, health care providers, politicians,

[[Page H14138]]

and educators have contributed to the global initiative to contain and 
eventually eliminate its presence in all corners of the world, a 
presence that has grown increasingly ominous with time.
  Although HIV/AIDS is no longer a mysterious and mischaracterized 
entity, it retains, and rightfully so, its chilling aura as the most 
relentless and indiscriminate killer of our time. And though a 
diagnosis is no longer the sealing of an immediate fate, it is the 
beginning of an indefinite battle for life and for social belonging.


                       impact on world community

  With an estimated 33.2 million people worldwide currently living with 
HIV, and more than 25 million people having died of AIDS since 1981, 
December 1st serves to remind everyone that action makes a difference 
in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Let there be no mistake; we are here to 
acknowledge that AIDS is a deadly enemy against which we must join all 
our forces to fight and eliminate.
  Americans should be reminded that HIV/AIDS does not discriminate. 
With an estimated 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 HIV-positive individuals 
living in the U.S., and approximately 40,000 new infections occurring 
every year, the U.S., like other nations around the world is deeply 
affected by HIV/AIDS.


                      impact on african-americans

  AIDS is devastating the African-American community. As of February 
2006, African-Americans represented only 13 percent of the U.S. 
population, but accounted for 40 percent of the 944,306 AIDS cases 
diagnosed since the start of the epidemic and approximately half (49 
percent) of the 42,514 cases diagnosed in 2004 alone. African-Americans 
also account for half of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the 35 states/areas 
with confidential name-based reporting.
  The AIDS case rate per 100,000 population among African-American 
adults/adolescents was nearly 10.2 times that of whites in 2004. 
African-Americans accounted for 55 percent of deaths due to HIV in 2002 
and their survival time after an AIDS diagnosis is lower on average 
than it is for other racial/ethnic groups. HIV was the third leading 
cause of death for African-Americans, ages 25-34, in 2002 compared to 
the sixth leading cause of death for whites and Latinos in this age 
group.


   impact on african-american women and children; and hispanic women

  African-American women and children have been disproportionately 
victimized by this deadly disease. African-American women account for 
the majority of new AIDS cases among women (67 percent in 2004); white 
women account for 17 percent and Latinas 15 percent. Among African-
Americans, African-American women represent more than a third (36 
percent) of AIDS cases diagnosed in 2004. Although African-American 
teens (ages 13-19) represent only 15 percent of U.S. teenagers, they 
accounted for 66 percent of new AIDS cases reported among teens in 
2003.


                 impact in houston/harris county, texas

  The detrimental effects of AIDS have also hit home. In 2004, right 
here in my home district of Houston/Harris County, there were over 
14,000 reported persons living with HIV (non-AIDS) and more than 8,000 
reported persons living with AIDS. Sadly, there were almost 400 deaths 
resulting from AIDS in Houston/Harris County, Texas in 2004. This 
problem continues to escalate as there were more than 800 newly 
diagnosed AIDS cases in Harris County in 2004. In Houston alone, there 
were more than 1,000 reported HIV Diagnosis in 2005. We must continue 
to forge a tough fight to reverse all of these costly and tragic 
trends.
  Billions and billions of private and federal dollars have been poured 
into drug research and development to treat and manage infections, but 
the complex life cycle and incessant mutation rates of HIV strains has 
made this endeavor difficult. Though the drugs we currently have are 
effective in managing infections and reducing mortality by slowing the 
progression to AIDS in an individual, they do little to reduce disease 
prevalence and prevent new infections.

  Currently, the only cure we have for HIV/AIDS is prevention. While we 
must continue efforts to develop advanced treatment options, it is 
crucial that those efforts are accompanied by dramatic increases in 
public health education, awareness, and prevention measures.


                       roundtable of aids experts

  Earlier this year, with the hope of bringing attention to the 
importance of HIV/AIDS testing in the fight to eliminate HIV/AIDS, 
especially in the African American community, I hosted an AIDS 
roundtable of AIDS experts and community leaders, in Houston, that 
included free voluntary HIV/AIDS testing. We discussed policy changes 
dealing with the AIDS crisis in our communities across the United 
States. I consult with AIDS experts and we vowed to work hard to create 
constructive and effective vehicles to address the very real need of 
testing within certain groups of the population.


 potential mandatory testing among certain populations and the prison 
                               population

  We discussed the potential mandatory testing for certain populations 
as well as mandatory testing for all of the prison population. 
Consideration of such potential solutions is not intended to stigmatize 
and exploit individuals who may be suffering; it is a means of saving 
lives.


    potential availability of testing as part of routine physicals; 
                       managed-care opportunities

  Our AIDS roundtable also considered the option of making AIDS testing 
available as part of routine physicals. We also discussed the potential 
for education and preventative measures to be included in HIV managed-
care programs. These are all possible solutions we considered as means 
of combating the HIV/AIDS crisis and to silence the sorrowful cries of 
the victims and many more potential victims of this deadly disease. All 
of us must continue to use our creative ideas to find effective ways to 
break the cycle of death that has been resulted from the HIV/AIDS 
scourge.


                             ryan white act

  As your Congresswoman, I have fully and eagerly supported all 
legislation that has given increased attention and resources to HIV/
AIDS, including the Ryan White CARE Act, which is currently slated to 
receive about $2.2 billion in funding for FY2007. The Ryan White Act, 
originally signed on August 18, 1990, is the primary source of medical 
care for HIV positive children, youth and pregnant women. The Ryan 
White CARE Act funds more than 600 sites through 91 grants in 35 
states, DC, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. I know I need not 
convince you of the fact that this legislation, and the money it 
authorizes, is crucial to our national fight against HIV/AIDS.
  I will continue to push hard to ensure that the purpose of the the 
Ryan White Act is fully funded. served and realized. I will also work 
hard to make sure that the Ryan White Act is tailored to the challenges 
that we face today.
  In addition, I have supported legislation to reauthorize funding for 
community health centers (H.R. 5573, Health Centers Renewal Act of 
2006), including the Montrose and Fourth Ward clinics right here in 
Houston, as well as supported legislation to provide more nurses for 
the poor urban communities in which many of these centers are located 
(H.R. 1285, Nursing Relief Act for Disadvantaged Areas). I have also 
supported and introduced legislation aimed to better educate our 
children (H.R. 2553, Responsible Education About Life Act in 2006) and 
eliminate health disparitis (H.R. 3561, Healthcare Equality and 
Accountability Act and the Good Medicine Cultural Competency Act in 
2003, H.R. 90). And I will continue to endorse and push for similar 
legislation.
  Twenty-five years from now, I hope that we will not be discussing 
data on prevalence and mortality, but rather how our sustained efforts 
have been successful. But if we are ever to have that discussion, there 
are a number of actions that we must take right now. We must continue 
research on treatments and antiretroviral therapies, as well as pursue 
a cure. And we absolutely have to ensure that everyone who needs 
treatment receives it. In order to do this, we have to increase 
awareness of testing, access to testing, and the accuracy of testing. 
Knowledge truly is power.
  We must also increase funding for local health departments and 
community health clinics, as well as fully fund the Ryan White CARE 
Act.
  Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, it is imperative that we work 
to increase funding for HIV prevention and education, so that our 
children will be equipped with sufficient and appropriate knowledge of 
this growing threat within our communities, especially within our black 
communities and among black women. If blacks are eleven times as likely 
to acquire infection, then we need to make eleven times the effort to 
educate. And we need to apply similar efforts in every community until 
HIV/AIDS becomes a memory. If not, our friends and family will be 
memories instead.
  Community volunteers from churches and other organizations have done 
commendable work here in Houston. I think everyone can learn something 
from their selflessness and their will to serve their communities.
  We need more people to follow their lead. We do not have time for 
excuses or hesitation. We have the passion and dedication, and we are 
securing more and more resources. It is up to us to get the resources 
where they are needed.
  I implore all of us, politicians, researchers, clergy, and community 
leaders to continue to work on the very challenging mission of 
eliminating HIV/AIDS. To do this, we must continue to pass legislation 
that will continue to fund research, as well as prevention and 
treatment programs to combat HIV/AIDS. We must also increase our 
efforts to provide compassionate care, pursue rigorous research, 
educate our communities, and raise awareness. By doing this together, 
we will help all of our friends, relatives, and children live healthy 
and full lives.




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