[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 155 (Saturday, September 27, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2079-E2080]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             IN RECOGNITION OF AIDS AWARENESS HISTORY MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 26, 2008

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, as we move into the month of 
October, I want to take a moment to recognize October as AIDS Awareness 
History Month. AIDS Awareness month provides an opportunity to focus on 
the fact that HIV/AIDS is a formidable problem across the country. The 
2008 AIDS Awareness Month occurs at a time when we have learned that we 
are struggling in the fight against AIDS. In early August, the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, released new statistics 
showing a 40 percent increase over previous estimates of new cases of 
HIV. The report found that that 53 percent of new HIV infections in 
2006 were among gay and bisexual men, with almost one-third, 31 percent 
of new infections being among heterosexuals, which previous studies 
have shown have the greatest effect on African American women.
  HIV/AIDS is a public health problem in our country and an emergency 
situation within the African American community. African Americans make 
up 13 percent of the United States population, but they account for 49 
percent of the estimated AIDS cases diagnosed since the epidemic began. 
Since the beginning of the epidemic, African Americans have accounted 
for 42 percent of the estimated 950,000 AIDS cases diagnosed in the 50 
states and the District of Columbia. Not only are African Americans 
more likely to get AIDS, they are more likely to die from it, with more 
than half of all AIDS-related deaths being among African Americans. The 
statistics in Illinois resemble those nationally. African Americans 
aged 13-24 have the highest average annual HIV rates. African American 
males aged 13-24 had an average annual HIV rate was 2.5 times higher 
than the rate in White males, and almost 4

[[Page E2080]]

times higher than the rate in Hispanic men. In Chicago, African 
American women represent 75 percent of all women living with HIV/AIDS, 
yet they account for only 37 percent of the general female population 
aged 13 and over. This disparity is unacceptable. HIV / AIDS is 
plaguing and destroying African American communities, robbing our 
community of its fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters.
  We must do more to address this problem. We must increase funding for 
both prevention and treatment. We cannot rely on the failed policies of 
this administration to ignore strategies proven to decrease risky 
behavior and lower transmission rates and embrace strategies that do 
nothing. We must emphasize prevention, not restrict the CDC's 
prevention budget by 19 percent. We must support the Minority HIV/AIDS 
Initiative and expand Ryan White. This is a public health. problem that 
mandates a comprehensive, intensive public health strategic response. I 
commend the City of Chicago's Department of Public Health, the State of 
Illinois Department of Public Health, and all of the organizations who 
actively are working to put at least a dent in this problem. I try to 
do my part to focus attention on this public health problem. A few 
weeks ago, I chaired an AIDS walk in Chicago that raised money for 
awareness and the fight for the cure. I also helped launch the 
``Quality of Life'' Illinois Lottery game called Red Ribbon Cash. 
Proceeds gathered from the game will fund grants to public and private 
entities with HIV/AIDS prevention programs in Illinois. In terms of 
promoting prevention, I myself, have been publicly tested multiple 
times to convince the African-American community of the importance of 
being tested. America has within it the resources to address this 
issue; our political leadership must take action to do so. My fellow 
colleagues and I and all Americans need to do much more about this 
problem.

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