[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 130 (Tuesday, September 15, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S9381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 39--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE CONGRESS 
  THAT STABLE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF AN 
  EFFECTIVE STRATEGY FOR THE PREVENTION, TREATMENT, AND CARE OF HUMAN 
   IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS, AND THAT THE UNITED STATES SHOULD MAKE A 
COMMITMENT TO PROVIDING ADEQUATE FUNDING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSING 
    AS A RESPONSE TO THE ACQUIRED IMMUNODEFICIENCY SYNDROME PANDEMIC

  Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Mr. Schumer) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs:

                            S. Con. Res. 39

       Whereas adequate and secure housing for people with human 
     immunodeficiency virus or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome 
     (referred to in this resolution as ``HIV/AIDS'') is a 
     challenge with global dimensions, and adequate housing is one 
     of the greatest unmet needs of people in the United States 
     with HIV/AIDS;
       Whereas growing empirical evidence shows that the 
     socioeconomic status and structural factors such as access to 
     adequate housing are key determinants of health;
       Whereas the link between poverty, disparities in the risk 
     of human immunodeficiency virus (referred to in this 
     resolution as ``HIV'') infection, and health outcomes is well 
     established, and new research demonstrates the direct 
     relationship between inadequate housing and greater risk of 
     HIV infection, poor health outcomes, and early death;
       Whereas rates of HIV infection are 3 to 16 times higher 
     among people who are homeless or have an unstable housing 
     situation, 70 percent of all people living with HIV/AIDS 
     report an experience of homelessness or housing instability 
     during their lifetime, and the HIV/AIDS death rate is 7 to 9 
     times higher for homeless adults than for the general 
     population;
       Whereas poor living conditions, including overcrowding and 
     homelessness, undermine safety, privacy, and efforts to 
     promote self-respect, human dignity, and responsible sexual 
     behavior;
       Whereas people who are homeless or have an unstable housing 
     situation are 2 to 6 times more likely to use hard drugs, 
     share needles, or exchange sex for money and housing than 
     similar persons with stable housing, because the lack of 
     stable housing directly impacts the ability of people living 
     in poverty to reduce HIV risk behaviors;
       Whereas, in spite of the evidence indicating that adequate 
     housing has a direct positive effect on HIV prevention, 
     treatment, and health outcomes, the housing resources devoted 
     to the national response to HIV/AIDS have been inadequate, 
     and housing has been largely ignored in policy discussions at 
     the international level; and
       Whereas, in 1990, Congress recognized the housing needs of 
     people with HIV/AIDS when it enacted the AIDS Housing 
     Opportunity Act (42 U.S.C. 12901 et seq.), commonly referred 
     to as the ``Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS 
     Program'' or ``HOPWA Program'', as part of the Cranston-
     Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (Public Law 101-
     625), and the HOPWA program currently serves approximately 
     70,000 households: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that--
       (1) stable and affordable housing is an essential component 
     of an effective strategy for HIV prevention, treatment, and 
     care; and
       (2) the United States should make a commitment to providing 
     adequate funding for the development of housing as a response 
     to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome pandemic.

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