[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 62 (Thursday, April 29, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S2813]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 509--DESIGNATING APRIL 2010 AS ``NATIONAL STD 
                           AWARENESS MONTH''

  Mr. BURRIS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.

                              S. Res. 509

       Whereas sexually transmitted infections (referred to in 
     this preamble as ``STIs'') (also commonly known as sexually 
     transmitted diseases, or ``STDs'') are a major public health 
     challenge for the United States in economic and human terms;
       Whereas the United States has the highest rate of people 
     with STIs in the industrialized world, with an estimated 
     19,000,000 new cases occurring each year;
       Whereas, each year, approximately \1/2\ of the new cases of 
     STIs occur in young people between the ages of 15 to 24;
       Whereas all people of the United States have an interest in 
     STIs because every community is impacted and everyone pays 
     for the cost of the infections, either directly or 
     indirectly;
       Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention (referred to in this preamble as ``CDC''), STIs 
     impose a tremendous economic burden on the United States, 
     with direct medical costs for treating STIs as high as 
     $15,900,000 per year;
       Whereas, in 2008, the CDC estimated that 1 in 4 young women 
     between the ages of 14 and 19 in the United States, or 
     3,200,000 teenage girls, and nearly 1 in 2 African-American 
     young women are infected with 1 or more of the most common 
     sexually transmitted infections, including the human 
     papillomavirus (referred to in this preamble as ``HPV''), 
     chlamydia, herpes simplex virus, and trichomoniasis;
       Whereas, in 2010, CDC data indicated that 1 in 6 Americans 
     between the ages of 14 and 49 years old are infected with 
     type 2 of the herpes simplex virus, a lifelong and incurable 
     infection, and that of the group of infected Americans, 
     African-American women were the most affected group, with a 
     prevalence rate of 48 percent;
       Whereas poverty and lack of access to quality health care 
     exacerbate the rate of infection with the human 
     immunodeficiency virus (referred to in this preamble as 
     ``HIV'') and other STIs;
       Whereas men who have sex with men continue to be 
     disproportionately impacted by STIs, accounting for 63 
     percent of all syphilis cases in 2008 as compared to only 4 
     percent of STIs in 2000;
       Whereas racial disparities in rates of STIs are among the 
     worst health disparities in the United States for any health 
     condition;
       Whereas most STIs have been associated with increased risk 
     of HIV transmission and are likely contributing to the 
     ongoing HIV epidemic in the United States;
       Whereas the CDC reports that the 2 most common STIs among 
     young women are HPV, with 18 percent infected, and chlamydia, 
     with 4 percent infected;
       Whereas the long-term health effects of HPV and chlamydia 
     are especially severe for women and include infertility and 
     cervical cancer;
       Whereas vaccination, screening, and early treatment can 
     prevent some of the most devastating effects of STIs;
       Whereas high STI infection rates in the United States 
     demonstrate the need for better ways to reach the individuals 
     most at risk for infection;
       Whereas the CDC recommends--
       (1) annual chlamydia screenings for sexually active women 
     25 years of age and younger;
       (2) HPV vaccination for girls and women between the ages of 
     11 and 26 who have not been vaccinated, or who have not 
     completed the full series of shots; and
       (3) screening for HIV, syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea 
     at least once a year for men who have sex with men and who 
     are not in a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship;
       Whereas chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, 
     chronic pelvic pain, infertility, and tubular pregnancies, 
     which can affect the health and well-being of a woman 
     throughout her lifetime;
       Whereas STIs can be transmitted from infected mothers to 
     infants during childbirth and can cause severe health 
     consequences in the infants;
       Whereas STIs often cause social stigma and may have a 
     serious psychological impact among the individuals who are 
     infected;
       Whereas people protect themselves against STIs through 
     participation in programs that provide comprehensive and 
     medically accurate health information and screening and 
     treatment services, including title X of the Public Health 
     Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.) and the STI prevention 
     program of the CDC;
       Whereas school-based STI screening programs have been 
     highly successful in cases in which the programs are 
     implemented and are effective at preventing the spread of 
     STIs among adolescents;
       Whereas the sexual and reproductive health needs of men 
     must be more thoroughly recognized and better addressed by 
     the public health and medical provider community in order to 
     more effectively combat the spread of STIs;
       Whereas STI programs in State and local health departments 
     that are funded through the Division of STD Prevention of the 
     CDC are the frontline of the defense of the United States 
     against the spread of STIs;
       Whereas STI screening, vaccination, and other prevention 
     strategies for sexually active women should be among the 
     highest public health priorities; and
       Whereas the CDC observes April as ``National STD Awareness 
     Month'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates April 2010 as ``National STD Awareness 
     Month'';
       (2) encourages the Federal Government, States, localities, 
     and nonprofit organizations to observe the month with 
     appropriate programs and activities, with the goal of 
     increasing public knowledge of the risks of sexually 
     transmitted infections (referred to in this resolution as 
     ``STIs'') and protecting people of all ages;
       (3) recognizes the human toll of STIs and the importance of 
     making the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of STIs an 
     urgent public health priority;
       (4) calls on all people of the United States to learn about 
     STIs and the prevention approaches recommended for STIs; and
       (5) encourages all sexually active individuals to get 
     tested for STIs and to seek appropriate care if infected.

                          ____________________