[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 108 (Wednesday, July 18, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1272]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RETURN OF THE INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 18, 2012

  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, for the first time in more than 
two decades, the United States will host the 19th International AIDS 
Conference--drawing over 20,000 people from around the world to our 
Nation's capital.
  Having participated in every Conference since I was first elected to 
Congress in 1998, I knew we could not bring the conference back to the 
United States until the discriminatory immigration ban on people living 
with HIV was lifted.
  In 2007, I first introduced a bill to repeal the ban. Few believed it 
could be done, but through bipartisan support we achieved this goal.
  This week, the return of the Conference is an important opportunity 
to shine a global spotlight on the fight against AIDS in African 
American communities and a national spotlight on the ongoing global 
epidemic.
  Today, I will introduce new legislation to do just that.
  Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic Act articulates a policy and financing 
framework to achieve an AIDS-Free Generation in the United States and 
globally.
  I urge all my colleagues to support it so that we can begin to bring 
an end to AIDS here at home and around the world.

                          ____________________