[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 109 (Thursday, July 19, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H5026]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1240
              RETURN OF THE INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE

  (Ms. LEE of California asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  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 introduced a bill to repeal the ban. Few believed it could 
be done, but through bipartisan support we achieved this goal, and I 
want to thank Members who are still here for their support in that 
effort.
  This week, the return of the conference is an important opportunity 
to shine a global spotlight on the fight against AIDS in the African 
American community and communities of color, and a national spotlight 
on the ongoing global epidemic. Yesterday I introduced 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 
abroad. 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.

                          ____________________