[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 31, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1359]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCING A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE XIX INTERNATIONAL AIDS 
                               CONFERENCE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 31, 2012

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a 
resolution in support of the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 
2012), which takes place from July 22, 2012, through July 27, 2012, at 
the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. AIDS 2012 
is organized by the International AIDS Society (IAS) and brings 
together more than 20,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries, 
including 2,000 journalists. My resolution supports a stronger 
international response to HIV/AIDS that seeks to prevent the 
transmission of HIV, increase access to testing, treatment, and care, 
improve health outcomes for all people living with HIV/AIDS, foster 
greater scientific and programmatic collaborations around the world to 
end HIV/AIDS, and protect the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.
  According to UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, 
there are approximately 33.4 million people living with HIV worldwide, 
and nearly 30 million people have died of AIDS since the first cases 
were reported in 1981. The United States is heavily engaged in both 
international and domestic efforts to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic, 
including the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 
(PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. 
Taxpayers in the United States have paid more than $45 billion through 
PEPFAR and the Global Fund, which have enjoyed broad bipartisan support 
in Congress.
  Since 1985, the now biennial International AIDS Conference has 
brought together leading scientists, public health experts, 
policymakers, community leaders, and individuals living with HIV/AIDS 
from around the world to enhance the global response to HIV/AIDS, 
evaluate recent scientific developments, share knowledge, and 
facilitate a collective strategy to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic. AIDS 
2012 is a tremendous opportunity to strengthen the role of the United 
States in global HIV/AIDS initiatives within the context of significant 
global economic challenges, reenergize the response to the domestic 
epidemic, and focus particular attention on the devastating impact of 
HIV/AIDS that continues in the United States.
  The theme of AIDS 2012, ``Turning the Tide Together,'' embodies the 
promise and urgency of utilizing recent scientific advances in HIV/AIDS 
treatment and biomedical prevention, continuing research for an HIV 
vaccine and cure, and increasing effective, evidence-based 
interventions in key settings to change the course of the HIV/AIDS 
crisis. AIDS 2012 seeks to engage governments, non-governmental 
organizations, policymakers, the scientific community, the private 
sector, civil society, faith-based organizations, the media, and people 
living with HIV/AIDS to more effectively address regional, national, 
and local responses to HIV/AIDS around the world and overcome barriers 
that limit access to preventative care, treatment, and other services.
  My resolution supports the goal of bringing renewed awareness of, and 
commitment to, addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis in the United States and 
abroad. In particular, it recognizes that formulating sound public 
health policy, protecting human rights, addressing the needs of women 
and girls, directing effective programming toward the populations at 
the highest risk of infection, ensuring accountability, and combating 
stigma, poverty, and other social challenges related to HIV/AIDS are 
key to overcoming HIV/AIDS. It also encourages the ongoing development 
of innovative therapies and advances in clinical treatment for HIV/AIDS 
in the public and private sectors.
  Mr. Speaker, 25 years after the III International AIDS Conference was 
held in Washington, DC, we are now at a point where we have the tools 
necessary to prevent the spread of HIV and bring an end to the crisis. 
Now is the time to commit. HIV/AIDS is not a partisan issue. But it 
will take a bipartisan effort to overcome HIV/AIDS as a nation once and 
for all. Continued commitment by the United States to HIV/AIDS 
research, prevention, and treatment programs is crucial to protecting 
global health. I urge my colleagues to support my resolution, which 
recognizes the importance of the XIX International AIDS Conference in 
the global effort to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic and create an ``AIDS-
free generation.''

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