[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 79 (Tuesday, May 15, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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   SENATE RESOLUTION 507--RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE GOAL OF 
 NATIONAL WOMEN'S HEALTH WEEK TO EMPOWER ADOLESCENT GIRLS AND WOMEN OF 
   ALL AGES TO MAKE INFORMED CHOICES ABOUT THEIR SEXUAL ACTIVITY AND 
                 EFFECTIVE STEPS TO PREVENT AGAINST HIV

  Mr. BOOKER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 507

       Whereas approximately \1/2\ of the 36,700,000 people living 
     with human immunodeficiency virus (commonly known as ``HIV'') 
     worldwide are women;
       Whereas approximately 1,000 adolescent girls and young 
     women worldwide are infected with HIV each day;
       Whereas 22 percent of new HIV infections worldwide in 2016 
     were in young women between 15 and 24 years of age;
       Whereas 120,000 children worldwide died in 2016 of causes 
     related to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (commonly 
     known as ``AIDS'');
       Whereas AIDS is a leading cause of death among adolescents 
     globally;
       Whereas young girls who experience violence are 3 times 
     more likely to be infected with HIV, and a survey of 11 
     countries found that 1 in 3 women reported their first sexual 
     experience as forced or coerced;
       Whereas girls account for 74 percent of new HIV infections 
     among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa;
       Whereas 1 in 4 people living with HIV in the United States 
     is a female who is 13 years of age or older;
       Whereas approximately 226,000 women live with HIV in the 
     United States;
       Whereas 20 percent of the AIDS diagnoses in the United 
     States, from the beginning of the epidemic through the end of 
     2015, were among women;
       Whereas HIV affects all demographics of women, however, 
     African American women are disproportionately affected;
       Whereas African American women made up more than 61 percent 
     of new HIV infections in 2015, while only accounting for 14 
     percent of the female population in the United States;
       Whereas \1/2\ of the women living with HIV in the United 
     States are receiving care;
       Whereas only 4 in 10 HIV infected women in the United 
     States have reached viral suppression;
       Whereas the annual number of HIV infections through 
     perinatal transmission in the United States has declined by 
     over 90 percent since the early 1990s;
       Whereas, when a woman living with HIV receives 
     comprehensive care before, during, and after a pregnancy, the 
     risk of passing HIV to their child reduces to less than 1 
     percent;
       Whereas women and adolescent girls face serious prevention 
     challenges due to inadequate access to evidence-based, age 
     appropriate comprehensive sexuality and HIV prevention 
     education and prevention tools, including--
       (1) male and female condoms;
       (2) pre-exposure prophylaxis (commonly referred to as 
     ``PrEP'') and testing;
       (3) sexual and gender based violence prevention and care 
     services; and
       (4) sexual and reproductive health information and 
     services, including screening and treatment for sexually 
     transmitted infections;
       Whereas PrEP regimens are more than 90 percent effective in 
     reducing the risk of HIV infection from sex, yet only 10 to 
     20 percent of at risk women were aware of PrEP regimens as a 
     viable HIV prevention option in 2014; and
       Whereas transgender women and women who are lesbian, 
     bisexual, transgender, and intersex are between 19 and 40 
     percent more at risk of HIV than the general population, and 
     have risk factors that are exacerbated by stigma, 
     discrimination, and violence: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the importance of the goal of National 
     Women's Health Week to empower young women to make informed 
     choices about their sexual activity and take effective steps 
     to protect against human immunodeficiency virus (commonly 
     referred to as ``HIV'');
       (2) applauds the leadership of the United States on efforts 
     to eliminate new pediatric HIV infections in the United 
     States and around the world, and supports providing 
     adolescent girls and young women with the evidence-based 
     approaches necessary to prevent new HIV infections in 
     themselves and their children;
       (3) supports the investment of the United States 
     President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (commonly referred 
     to as ``PEPFAR'') in the DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, 
     Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe) partnership, that 
     aims to significantly reduce new HIV infections among 
     adolescent girls and young women through evidence-based, 
     multi-sectoral approaches and encourages PEPFAR to expand 
     this approach and investment;
       (4) commends PEPFAR for significantly reducing in 2017, for 
     the first time, new HIV infections among adolescent girls and 
     young women within the highest-burden areas of 10 sub-Saharan 
     African countries, and notes the need for ongoing work so 
     women and girls can realize their right to live free from 
     HIV, violence, and discrimination, including in the United 
     States;
       (5) encourages State and local governments, including 
     public health agencies and media organizations, to recognize 
     and support National Women's Health Week, publicize its 
     importance among communities, and encourage individuals, 
     especially women and girls, to get tested for HIV;
       (6) supports effective and comprehensive HIV prevention 
     education programs targeted at women and girls to promote 
     their knowledge and access to information and services, 
     including for early identification of vulnerabilities through 
     screening for violence, testing, and other modalities that 
     connect those in need to evidence-based and human rights-
     based prevention, care, and treatment services; and
       (7) urges continued investment and engagement across 
     foreign assistance programs and diplomatic efforts to address 
     violence against women and girls, to combat discrimination on 
     the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and to 
     recognize the inability of adolescent girls to access a full 
     range of their sexual and reproductive health and rights as a 
     key driver of the HIV pandemic.

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