[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 25506]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 PROVIDE FULL FUNDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS HIV/AIDS MINORITY 
                            AIDS INITIATIVE

  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor this morning as 
the final funding for health care is being negotiated, to make a final 
plea for full funding for the Congressional Black Caucus HIV/AIDS 
Minority Aids Initiative, and the increase we are seeking for Medicaid 
for the territories.
  Mr. Speaker, as HIV infections and cases of AIDS come under control 
in other communities, in African Americans and Hispanics or Latinos it 
remains a major killer. Eighty-one percent of all new HIV infections 
are among African American and Latino women. Even in minority 
communities that have not seen the same numbers, their fragile health 
care infrastructure places them at an extreme risk.
  We must fund the CBC request at the full $539 million, provide 
Medicaid for early treatment, and make a significant investment for 
Medicaid for citizens in my district and the other territories by 
funding the request of the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood) and me.
  Mr. Speaker, health care, quality health care, is a right that we in 
this body and the White House must extend to all.

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