[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9896-9897]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF DISCOVERY OF HIV/AIDS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Davis), my colleague, in observing the 20-year anniversary of the 
discovery of the HIV virus. This was a terrible time. In our community 
in San Francisco, at the University of California San Francisco, we 
were hearing rumors 20 years ago about illnesses that had not been seen 
since the Middle Ages, or read about or heard about; that immune 
systems were so devastated that people were susceptible to afflictions 
that were grotesque. It was frightening. We knew we had to do something 
about it. It never dawned on us then that 20 years later, projecting 
into the future 20 years, that we would be here still talking about 
funding for research, prevention, and care.
  A lot has been accomplished in the past 20 years, but a lot needs to 
be done. I want to associate myself with the comments that the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) made about work of the caucuses in 
the Congress, in the House, the Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional 
Black Caucus and the Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus and the 
work that they have done to recognize the changing face of AIDS.
  In the beginning, it started as a gay men's disease; now we know it 
permeates our society, and it is taking a very big bite out of the 
minority community. Just last week we were all saddened by the news 
that new HIV infections among young gay men, particularly among young, 
gay African American gay men, had risen dramatically. Many young people 
have come of age in a world where protease inhibitors are extending 
life. They do not remember the terror that we went through 20 years ago 
and since; and these treatments that we have now, while important, are 
not a cure. Until we have a true cure, an effective vaccine prevention 
is our best weapon. We must intensify our prevention efforts, including 
targeted education about behavioral risk and research for a vaccine.

[[Page 9897]]

  Mr. Speaker, I just want to observe some of the contributions of some 
of the Members of this body. Ted Weiss, who passed away some years ago, 
but was one of the leaders in the Congress on this issue; certainly the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), our colleague, not only made a 
tremendous contribution in his own right, but served as mentor to so 
many of us who have worked on this issue over the years.
  Under his leadership and that of others, we were able to pass the 
Ryan White Care Act and its reauthorization. We increased the funding 
dramatically in research, prevention, and care for people with HIV and 
AIDS. We have funded housing opportunities for people with AIDS. We 
have spent money on international global AIDS issues. Not enough, but 
certainly tremendous increases in this regard. Our biggest lack, of 
course, is on the international AIDS issues, and many people in our 
minority caucuses are taking the lead, the gentlewoman from California 
(Ms. Lee) for one, who will be speaking later; and the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Waters), and many others who have been leaders in this 
arena.
  Today, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), the Democratic 
leader, and I introduced legislation which would qualify people with 
HIV for Medicaid. Many uninsured Americans still do not have access to 
AIDS medications because HIV-positive individuals do not meet Medicaid 
requirements until they are disabled by full-blown AIDS. Everything we 
know about HIV and AIDS is early intervention, early intervention, 
early intervention; and yet under the law, if one is just HIV infected, 
one cannot qualify for Medicaid until one has a full-blown case of 
AIDS. Under our legislation, which I am proud to say on this 20-year 
day of memory, is that we will have over 100 cosponsors for the 
legislation.
  Early treatment saves lives, improves the quality of life, and 
reduces health care costs as progression from HIV to full-blown AIDS is 
prevented or delayed. It also strengthens our economy as healthy 
individuals return to work, increasing both productivity and tax 
revenue. So we can make a very strong business case for this.
  I mentioned some of the initiatives, whether it is housing, 
international, prevention, care and treatment. One other initiative, 
the minority AIDS initiative, which is a very important one, deserves 
double funding this year; and I want to associate myself with that 
aspiration, bringing it up to over $500 million.
  The observance of this occasion for us is not only a time to remember 
and celebrate the lives of loved ones we have lost, it is an 
opportunity to measure our progress and renew our commitment to ending 
the HIV/AIDS pandemic. That must include sufficient funding in the 
budget, leadership in the fight against AIDS in the developing world, 
and access to health care for all Americans who are living with this 
disease.
  Two young people become infected with HIV in this country every hour, 
and there are 11 new infections worldwide every minute. The figures 
that the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) used were that around 
450,000 people have died in the U.S. of AIDS, 22 million worldwide. We 
must do more to protect this new generation from suffering. That is all 
too familiar to previous generations.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on my colleagues to work with us to increase the 
funding, to improve the quality of life, to end the scourge of AIDS.

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