[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5617-5618]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 104--SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF NATIONAL 
                     YOUTH HIV & AIDS AWARENESS DAY

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Brown, and Mr. 
Lautenberg) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 104

       Whereas, more than 30 years into the epidemic, the Centers 
     for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in the 
     United States more than 1,100,000 people are living with HIV, 
     and every year approximately 50,000 people acquire HIV;
       Whereas 1 in 4 new HIV infections occurs among young people 
     between the ages of 13 and 24, accounting for approximately 
     1,000 new cases every month;
       Whereas 60 percent of HIV positive youth do not know that 
     they carry the HIV virus;
       Whereas there are approximately 76,400 young people living 
     with HIV;
       Whereas African-American youth bear a disproportionate 
     burden of the epidemic, representing 60 percent of new 
     infections in young people;
       Whereas new HIV infections among 13 to 29 year old African-
     American men who have sex with men increased 48 percent from 
     2006 to 2009;
       Whereas the Division of Adolescent and School Health is the 
     only Federal program supporting HIV prevention for 
     adolescents in schools;
       Whereas the largest Federal program dedicated to providing 
     care and treatment for people living with HIV was named after 
     Ryan White, a teenager from Indiana who helped educate the 
     people of the United States about HIV and AIDS in the 1980s;
       Whereas the Ryan White Part D Program is one of the 
     national efforts to link HIV positive youth to medical care 
     and support services;

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       Whereas the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 
     U.S.C. 18001 et seq.) includes many provisions that benefit 
     young people and help achieve the goal of an AIDS-free 
     generation, including funding for sex education to help 
     ensure that every young person in the United States is 
     educated about HIV/AIDS, a prohibition against denying people 
     living with HIV access to health care, HIV testing for women 
     without a co-pay, and expanded access to Medicaid which will 
     help more HIV-positive youth receive care; and
       Whereas April 10 of each year is now recognized as National 
     Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of National Youth HIV & 
     AIDS Awareness Day;
       (2) encourages State and local governments, including 
     public health agencies, education agencies, schools, and 
     media organizations to recognize and support such a day;
       (3) promotes effective and comprehensive HIV prevention 
     education programs both in and out of schools as a tool to 
     ensure that all people in the United States are educated 
     about HIV, as called for in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy;
       (4) urges youth-friendly and accessible health care 
     services to better provide for the early identification of 
     HIV through voluntary routine testing, and to connect those 
     in need to clinically and culturally appropriate care and 
     treatment as early as possible;
       (5) commends the work of AIDS service organizations, 
     community and faith-based organizations, and school-based 
     health centers that are providing youth-friendly and 
     effective prevention, treatment, care, and support services 
     to young people living with and vulnerable to HIV/AIDS;
       (6) recognizes the importance of interventions that address 
     structural barriers faced by young people to living healthy 
     lives, including accessible health care, safe and inclusive 
     schools and communities, family acceptance, secure housing, 
     excellent education, employment and legal protections, and 
     poverty reduction initiatives; and
       (7) prioritizes youth leadership and development in order 
     to ensure the involvement of youths in decisions that impact 
     their health and well-being and to provide the next 
     generation of HIV/AIDS doctors, advocates, educators, 
     researchers, and other professionals, as a necessary means to 
     achieving an AIDS-free generation.

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