[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 18966]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                             WORLD AIDS DAY

  (Ms. LEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate World AIDS Day. The 
theme this year is: The Time to Act is Now.
  First, I would like to thank Leader Pelosi for her steadfast 
commitment to fighting HIV and AIDS and for guaranteeing strong United 
States leadership in this area.
  As the cofounder and cochair along with my good friend from Florida, 
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of the bipartisan Congressional HIV/
AIDS Caucus, we have seen the significant progress that we have made in 
the global fight against HIV.
  From PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria, which 
we were very proud to cosponsor, to the Ryan White CARE Act and the 
Minority AIDS Initiative, the U.S. has been a global leader in 
committing the critical resources needed to end this disease.
  Thanks to the leadership of people like Congresswoman Maxine Waters, 
former Congresswoman Donna Christensen, and the Congressional Black 
Caucus, we are turning the tide in providing lifesaving prevention and 
treatment services to disproportionately affected communities here at 
home. This has been a bipartisan effort which we must continue because 
we still have a lot of work to do.
  Mr. Speaker, in the United States, southern States are now the 
epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Stigma, discrimination, and lack of 
education about the disease continue to be significant barriers to care 
and prevention. The time to act is now.

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