This resolution encourages people around the world to work towards ending the HIV epidemic by 2030, and it commends efforts and achievements in combating HIV/AIDS. Further, it supports funding and other actions to promote prevention, care and treatment services, and research programs for communities and people impacted by HIV.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1223 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1223
Supporting the goals of World AIDS Day.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 16, 2020
Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Miss Gonzalez-Colon of Puerto Rico,
Mr. Green of Texas, Ms. Barragan, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Carson of
Indiana, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Mr. Trone, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms.
Roybal-Allard, Ms. Meng, Mr. Hastings, Mr. McGovern, Mr. McKinley, Ms.
Haaland, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Johnson of Georgia,
Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Bass, and Ms. Judy Chu of California)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting the goals of World AIDS Day.
Whereas, as of the end of 2019, an estimated 38,000,000 people were living with
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS), including 1,800,000 children;
Whereas in the United States, more than 770,000 people with AIDS have died since
the beginning of the HIV epidemic, including nearly 16,000 deaths among
people with diagnosed HIV in 2018, with the disease disproportionately
affecting communities of color;
Whereas each year nearly 40,000 people become newly diagnosed with HIV in the
United States;
Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (``CDC''),
Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native
Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders are disproportionately affected by
HIV in the United States;
Whereas in order to address the HIV epidemic in the United States, on August 18,
1990, Congress enacted the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources
Emergency Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-381; commonly referred to as the
``Ryan White CARE Act'') to provide primary medical care and essential
support services for people living with HIV who are uninsured or
underinsured;
Whereas the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program provides services and support for over
half of all people diagnosed with HIV in the United States;
Whereas to further focus attention on the HIV/AIDS epidemic among minority
communities in the United States, in 1998, the Minority AIDS Initiative
was established to provide funds to State and local institutions and
organizations to best serve the health care costs and support the needs
of racial and ethnic minorities living with HIV;
Whereas the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals established a global
target to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030;
Whereas in order to further address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, in 2003,
Congress and the White House created the President's Emergency Plan for
AIDS Relief (PEPFAR);
Whereas the PEPFAR program remains the largest commitment in history by any
country to combat a single disease;
Whereas, as of 2019, PEPFAR has supported treatment for approximately 15,700,000
people, including by providing antiretroviral drugs to 2,600,000
pregnant women living with HIV to prevent the transmission of HIV from
mother to child during birth;
Whereas, in fiscal year 2019, PEPFAR directly supported HIV testing and
counseling for 79,600,000 people;
Whereas the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, launched in
2002, has helped provide antiretroviral therapy to approximately
20,100,000 people living with HIV/AIDS and to 718,000 pregnant women to
prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS to their children, saving an
estimated 38,000,000 lives, as of 2019;
Whereas the United States is the largest donor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria, and every $1 contributed by the United States
leverages an additional $2 from other donors, as required by law;
Whereas considerable progress has been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS,
including a 23-percent reduction in new HIV transmissions, over a 40-
percent reduction in new HIV transmissions among children, and over a
30-percent reduction in the number of AIDS-related deaths between 2010
and 2019;
Whereas approximately 25,400,000 people had access to antiretroviral therapy in
2019, compared to only 7,800,000 people who had access to such therapy
in 2010;
Whereas research funded by the National Institutes of Health found that HIV
treatment not only saves the lives of people living with HIV, but people
living with HIV on effective antiretroviral therapy and who are durably
virally suppressed cannot sexually transmit HIV, proving that HIV
treatment is prevention;
Whereas it is estimated that, without treatment, half of all infants living with
HIV will die before their second birthday;
Whereas despite the remarkable progress in combating HIV, significant challenges
remain;
Whereas there were approximately 1,700,000 new HIV diagnoses in 2019 globally,
structural barriers continue to make testing and treatment programs
inaccessible to highly vulnerable populations, and an estimated
7,100,000 people living with HIV globally still do not know their HIV
status;
Whereas the CDC reports that more than 37,000 people were diagnosed with HIV in
the United States in 2018 and 14 percent of the 1,200,000 people in the
United States living with HIV are not aware of their HIV status;
Whereas the CDC has found that men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly
young Blacks and Hispanics, are the population most affected by HIV in
the United States;
Whereas southern areas of the United States bear the greatest burden of HIV,
accounting for 51 percent of new infections in 2018;
Whereas the CDC estimates that 44 percent of Black transgender women are living
with HIV in the United States, and transgender women are 49 times more
likely to be diagnosed with HIV compared to the global general adult
population;
Whereas one in two people living with HIV in the United States are over 50;
Whereas people living with HIV are frequently susceptible to other infections,
such as hepatitis B and C and tuberculosis;
Whereas the opioid and heroin epidemics have led to increased numbers of new HIV
transmissions among people who inject drugs, and the crisis has
disproportionately affected nonurban areas, where HIV prevalence rates
have been low historically and have limited services for HIV prevention
and treatment and substance use disorder treatment;
Whereas, in 2020, the United States hosted the Conference of the International
AIDS Society reinforcing the important leadership role the United States
plays in ending AIDS globally;
Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a significant burden on the public
health systems across the United States and globe;
Whereas December 1 of each year is internationally recognized as ``World AIDS
Day''; and
Whereas, in 2020, commemorations for World AIDS Day recognize the need for
``Global Solidarity, Shared Responsibility'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) encourages people around the world to work to achieve
the goal of zero new HIV transmissions, zero discrimination,
and zero AIDS-related deaths, in order to end the HIV epidemic
in the United States and around the world by 2030;
(2) commends the efforts and achievements in combating HIV/
AIDS through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of
2009 (Public Law 111-87), the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National
Institutes of Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration, the Office of Minority Health, and the
Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(3) commends the efforts and achievements in combating HIV/
AIDS made by PEPFAR, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the Joint United Nations
Programme on HIV/AIDS;
(4) supports continued funding for prevention, care and
treatment services, and research programs for communities
impacted by HIV and people living with HIV in the United States
and globally;
(5) urges, in order to ensure that an AIDS-free generation
is achievable, rapid action by all countries toward further
expansion and scale-up of antiretroviral treatment programs,
including efforts to reduce disparities and improve access for
children to life-saving medications;
(6) encourages the scaling up of comprehensive prevention
services, including biomedical and structural interventions, to
ensure inclusive access to programs and appropriate resources
for all people at risk of contracting HIV, especially in
communities disproportionately impacted as these groups make up
the majority of new HIV infections in the United States and
prevention efforts should specifically reach these groups;
(7) calls for greater focus on the HIV-related
vulnerabilities of women and girls, including women and girls
at risk for or who have survived violence or faced
discrimination as a result of the disease;
(8) supports continued leadership by the United States in
domestic, bilateral, multilateral, and private sector efforts
to fight HIV;
(9) encourages input from civil society in the development
and implementation of domestic and global HIV policies and
programs that guide the response;
(10) encourages and supports greater degrees of ownership
and shared responsibility by developing countries in order to
ensure the sustainability of the domestic responses to HIV/AIDS
by those countries; and
(11) urges other members of the international community to
sustain and scale up their support for and financial
contributions to efforts around the world to combat HIV.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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