Supporting the goals of World AIDS Day.

IV 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 GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N of Puerto Rico, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. CAR- SON of Indiana, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. TRONE, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. MENG, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. MCGOV- ERN, 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 resolu- tion; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subse- quently 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 epi- demic, including nearly 16,000 deaths among people with diagnosed HIV in 2018, with the disease disproportion- ately affecting communities of color; VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1223.IH HR1223 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 1223 IH Whereas each year nearly 40,000 people become newly diag- nosed with HIV in the United States; Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (‘‘CDC’’), Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Amer- ican 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 serv- ices and support for over half of all people diagnosed with HIV in the United States; Whereas to further focus attention on the HIV/AIDS epi- demic among minority communities in the United States, in 1998, the Minority AIDS Initiative was established to provide funds to State and local institutions and organi- zations 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 cre- ated the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1223.IH HR1223 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 1223 IH Whereas the PEPFAR program remains the largest commit- ment in history by any country to combat a single dis- ease; 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 moth- er 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 peo- ple 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; VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1223.IH HR1223 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 1223 IH Whereas research funded by the National Institutes of Health found that HIV treatment not only saves the lives of peo- ple living with HIV, but people living with HIV on effec- tive 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 birth- day; Whereas despite the remarkable progress in combating HIV, significant challenges remain; Whereas there were approximately 1,700,000 new HIV diag- noses 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 liv- ing 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 great- est burden of HIV, accounting for 51 percent of new in- fections 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1223.IH HR1223 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 1223 IH 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 tuber- culosis; Whereas the opioid and heroin epidemics have led to in- creased numbers of new HIV transmissions among people who inject drugs, and the crisis has disproportionately af- fected 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 impor- tant 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 recog- nized as ‘‘World AIDS Day’’; and Whereas, in 2020, commemorations for World AIDS Day rec- ognize the need for ‘‘Global Solidarity, Shared Responsi- bility’’: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) encourages people around the world to work 2 to achieve the goal of zero new HIV transmissions, 3 zero discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths, 4 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1223.IH HR1223 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HRES 1223 IH in order to end the HIV epidemic in the United 1 States and around the world by 2030; 2 (2) commends the efforts and achievements in 3 combating HIV/AIDS through the Ryan White HIV/ 4 AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009 (Public 5 Law 111–87), the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative, 6 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 7 National Institutes of Health, the Substance Abuse 8 and Mental Health Services Administration, the Of- 9 fice of Minority Health, and the Office of the Sec- 10 retary of Health and Human Services; 11 (3) commends the efforts and achievements in 12 combating HIV/AIDS made by PEPFAR, the Global 13 Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and 14 the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS; 15 (4) supports continued funding for prevention, 16 care and treatment services, and research programs 17 for communities impacted by HIV and people living 18 with HIV in the United States and globally; 19 (5) urges, in order to ensure that an AIDS-free 20 generation is achievable, rapid action by all countries 21 toward further expansion and scale-up of 22 antiretroviral treatment programs, including efforts 23 to reduce disparities and improve access for children 24 to life-saving medications; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1223.IH HR1223 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HRES 1223 IH (6) encourages the scaling up of comprehensive 1 prevention services, including biomedical and struc- 2 tural interventions, to ensure inclusive access to pro- 3 grams and appropriate resources for all people at 4 risk of contracting HIV, especially in communities 5 disproportionately impacted as these groups make 6 up the majority of new HIV infections in the United 7 States and prevention efforts should specifically 8 reach these groups; 9 (7) calls for greater focus on the HIV-related 10 vulnerabilities of women and girls, including women 11 and girls at risk for or who have survived violence 12 or faced discrimination as a result of the disease; 13 (8) supports continued leadership by the United 14 States in domestic, bilateral, multilateral, and pri- 15 vate sector efforts to fight HIV; 16 (9) encourages input from civil society in the 17 development and implementation of domestic and 18 global HIV policies and programs that guide the re- 19 sponse; 20 (10) encourages and supports greater degrees 21 of ownership and shared responsibility by developing 22 countries in order to ensure the sustainability of the 23 domestic responses to HIV/AIDS by those countries; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1223.IH HR1223 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HRES 1223 IH (11) urges other members of the international 1 community to sustain and scale up their support for 2 and financial contributions to efforts around the 3 world to combat HIV. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR1223.IH HR1223 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS