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IN RESPONSE TO THE AIDS CRISIS: RECORDS OF THE NATIONAL
COMMISSION ON ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME,
1983-1994
Briefing books, hearing and meeting transcripts, reports, and press
clippings document the activities of the National Commission onAcquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome from 1983-1994

Date Range: 1983-1994
Content: 37,091 images
Source Library: History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine

Detailed Description:
The National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome was an independent
body created in 1989 by federal statute (Public Law 100-607). The mission of the National
Commission was to advise Congress and the President on the development of "a consistentnational policy" concerning the HIV epidemic. The statute created the Commission for aperiod of up to four years, which expired on September 3, 1993.
The National Commission was preceded by the Presidential Commission on the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus Epidemic, which was established on June 24, 1987, by Executive
Order 12601. The Presidential Commission held over 45 days of hearings and site visits in
preparation of their final report to the President, which was completed on June 27, 1988. Oneof the recommendations of the final report was the development of a national commission onAIDS to continue their work.

1The National Commission consisted of fifteen members including five appointed by theSenate; five by the House; two by President George W. Bush Sr.; and the secretaries ofHealth and Human Services, Defense, and the Veterans Administration. The Commission
accomplished its mission through numerous hearings and site visits.
The Commission’s hearings covered the following topic concerning AIDS: healthcare,treatment, and international aspects of the HIV epidemic; Federal, State, and Localresponsibilities; the Southern California epidemic; social and human issues; Executiveand Legislative branch issues; current research and clinical trials; HIV epidemic in theCommonwealth of Puerto Rico; African American communities; Pediatric and AdolescentHIV; Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual communities among Asians, Asian Americans, and PacificIslanders; Women and HIV disease and civil rights; religious communities response; andrisks of transmission in healthcare settings.
Site visits included Southern California community based organizations in order to observe
their response to the epidemic. Other site visits also included the homeless in New York
City, Newark, and Jersey City; AIDS in the rural communities of Waycross, Albany, andMacon, Georgia; HIV and AIDS in New York City correctional facilities; the epidemic in theCommonwealth of Puerto Rico; regional responses in Belle Glade and Miami, Florida; andthe Native American Communities of Oklahoma, Minnesota, South Dakota, Arizona, and New
Mexico.
During its tenure the Commission produced fifteen reports plus analytical and policy
statements on a number of issues. AIDS: An Expanding Tragedy, the Commission’s final
report was issued in June 1993. The final report discusses the future of the AIDS epidemicin America and established two main recommendations on the appropriate response.
The first recommendation was that leaders at all levels must speak out about AIDS totheir constituencies. Secondly, we must develop a clear well-articulated national planfor confronting AIDS. The steps necessary to meet these guidelines are outlined by theCommission in Mobilizing America’s Response to AIDS, which was sent directly to thePresident.
Briefing books, hearing and meeting transcripts, reports, and press clippings document theactivities of the National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (NCAIDS).
The majority of the collection consists of NCAIDS briefing books, and hearing and meetingtranscripts. Series I contains hearing transcripts from the Commission’s predecessor, thePresidential Commission on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Epidemic (1987-1988);
Series II contains the work conducted by NCAIDS. In Series III, the collection includes
various topical reports on AIDS published by external agencies. There are no notes orcorrespondence in this collection and all materials appear here in published form. In addition,
the Commission’s report Mobilizing America’s Response to AIDS, is also not included within
this collection but can be found in the National Library of Medicine’s General Collection. Thebulk of the collection spans the years 1987 to early 1992.
The collection comprises four series: Presidential Commission on the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus Epidemic, 1987-1988; Briefings and Transcripts of Hearings and2

Meetings, 1989-1992; Press Coverage and Reports, 1989-1993; and Reports on AIDS from
External Institutions and Government Agencies, 1983-1992.
Of special interest is the Commission’s final report AIDS: An Expanding Tragedy, which
serves as a summary of the Commission’s activities and includes a detailed chronology of its
activities and provides an extensive list of all hearings, site visits, reports, and publications
related to the Commission.
Index Terms
These terms are indexed in the National Library of Medicine’s online catalog LocatorPlus.
Researchers wishing to find related materials should search the catalog using these terms:• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome• African Americans• Homosexuality• Human Immunodeficiency Virus• Public Health*N.B. This description is from the History of Medicine’s finding aid for this collection.

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