IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 78 

Supporting the goals and ideals of World AIDS Day. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 6, 2019 

Ms. LEE of California submitted the following concurrent 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 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of World AIDS Day. 

Whereas, since the identification of AIDS in 1981, an estimated 74,900,000 people have been infected with HIV, 

and more than 32,000,000 people have died of AIDS and 

AIDS-related illnesses worldwide; 

Whereas, in 2018, an estimated 1,700,000 people were newly 

infected with HIV, 23,300,000, people living with HIV 

(61 percent of the total) had access to antiretroviral 

(ART) therapy, and 1,000,000 people died of the disease; 

Whereas worldwide, 37,900,000 people are living with HIV, 

only 79 percent of whom know their status; 


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Whereas, since 2010, new HIV infections have declined by an 

estimated 16 percent, from 2.1 million to 1.7 million in 

2018; 

Whereas progress has been made globally in reducing motherto-child transmission of HIV, with new transmissions 

among children declining 41 percent since 2010; 

Whereas girls and women make up more than half of the 

37.9 million people living with HIV worldwide; 

Whereas young women and adolescent girls bear a disproportionate burden of HIV worldwide (18,800,000); 

Whereas AIDS-related opportunistic infections are the thirdleading cause of death among women aged 15 to 29 globally; 

Whereas AIDS-related opportunistic infections remain the 

leading cause of death among women aged 15 to 49 globally; 

Whereas low-income and middle-income countries continue to 

bear the brunt of the AIDS pandemic, with sub-Saharan 

Africa serving as the home of 54 percent of all adults 

and children living with HIV, 56 percent of whom are 

women and girls; 

Whereas people living with HIV/AIDS are frequently susceptible to other infections, such as hepatitis C and tuberculosis (TB); 

Whereas at least one-third of those living with HIV are infected with latent tuberculosis, which remains the leading 

cause of death among people living with HIV; 

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

(CDC) estimates that in the United States, 1,100,000 


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people are living with HIV and 14 percent of those are 

not aware of their status; 

Whereas in the United States, more than 700,000 people 

with AIDS have died since the beginning of the epidemic, 

including nearly 13,000 in 2014; 

Whereas each year nearly 40,000 people become newly diagnosed with HIV in the United States; 

Whereas minority communities are disproportionately affected 

by HIV in the United States; 

Whereas the CDC has found that transgender people, sex 

workers, people who inject drugs, and other vulnerable 

populations have prevention challenges that impact HIV 

health outcomes and barriers for seeking high-quality 

care; 

Whereas the CDC estimates that African Americans account 

for almost half (43 percent) of all new infections and represent more than one-third of all people living with HIV 

in the United States, despite comprising about 13 percent of the population; 

Whereas in the United States, African-American women are 

18 times more likely to become newly infected with HIV 

than White women, and Hispanic women are 5 times 

more likely to have AIDS than non-Hispanic White 

women; 

Whereas among all women diagnosed with HIV at the end of 

2014, an estimated 59 percent were African American, 

20 percent were White, and 16 percent were Hispanic or 

Latina; 

Whereas, in 2018, youth aged 13 to 24 accounted for more 

than 20 percent of all new HIV diagnoses in the United 


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States, with nearly half of youth aged 13 to 24 unaware 

of their status; 

Whereas men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly 

young MSM of color, are the population most affected by 

HIV; 

Whereas, in 2018, MSM accounted for 66 percent of new diagnoses among men and 67 percent of all new cases; 

Whereas the national opioid epidemic is a threat to a resurgence of HIV cases among people who inject drugs 

(PWID), with an estimated 7 percent of new cases attributable to injection drug use; 

Whereas Southern States bear the greatest burden of HIV in 

the United States, accounting for more than half of new 

cases in 2017; 

Whereas, in order to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 

United States, on August 18, 1990, Congress enacted the 

Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency 

(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 and has been reauthorized by 

Congress four times since it was first created (in 1996, 

2000, 2006, and 2009); 

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 


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the needs of racial and ethnic minorities living with HIV/ 

AIDS; 

Whereas the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) released an update of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy 

targeting reducing new infections, increasing access to 

care, reducing disparities, and achieving a more coordinated response by 2020; 

Whereas to address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, in 2000, 

Congress passed the Global AIDS and Tuberculosis Relief Act, providing the first contribution and the founding 

framework for what became the Global Fund to Fight 

AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, which provides grants 

to developing countries to combat the 3 diseases; 

Whereas, since the Global Fund was created in 2002, donors 

have pledged more than $49,000,000,000 in funding (of 

which $15,000,000,000 has been donated by the United 

States) and distributed $42,000,000,000 to over 120 

countries; 

Whereas, as of 2018, the Global Fund has saved lives by providing antiretroviral (ARV) therapy for more than 

18,900,000 people living with HIV, providing access to 

treatment for TB for 5,300,000 people, and distributing 

over 131,000,000 insecticide-treated nets to fight malaria; 

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, in 2013, Congress extended the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through 2018 


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with the PEPFAR Stewardship and Oversight Act of 

2013 to continue to address HIV, TB, and malaria; 

Whereas PEPFAR is currently supporting treatment for 

11,500,000 men, women, and children; critical care and 

support for 6,200,000 orphans and vulnerable children; 

and in fiscal year 2016, PEPFAR supported HIV testing 

and counseling for more than 74,300,000 people, including 11,500,000 pregnant women; 

Whereas, as a result of these efforts, more than 11,000,000 

AIDS-related deaths and nearly 17,000,000 HIV transmissions have been averted worldwide since PEPFAR 

began; 

Whereas the United States Federal Government has announced this year the ‘‘Ending the HIV Epidemic: A 

Plan for America’’ initiative to end domestic transmissions and the AIDS epidemic within the decade; 

Whereas the international community has repeatedly and collectively committed to the goals of ending the HIV/AIDS 

epidemic by 2030 and creating an AIDS-free generation; 

Whereas the concept of World AIDS Day originated in 1988 

and was established to focus attention on the HIV/AIDS 

pandemic; 

Whereas December 1 is now recognized as World AIDS Day 

and has been recognized by governments, lawmakers, and 

organizations around the world; and 

Whereas World AIDS Day 2019 is focused on communities 

making the difference through recognizing the essential 

role that communities play in the AIDS response at the 

international, national, and local levels: Now, therefore, 

be it 


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1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) supports the goals and ideals of World 

4 AIDS Day and recognizes the 29th anniversary of 

5 observing this day; 

6 (2) commends the President, State govern7 ments, and local governments, including State and 

8 local public health agencies, for recognizing this day, 

9 for publicizing its importance among their commu10 nities, for encouraging individuals to undergo testing 

11 for HIV, and for their other ongoing efforts 

12 strengthened by the Ending the HIV Epidemic ini13 tiative; 

14 (3) commends national, State, and local media 

15 organizations for carrying messages in support of 

16 World AIDS Day; 

17 (4) supports the goal of ending HIV/AIDS, 

18 both in the United States and around the world; 

19 (5) supports continued funding for prevention, 

20 care, treatment services, and research programs for 

21 persons living with HIV/AIDS in the United States, 

22 including, through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS 

23 Treatment Extension Act, the Minority HIV/AIDS 

24 Initiative, the Centers for Disease Control and Pre25 vention, the National Institutes of Health, the SubVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC78.IH HC78

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1 stance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis2 tration, the Office of Minority Health, and the Of3 fice of the Secretary of Health and Human Services; 

4 (6) supports the implementation of the National 

5 HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States: Updated 

6 to 2020 (NHAS) and achieving the goals within the 

7 NHAS Federal Action Plan; 

8 (7) supports continued funding for PEPFAR 

9 and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, 

10 and Malaria to provide prevention, care, and treat11 ment to combat HIV/AIDS in low-income and mid12 dle-income countries; 

13 (8) supports the goal of improving access to 

14 comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, 

15 care, and support programs; 

16 (9) supports the goal of protecting human 

17 rights for all people, including vulnerable and mar18 ginalized populations; and 

19 (10) supports efforts to address the factors that 

20 make populations vulnerable to HIV/AIDS by com21 bating poverty and hunger, expanding educational 

22 opportunities for children, and empowering women 

23 and girls. 

Æ 


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