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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 155

Expressing the sense of Congress that a comprehensive program be developed

and implemented by the Federal Government to deal with the Human

Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 27, 1993

Mr. BURTON of Indiana submitted the following concurrent resolution; which

was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress that a comprehensive program be developed and implemented by the Federal Government to deal with the Human Immunodeficiency

Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome

(AIDS).

Whereas AIDS is currently a noncurable, fatal disease caused

by HIV infection;

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has, for five

years, estimated that as many as 1.5 million individuals

in the United States are infected with the HIV virus

without their knowledge;
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Whereas, as of September 11, 1993, the CDC has identified

329,216 individuals in the United States who have either

died from AIDS or currently have the disease;

Whereas the CDC’s new 1993 definition for AIDS could expand the total number of recorded AIDS cases to nearly

350,000 by year’s end;

Whereas the total number of recorded cases of AIDS has

been nearly doubling every two years since the discovery

of the disease;

Whereas certain projections from these figures indicate that

by the mid-1990s the United States will have close to 1

million individuals who have either died from AIDS or

currently have the disease;

Whereas the outward symptoms of HIV infection can remain

dormant for up to ten years or more in an infected individual;

Whereas the lifetime cost of medically treating one HIV-infected individual is approximately $100,000;

Whereas 75 percent of individuals with reported AIDS cases

in other parts of the world were infected with the HIV

virus through heterosexual contact;

Whereas former United States Surgeon General Antonia C.

Novello has stated that the fastest growing percentage of

new HIV infections in the United States are resulting

from heterosexual transmission;

Whereas a majority of American teenagers and college-age

students are sexually active;

Whereas the CDC in 1988 estimated that three out of every

1,000 college-age students were infected with the HIV

virus;
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Whereas in Washington, DC alone a 300-percent increase in

HIV infection among teenagers between 1988 and 1990

has been documented;

Whereas medical experts are still unsure as to all the possible

transmission routes of the HIV virus;

Whereas HIV transmission between health care workers and

patients during invasive procedures has been documented;

Whereas AIDS is a preventable disease;

Whereas the HIV infection pandemic has been treated like a

civil rights issue rather than a public health issue;

Whereas the United States has the medical and financial resources available to address the HIV infection pandemic;

and

Whereas Congress has failed to address the HIV infection

pandemic in a comprehensive manner: Now, therefore, be

it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that a com3 prehensive program be developed and implemented by the

4 Federal Government to deal with HIV and AIDS, and that

5 this program should include the following aspects: routine

6 HIV testing for individuals in the United States between

7 14 and 55 years of age; contact tracing of HIV-infected

8 individuals for possible transmission routes; government9 assisted medical and psychological treatment; expanded

10 medical research; civil rights protections for HIV-infected

11 persons; public education campaigns about HIV’s effects
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1 and modes of transmission; and penalties for individuals

2 who knowingly spread the HIV virus.

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