IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 216 

Supporting the goals and ideals of World AIDS Day. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 1, 2009 

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. BERMAN, 

Mr. PAYNE, Ms. WATERS, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. HIMES, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. 

NADLER of New York, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. RUSH, Mr. 

GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. HARE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MOORE

of Kansas, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. GRAYSON, Ms. 

SPEIER, Mr. HONDA, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. MARKEY of 

Massachusetts, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, and Mr. CLEAVER) 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 the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS 

(UNAIDS) estimates that since the identification of 

AIDS in 1981, about 65,000,000 people have been infected with HIV, and more than 32,000,000 people have 

died of AIDS worldwide; 

Whereas in 2008, UNAIDS estimated that 33,400,000 people 

were living with HIV around the world, over 2,000,000 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HCON 216 IH 

people died of AIDS, and another 2,700,000 people were 

newly infected; 

Whereas 280,000 children under the age of 15 died from 

AIDS in 2008, while 2,100,000 children were living with 

HIV, 90 percent of whom reside in Sub-Saharan Africa; 

Whereas each day over 1,000 children under the age of 15 

become newly infected with HIV, and only 10 percent of 

pregnant women worldwide receive services to prevent 

HIV transmission to their newborns; 

Whereas new infection rates among women are increasing, 

and now account for 15,700,000 infections and half of 

the adult population living with HIV/AIDS; 

Whereas developing countries continue to bear the brunt of 

the AIDS pandemic with Sub-Saharan Africa serving as 

the home of 67 percent of all adults and children living 

with HIV, 60 percent of whom are women and girls; 

Whereas people living with HIV/AIDS are frequently susceptible to other opportunistic infections, and according to 

the World Health Organization, in 2007 approximately 

1,370,000 people living with HIV were also estimated to 

be co-infected with tuberculosis; 

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

(CDC) estimates that in the United States, at the end of 

2006, 1,106,400 people were living with HIV, and 21 

percent did not know they were infected; 

Whereas a total of 583,298 people have died of AIDS in the 

United States from the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic through 2007; 

Whereas each year 56,300 people become newly infected with 

HIV in the United States, and on average, an individual 

is infected with HIV every 91⁄2 minutes; 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HCON 216 IH 

Whereas at the end of 2006, African-Americans represented 

46 percent of all people living with HIV in the United 

States, Whites represented 35 percent, Hispanics represented 18 percent, Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders represented 1 percent, and American Indians and 

Alaska Natives represented less than 1 percent; 

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

young MSM of color, have represented an increasing 

share of new HIV infections over the past decade and 

each year MSM account for 53 percent of all new infections; 

Whereas men account for roughly 75 percent of all people living with HIV in the United States, and women represent 

25 percent; 

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 5,259 young people aged 13 to 24 were newly diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 2006, representing about 14 

percent of all new diagnoses in the United States during 

that year; 

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

United States, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment 

Extension Act of 2009 was enacted into law on October 

30, 2009, reauthorizing Federal HIV/AIDS care and 

treatment programs for 4 years and making funding 

available to United States metropolitan areas, States, and 

service providers to assist affected families and persons 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HCON 216 IH 

living with HIV/AIDS with healthcare and support services; 

Whereas to further focus attention on the HIV/AIDS epidemic among minority communities in the United States, 

in 1998, Congress and the Clinton Administration created the Minority AIDS Initiative to provide funds to 

State and local institutions and organizations to best 

serve the healthcare costs and support the needs of racial 

and ethnic minorities living with HIV/AIDS; 

Whereas Congress provided $1,400,000 for the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) within the White House in 

the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act in order to develop a National AIDS Strategy to better coordinate and 

guide the Nation’s response to HIV/AIDS; 

Whereas ONAP has since conducted a series of town halls 

across the country to solicit feedback directly from communities impacted by HIV/AIDS in order to provide a 

basis for developing a National AIDS Strategy; 

Whereas, on April 7, 2009, the CDC launched a new communication campaign, ‘‘Act Against AIDS’’, to facilitate 

awareness, public education, health literacy, health care 

provider marketing, and highly targeted behavior change 

communication objectives in the fight against HIV/AIDS; 

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 $12,800,000,000 in funding, of 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HCON 216 IH 

which $4,400,000,000 has been donated by the United 

States; 

Whereas as of December 2009, the Global Fund has supported treatment to over 2,500,000 people for HIV/ 

AIDS, directly observed treatment to 6,000,000 people 

for tuberculosis, and over 104,000,000 insecticide treated-bednets to fight malaria; 

Whereas in order to further address the global HIV/AIDS 

epidemic, in 2008, Congress reauthorized the President’s 

Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the 

Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global 

Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act, providing $48,000,000,000 

over 5 years to combat the 3 diseases; 

Whereas, between fiscal years 2009 and 2013, PEPFAR programs aim to support care for 12,000,000 HIV-affected 

people, including children orphaned by AIDS, support the 

prevention of 12,000,000 new HIV infections; and help 

at least 3,000,000 people receive antiretroviral treatment; 

Whereas, as of September 30, 2008, PEPFAR had supported 

the treatment of 2,100,000 people and supported the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission during more 

than 16,000,000 pregnancies, and had facilitated care for 

nearly 10,100,000 people, including more than 4,000,000 

orphans and vulnerable children; 

Whereas, between 2004 and 2009, Congress provided approximately $24,752,000,000 to combat global HIV/ 

AIDS through PEPFAR and the Global Fund; 

Whereas as a result of these and other efforts, the rate of 

new HIV infections has declined by 17 percent since 

2001 and the number of AIDS-related deaths has deVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:56 Dec 02, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC216.IH HC216

smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HCON 216 IH 

clined by 10 percent over the last 5 years, due in part 

to the expansion of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment 

programs; 

Whereas since the availability of effective HIV/AIDS treatments in 1996 and the increasing availability of treatments to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV 

since 2001, approximately 2,900,000 lives have been 

saved and approximately 200,000 new infections among 

children have been prevented; 

Whereas in 2001, representatives and heads of state of 189 

countries, including the United States, convened at the 

first-ever Special Session of the United Nations General 

Assembly on HIV/AIDS and unanimously adopted the 

Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS; 

Whereas the United Nations Declaration of Commitment outlines prevention, treatment, and funding methods for 

achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halting 

and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 

2015; 

Whereas in 2006, the United Nations General Assembly convened a High Level Meeting on AIDS, pledging to move 

toward the goal of universal access to comprehensive prevention programs, treatment, care, and support by 2010; 

Whereas in 2008, the United Nations General Assembly convened a second High Level Meeting on AIDS to review 

progress towards achieving the goal of universal access 

and the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS; 

Whereas the concept of World AIDS Day originated at the 

1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention and was established to 

focus attention on the HIV/AIDS pandemic; 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HCON 216 IH 

Whereas December 1 is now recognized as World AIDS Day 

and has been taken up by governments, international organizations, and charities around the world; and 

Whereas the theme of World AIDS Day 2009 is ‘‘Universal 

Access and Human Rights’’ and is intended to focus attention on the goal of providing universal access to HIV/ 

AIDS prevention, treatment, care, and support programs 

and the fundamental need to support and protect human 

rights for all people, particularly vulnerable and 

marginalized populations, in order to achieve this goal: 

Now, therefore, be it 

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 21st anniversary of 

5 observing this day; 

6 (2) commends the President, State, and local 

7 governments, including their public health agencies, 

8 for recognizing this day, for publicizing its impor9 tance among their communities, and for encouraging 

10 individuals to undergo testing for HIV; 

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

12 organizations for carrying messages in support of 

13 World AIDS Day; 

14 (4) supports continued funding for prevention, 

15 care, treatment services, and research programs for 

16 persons living with HIV/AIDS in the United States 

17 including, through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HCON 216 IH 

1 Treatment Extension Act, the Minority HIV/AIDS 

2 Initiative, the Centers for Disease Control and Pre3 vention, the National Institutes of Health, the Sub4 stance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis5 tration, the Office of Minority Health, and the Of6 fice of the Secretary of Health and Human Services; 

7 (5) supports the development of a national 

8 AIDS strategy with clear goals and objectives to re9 duce new HIV infections, especially among African10 Americans, men who have sex with men, and other 

11 vulnerable communities; 

12 (6) supports continued funding for the Presi13 dent’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief and the 

14 Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Ma15 laria to provide prevention, care, and treatment to 

16 combat HIV/AIDS in developing countries; 

17 (7) supports the goal of providing universal ac18 cess to comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, treat19 ment, care, and support programs; 

20 (8) supports the goal of protecting human 

21 rights for all people, including vulnerable and 

22 marginalized populations such as men who have sex 

23 with men, injecting drug users, and sex workers; and 

24 (9) supports efforts to address the factors that 

25 make populations vulnerable to HIV/AIDS by deVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:15 Dec 02, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC216.IH HC216

smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HCON 216 IH 

1 creasing poverty and hunger, expanding educational 

2 opportunities for children, and empowering women. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS