IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 96 

Supporting the goals and ideals of World AIDS Day. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 4, 2017 

Ms. LEE (for herself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Ms. ESTY of Connecticut, Mr. 

ELLISON, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. 

WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. 

DEUTCH, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. HANABUSA, 

Mr. COHEN, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. SERRANO, 

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, and Mr. CICILLINE) 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 76,100,000 people have been infected with HIV, 

and more than 35,000,000 people have died of AIDS 

worldwide; 

Whereas, in 2016, an estimated 1,800,000 people were newly 

infected with HIV, 19,500,000 people living with HIV 

(53 percent of the total) had access to antiretroviral 

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


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Whereas, worldwide, 36,700,000 people are living with HIV, 

but only 54 percent of whom know they are infected; 

Whereas progress in reducing new HIV infections among 

adults has slowed since 2010, remaining static at 

1,700,000 new infections each year; 

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

children declining 47 percent since 2010; 

Whereas girls and women make up more than half of all people living with HIV worldwide; 

Whereas young women and adolescent girls bear a disproportionate burden of HIV worldwide (18,600,000); 

Whereas HIV is the third leading cause of death among 

women aged 15 to 29 globally; 

Whereas HIV remains the leading cause of death among 

women aged 30 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 69 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; 

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 estimates that African Americans account 

for almost half (45 percent) of all new infections and represent more than one-third of all people living with HIV 

in the United States, despite comprising just 12 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 60 percent were African American, 

17 percent were White, and 17 percent were Hispanic or 

Latina; 

Whereas, in 2015, youth aged 13 to 24 accounted for more 

than 20 percent of all new HIV diagnoses in the United 

States, with nearly half of youth aged 18 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; 


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Whereas, in 2015, MSM accounted for 82 percent of new diagnoses among men and 67 percent of all new infections; 

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

(PWID), with an estimated 10 percent of new cases attributable to injection drug use; 

Whereas Southern States bear the greatest burden of HIV in 

the United States, accounting for half of new infections 

in 2014; 

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 (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 healthcare costs and support 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 


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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 (TB), 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 $41,000,000,000 in funding, of 

which $13,200,000,000 has been donated by the United 

States; 

Whereas, as of 2016, the Global Fund has supported lifesaving ARV therapy for more than 11,000,000 people living with HIV, provided 17,400,000,000 people with testing and treatment for TB, and distributed over 

795,000,000 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 

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; 


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

AIDS-related deaths and nearly 16,000,000 HIV infections have been averted worldwide since PEPFAR began; 

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 2017 is focused on increasing impact through transparency, accountability, and partnerships: 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 29th 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; 


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

2 both in the United States and around the world; 

3 (5) supports continued funding for prevention, 

4 care, treatment services, and research programs for 

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

6 including, through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS 

7 Treatment Extension Act, the Minority HIV/AIDS 

8 Initiative, the Centers for Disease Control and Pre9 vention, the National Institutes of Health, the Sub10 stance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis11 tration, the Office of Minority Health, and the Of12 fice of the Secretary of Health and Human Services; 

13 (6) supports the implementation of the National 

14 HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States: Updated 

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

16 NHAS Federal Action Plan; 

17 (7) supports continued funding for PEPFAR 

18 and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, 

19 and Malaria to provide prevention, care, and treat20 ment to combat HIV/AIDS in low-income and mid21 dle-income countries; 

22 (8) supports the goal of improving access to 

23 comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, 

24 care, and support programs; 


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1 (9) supports the goal of protecting human 

2 rights for all people, including vulnerable and 

3 marginalized populations; and 

4 (10) supports efforts to address the factors that 

5 make populations vulnerable to HIV/AIDS by com6 batting poverty and hunger, expanding educational 

7 opportunities for children, and empowering women 

8 and girls. 

Æ 


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