III 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 509 

Designating April 2010 as ‘‘National STD Awareness Month’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 29, 2010 

Mr. BURRIS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Designating April 2010 as ‘‘National STD Awareness 

Month’’. 

Whereas sexually transmitted infections (referred to in this 

preamble as ‘‘STIs’’) (also commonly known as sexually 

transmitted diseases, or ‘‘STDs’’) are a major public 

health challenge for the United States in economic and 

human terms; 

Whereas the United States has the highest rate of people 

with STIs in the industrialized world, with an estimated 

19,000,000 new cases occurring each year; 

Whereas each year, approximately 1⁄2 of the new cases of 

STIs occur in young people between the ages of 15 to 24; 

Whereas all people of the United States have an interest in 

STIs because every community is impacted and everyone 


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•SRES 509 IS 

pays for the cost of the infections, either directly or indirectly; 

Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘CDC’’), 

STIs impose a tremendous economic burden on the 

United States, with direct medical costs for treating STIs 

as high as $15,900,000 per year; 

Whereas in 2008, the CDC estimated that 1 in 4 young 

women between the ages of 14 and 19 in the United 

States, or 3,200,000 teenage girls, and nearly 1 in 2 African-American young women are infected with 1 or more 

of the most common sexually transmitted infections, including the human papillomavirus (referred to in this 

preamble as ‘‘HPV’’), chlamydia, herpes simplex virus, 

and trichomoniasis; 

Whereas in 2010, CDC data indicated that 1 in 6 Americans 

between the ages of 14 and 49 years old are infected with 

type 2 of the herpes simplex virus, a lifelong and incurable infection, and that of the group of infected Americans, African-American women were the most affected 

group, with a prevalence rate of 48 percent; 

Whereas poverty and lack of access to quality health care exacerbate the rate of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘HIV’’) 

and other STIs; 

Whereas men who have sex with men continue to be disproportionately impacted by STIs, accounting for 63 percent of all syphilis cases in 2008 as compared to only 4 

percent of STIs in 2000; 


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•SRES 509 IS 

Whereas racial disparities in rates of STIs are among the 

worst health disparities in the United States for any 

health condition; 

Whereas most STIs have been associated with increased risk 

of HIV transmission and are likely contributing to the 

ongoing HIV epidemic in the United States; 

Whereas the CDC reports that the 2 most common STIs 

among young women are HPV, with 18 percent infected, 

and chlamydia, with 4 percent infected; 

Whereas the long-term health effects of HPV and chlamydia 

are especially severe for women and include infertility 

and cervical cancer; 

Whereas vaccination, screening, and early treatment can prevent some of the most devastating effects of STIs; 

Whereas high STI infection rates in the United States demonstrate the need for better ways to reach the individuals 

most at risk for infection; 

Whereas the CDC recommends— 

(1) annual chlamydia screenings for sexually active 

women 25 years of age and younger; 

(2) HPV vaccination for girls and women between 

the ages of 11 and 26 who have not been vaccinated, or 

who have not completed the full series of shots; and 

(3) screening for HIV, syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea at least once a year for men who have sex with 

men and who are not in a long-term, mutually 

monogamous relationship; 

Whereas chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, 

chronic pelvic pain, infertility, and tubular pregnancies, 

which can affect the health and well-being of a woman 

throughout her lifetime; 


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•SRES 509 IS 

Whereas STIs can be transmitted from infected mothers to 

infants during childbirth and can cause severe health 

consequences in the infants; 

Whereas STIs often cause social stigma and may have a serious psychological impact among the individuals who are 

infected; 

Whereas people protect themselves against STIs through participation in programs that provide comprehensive and 

medically accurate health information and screening and 

treatment services, including title X of the Public Health 

Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.) and the STI prevention program of the CDC; 

Whereas school-based STI screening programs have been 

highly successful in cases in which the programs are implemented and are effective at preventing the spread of 

STIs among adolescents; 

Whereas the sexual and reproductive health needs of men 

must be more thoroughly recognized and better addressed 

by the public health and medical provider community in 

order to more effectively combat the spread of STIs; 

Whereas STI programs in State and local health departments 

that are funded through the Division of STD Prevention 

of the CDC are the frontline of the defense of the United 

States against the spread of STIs; 

Whereas STI screening, vaccination, and other prevention 

strategies for sexually active women should be among the 

highest public health priorities; and 

Whereas the CDC observes April as ‘‘National STD Awareness Month’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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•SRES 509 IS 

1 (1) designates April 2010 as ‘‘National STD 

2 Awareness Month’’; 

3 (2) encourages the Federal Government, States, 

4 localities, and nonprofit organizations to observe the 

5 month with appropriate programs and activities, 

6 with the goal of increasing public knowledge of the 

7 risks of sexually transmitted infections (referred to 

8 in this resolution as ‘‘STIs’’) and protecting people 

9 of all ages; 

10 (3) recognizes the human toll of STIs and the 

11 importance of making the prevention, diagnosis, and 

12 treatment of STIs an urgent public health priority; 

13 (4) calls on all people of the United States to 

14 learn about STIs and the prevention approaches rec15 ommended for STIs; and 

16 (5) encourages all sexually active individuals to 

17 get tested for STIs and to seek appropriate care if 

18 infected. 

Æ 


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