IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 281 

Supporting the goals and ideals of ‘‘National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness 

Day’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 6, 2023 

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. JACOBS, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, 

Ms. CHU, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mrs. HAYES, 

Mr. EVANS, and Ms. SEWELL) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of ‘‘National Youth HIV/ 

AIDS Awareness Day’’. 

Whereas ‘‘National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day’’ is a 

nationwide observance that calls on people to take action 

to invest in the health, education, and leadership of 

young people; 

Whereas, more than 40 years into the epidemic, the Centers 

for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in the 

United States more than 1,189,700 people are living with 

HIV, and 30,635 people were diagnosed with HIV in the 

United States in 2020; 

Whereas, in 2020, youth aged 13 to 24 years composed 20 

percent of all new HIV diagnoses in the United States; 


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•HRES 281 IH 

Whereas young people living with HIV are the least likely of 

any age group to be retained in care and have a suppressed viral load; 

Whereas 56 percent of young people living with HIV ages 13 

to 24 are unaware of their HIV status; 

Whereas African-American youth are most impacted by the 

epidemic, representing 54 percent of new transmissions 

in young people ages 13 to 24; 

Whereas young African-American gay and bisexual men are 

even more severely affected, representing 53 percent 

(2,740) of new HIV diagnoses among young gay and bisexual men; 

Whereas young gay and bisexual men accounted for 84 percent (5,161) of all new HIV diagnoses in people aged 13 

to 24 in 2020; 

Whereas the National HIV/AIDS Strategy expands the fact 

that youth experience worse HIV outcomes on status 

awareness, pre-exposure prophylaxis uptake, and health 

outcomes; 

Whereas the National HIV/AIDS Strategy recommends children and young adults with HIV need tailored and often 

more intensive medical and support services to support 

them as they grow and become young adults; 

Whereas the Division of Adolescent and School Health is the 

only Federal program supporting HIV prevention for 

adolescents in schools; 

Whereas the Nation’s largest Federal program dedicated to 

providing care and treatment for people living with HIV 

was named after Ryan White, a teenager from Indiana 

who helped educate a Nation about HIV and AIDS in the 

1980s; 


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•HRES 281 IH 

Whereas the Ryan White Part D Program is one of the national efforts to link young people living with HIV to 

medical care and support services; 

Whereas the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides youth, including those living with or impacted by 

HIV and AIDS, better access to health care coverage, 

more health insurance options, additional funding for sex 

education, a prohibition against denying people living 

with HIV access to health care, and expanded access to 

Medicaid which will support more young people living 

with HIV receiving care; and 

Whereas April 10 of each year is now recognized as ‘‘National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the goals and ideals of ‘‘National 

3 Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day’’; 

4 (2) encourages State and local governments, in5 cluding their public health agencies, education agen6 cies, schools, and media organizations to recognize 

7 and support such a day; 

8 (3) supports young people’s right to education, 

9 prevention, treatment, and care, and to live without 

10 criminalization, discrimination, oppression, and stig11 ma; 

12 (4) promotes up-to-date, inclusive, culturally re13 sponsible, and medically accurate information about 

14 HIV, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis PreP, in sex 


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•HRES 281 IH 

1 education curricula to ensure that all young people 

2 are educated about HIV, as called for in the Na3 tional HIV/AIDS Strategy; 

4 (5) supports removal of HIV laws that are sci5 entifically inaccurate and unfairly criminalize young 

6 people living with HIV for behaviors that are con7 sensual or have no risk of transmission; 

8 (6) urges youth-friendly and accessible health 

9 care services, especially access to medications such 

10 as pre-exposure prophylaxis, post-exposure prophy11 laxis, and antiretroviral therapy without parental 

12 consent, to better provide for the early identification 

13 of HIV through voluntary routine testing, and to 

14 connect those in need to clinically and culturally ap15 propriate care and treatment as early as possible; 

16 (7) supports the increase of funding for pro17 grams that support people impacted by and living 

18 with HIV, including the Centers for Disease Control 

19 and Prevention’s Division of Adolescent and School 

20 Health, the Division of STD Prevention, and the Di21 vision of HIV Prevention, the Ryan White HIV/ 

22 AIDS Program, the Medicaid program, AIDS Drug 

23 Assistance Programs, and programs that support 

24 medical mentorship, peer navigation, educating com25 munities on testing and treatment options, and peoVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR281.IH HR281

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•HRES 281 IH 

1 ple accessing PrEP, and ensure a smoother transi2 tion to adult HIV care; 

3 (8) recommends a comprehensive prevention 

4 and treatment strategy that empowers young people, 

5 parents, public health workers, educators, faith lead6 ers, and other stakeholders to fully engage with their 

7 communities and families to help decrease violence, 

8 discrimination, and stigma toward individuals who 

9 disclose their sexual orientation or HIV status; 

10 (9) calls for a generation free of HIV stigma in 

11 a manner that prioritizes youth leadership and devel12 opment in order to ensure youth involvement in deci13 sions which impact their health and well-being as 

14 well as advance a pipeline for the next generation of 

15 HIV and AIDS doctors, advocates, educators, re16 searchers, and other professionals; and 

17 (10) recognizes the direct impact from harmful 

18 legislative efforts seeking to restrict bodily autonomy 

19 for young people, such as restrictions on abortion 

20 and birth control access and bans on transgender 

21 health care, which negatively impact youth access to 

22 nonstigmatizing HIV prevention, education, con23 fidential testing and treatment, and increases risk 

24 for criminalization. 

Æ 


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