IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 133 

Commending the progress made by anti-tuberculosis programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 21, 2013 

Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. HONDA, 

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. 

PAYNE, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, and Ms. LOFGREN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Energy 

and Commerce, 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 

RESOLUTION 

Commending the progress made by anti-tuberculosis 

programs. 

Whereas tuberculosis (TB) is the second leading fatal global 

infectious disease behind HIV/AIDS, claiming 3 people 

each minute and 1,400,000 lives each year; 

Whereas the global TB pandemic and the spread of drug-resistant TB present a persistent public health threat to 

the United States, and cases of drug-resistant TB in the 

United States have increased; 

Whereas TB treatment is long and arduous, ranging from 6 

months to 2 years, and requires multiple medications, 


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and the side effects of treatment for drug-resistant TB 

can include acute pain and hearing loss; 

Whereas periodic TB drug shortages have occurred in many 

countries, including the United States, because of insufficient production by manufacturers and supply chain 

problems; 

Whereas the first new drug to treat TB in the last 40 years 

was approved by the FDA in January 2013; 

Whereas diabetic patients are 3 times more likely to develop 

TB compared to those without diabetes; 

Whereas TB is the leading killer of people with HIV/AIDS 

in the developing world, more than 1,000 people infected 

with HIV die every day from tuberculosis, and there is 

also a critical need for new TB drugs that can safely be 

taken concurrently with antiretroviral therapy for HIV; 

Whereas health care workers are 2 to 3 times more likely to 

contract TB than the general population, yet protection 

from infection is inadequate in many countries; 

Whereas TB is an under-recognized problem in children and 

current pediatric treatments and diagnostics are inadequate; 

Whereas the disease can have devastating long-term health 

effects including deafness, blindness, and paralysis, even 

after cure; 

Whereas TB is the third leading killer of adult women, and 

the stigma associated with TB disproportionately affects 

women, often causing delays in seeking care and interfering with treatment adherence; 


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Whereas breadwinners who become ill with TB are often too 

sick to work for weeks or months, which can lead to financial catastrophe for their families; 

Whereas the Institute of Medicine (IOM) found that the resurgence of TB in the United States between 1985 and 

1992 was caused by cuts in TB control funding and the 

spread of HIV/AIDS; 

Whereas the numbers of TB cases in the United States continue to decline; 

Whereas drug-resistant TB that appears resistant to all 

medication has been found in India and South Africa, 

and the United States has had more than 28 cases of Extensively Drug-Resistant TB (XDR–TB) over the last 

decade, with 6 cases in 2011 alone; 

Whereas there are indications that drugs sold over the 

counter in pharmacies in several countries with poor national drug control systems may be fake or sub-standard; 

Whereas African-Americans are 8 times more likely to have 

TB than Caucasians, and significant disparities exist 

among other minorities in the United States, including 

Native Americans, Asian-Americans, and Hispanic-Americans; 

Whereas although drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines for TB 

exist, many are antiquated and are increasingly inadequate for controlling the global epidemic; 

Whereas the TB vaccine, BCG, provides some protection to 

children, but it has little or no efficacy in adults; 

Whereas progress has been made in vaccine research, with 

more than a dozen vaccine candidates in clinical trials; 


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Whereas enactment of the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde 

United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008 and 

the Comprehensive TB Elimination Act provided a historic United States commitment to the global eradication 

of TB, leading to the successful treatment of 4,500,000 

new TB patients and 90,000 new multi-drug-resistant 

cases by 2013, while providing additional treatment 

through coordinated multilateral efforts; 

Whereas an estimated 20,000,000 people are alive today as 

a direct result of TB programs; 

Whereas a new, United States-developed diagnostic technology, called Xpert, is revolutionizing the TB response; 

Whereas TB-related deaths among people living with HIV in 

Africa have declined by 28 percent since 2004; 

Whereas the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provides financial and technical assistance to nearly 32 highly burdened TB countries, supports 

the development of new diagnostic and treatment tools, 

and is authorized to support research to develop new vaccines to combat TB; 

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

(CDC), working in partnership with States and territories of the United States, directs the national TB elimination program and essential national TB surveillance, 

technical assistance, and prevention activities and supports the development of new diagnostic, treatment, and 

prevention tools to combat TB; 

Whereas the United States President’s Emergency Plan for 

AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) supports programs to integrate 

the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of TB into HIV 


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services, as well as programs to integrate HIV prevention, testing, care, and treatment into TB programs; 

Whereas the National Institutes of Health, through its many 

institutes and centers, plays the leading role in basic and 

clinical research into the identification, treatment, and 

prevention of TB; 

Whereas the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and 

Malaria provides 90 percent of all international financing 

for TB programs worldwide and has supported the detection and treatment of 9,700,000 cases of TB; and 

Whereas March 24, 2013, is World Tuberculosis Day, commemorating the date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the 

bacteria that causes tuberculosis: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the goals of World Tuberculosis 

3 Day to raise awareness about tuberculosis; 

4 (2) commends the progress made by United 

5 States-led anti-tuberculosis programs; and 

6 (3) reaffirms its commitment to global tuber7 culosis control made through the Tom Lantos and 

8 Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership 

9 Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Re10 authorization Act of 2008. 

Æ 


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