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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 927 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 927

       Commemorating and supporting the goals of World AIDS Day.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 16, 2024

 Mr. Booker submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
       Commemorating and supporting the goals of World AIDS Day.

Whereas, as of the end of 2023, an estimated 39,900,000 people were living with 
        human immunodeficiency virus (referred to in this preamble as ``HIV'') 
        or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (referred to in this preamble as 
        ``AIDS''), including 1,400,000 children;
Whereas, in the United States, more than 790,000 people with AIDS have died 
        since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, including over 19,000 deaths 
        among people with diagnosed HIV in 2022, with the disease 
        disproportionately affecting communities of color;
Whereas, in 2022, over 37,000 people became newly diagnosed with HIV in the 
        United States;
Whereas, while all races and ethnicities are affected by HIV in the United 
        States, communities of color are disproportionately impacted;
Whereas, in order to address the HIV epidemic in the United States, on August 
        18, 1990, Congress enacted the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources 
        Emergency Act (Public Law 101-381; 104 Stat. 576) (commonly referred to 
        as the ``Ryan White 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;
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 health care costs and support the needs 
        of racial and ethnic minorities living with HIV;
Whereas the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals established a global 
        target to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030;
Whereas, in order to further address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, in 2003, 
        Congress and the Administration of President George W. Bush, with bi-
        partisan support, created the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 
        (referred to in this preamble as ``PEPFAR''), which, for more than 2 
        decades, has served as the primary policy instrument of the United 
        States to address HIV/AIDS in the developing world;
Whereas the United States PEPFAR program remains the largest commitment in 
        history by any country to combat a single disease;
Whereas 25,000,000 lives have been saved through PEPFAR;
Whereas, as of September 30, 2023, PEPFAR has supported treatment for more than 
        20,000,000 people, and has enabled 5,500,000 infants of mothers living 
        with HIV to be born HIV-free;
Whereas, in fiscal year 2023, PEPFAR directly supported HIV testing and 
        counseling for 71,100,000 people;
Whereas the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was launched in 
        2002, and, as of 2023, has helped provide antiretroviral therapy to 
        approximately 25,000,000 people living with HIV/AIDS and to 695,000 
        pregnant women to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS to their 
        children, saving an estimated 65,000,000 lives;
Whereas the United States is the largest donor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, 
        Tuberculosis and Malaria, and every $1 contributed by the United States 
        leverages an additional $2 from other donors, as required by law;
Whereas considerable progress has been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS, 
        including a nearly 40-percent reduction in new HIV infections, a 60-
        percent reduction in new HIV infections among children, and a 50-percent 
        reduction in the number of AIDS-related deaths between 2010 and 2023;
Whereas, approximately 30,700,000 people had access to antiretroviral therapy in 
        2023, compared to only 7,800,000 people who had access to such therapy 
        in 2010;
Whereas research funded by the National Institutes of Health found that HIV 
        treatment not only saves the lives of people living with HIV, but people 
        living with HIV on effective antiretroviral therapy and who are durably 
        virally suppressed cannot sexually transmit HIV, proving that HIV 
        treatment is prevention;
Whereas it is estimated that, without treatment, half of all infants living with 
        HIV will die before their second birthday;
Whereas, despite the remarkable progress in combating HIV, significant 
        challenges remain;
Whereas there were approximately 1,300,000 new HIV infections in 2023 globally, 
        structural barriers continue to make testing and treatment programs 
        inaccessible to highly vulnerable populations, and an estimated 
        5,400,000 people living with HIV globally still do not know their HIV 
        status;
Whereas children living with HIV are significantly less likely than adults to 
        know their HIV status, and, as a result, are prevented from accessing 
        life-saving treatment;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that over 37,000 
        people were diagnosed with HIV in the United States in 2022, and 13 
        percent of the 1,200,000 people in the United States living with HIV are 
        not aware of their HIV status;
Whereas men who have sex with men (referred to in this preamble as ``MSM''), 
        particularly young MSM of color, are the population most affected by HIV 
        in the United States;
Whereas southern States bear the greatest burden of HIV in the United States, 
        accounting for 49 percent of new infections in 2022;
Whereas people living with HIV are frequently susceptible to other infections, 
        such as hepatitis B and C and tuberculosis;
Whereas the opioid and heroin epidemics have led to increased numbers of new HIV 
        infections among people who inject drugs, and the crisis has 
        disproportionately affected nonurban areas, where HIV prevalence rates 
        have been low historically and have limited services for HIV prevention 
        and treatment and substance use disorder treatment;
Whereas December 1 of each year is internationally recognized as ``World AIDS 
        Day''; and
Whereas, in 2024, commemorations for World AIDS Day will recognize the essential 
        role of community and collective action to sustain and accelerate HIV 
        progress in the global HIV/AIDS response: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of World AIDS Day, 
        including the goal to achieve zero new human immunodeficiency 
        virus (referred to in this resolution as ``HIV'') infections, 
        zero discrimination, and zero acquired immunodeficiency 
        syndrome (referred to in this resolution as ``AIDS'')-related 
        deaths;
            (2) commends achievements in combating HIV/AIDS through the 
        Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act (Public 
        Law 101-381; 104 Stat. 576), the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment 
        Extension Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-87; 123 Stat. 2885), the 
        Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Centers for Disease Control 
        and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the 
        Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the 
        Office of Minority Health, and the Office of the Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services;
            (3) commends achievements in combating HIV/AIDS made by the 
        President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Global Fund to 
        Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the Joint United 
        Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS;
            (4) supports efforts to end the HIV epidemic in the United 
        States and around the world by 2030;
            (5) supports continued funding for prevention, care, and 
        treatment services, and research programs for communities 
        impacted by HIV and people living with HIV in the United States 
        and globally;
            (6) urges, in order to ensure that an AIDS-free generation 
        is achievable, rapid action by all countries toward further 
        expansion and scale-up of testing and antiretroviral treatment 
        programs, including efforts to reduce growing disparities and 
        improve access for children to life-saving medications;
            (7) encourages the scaling up of comprehensive prevention 
        services, including biomedical and structural interventions, to 
        ensure inclusive access to programs and appropriate protections 
        for all people at risk of contracting HIV, especially in 
        communities disproportionately impacted;
            (8) calls for greater focus on the HIV-related 
        vulnerabilities of women and girls, including women and girls 
        at risk for or who have survived violence or faced 
        discrimination as a result of the disease;
            (9) supports continued leadership by the United States in 
        domestic, bilateral, multilateral, and private sector efforts 
        to fight HIV;
            (10) encourages input from civil society in the development 
        and implementation of domestic and global HIV policies and 
        programs that guide the response;
            (11) encourages and supports greater degrees of ownership 
        and shared responsibility by developing countries in order to 
        ensure the sustainability of the domestic responses to HIV/AIDS 
        by those countries; and
            (12) urges other members of the international community to 
        sustain and scale up their support for and financial 
        contributions to efforts around the world to combat HIV.
                                 <all>
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