And we've nearly tripled funding for the Ryan White CARE Act. At NIH, we launched a new vaccine research center and challenged science to develop an AIDS vaccine in 10 years. As today's announcement demonstrates, as the face of AIDS has changed, so have our strategies to address it. A substantial portion of our federal AIDS dollars goes to serving racial and ethnic minorities. And last month, we made a down payment on boosting the ability of communities of color to fight this health crisis, a down payment on the significant investment the President has announced today.
Today is an important milestone.
But we have miles to go before we complete the journey that Levi Coffin began, and secure health equality for all Americans. It signifies that when it really counts, Washington can pull together to respond to the real needs of real people. It signifies that we have a creative, responsive federal government. Today we take a giant step toward justice. I have known Congressman Stokes since I was a teenager.