IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 59 
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness 
Day. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 6, 2013 
Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. SEWELL of Ala-
bama, Mr. HIMES, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. 
WATT, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HAHN, Ms. 
SCHWARTZ, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SMITH of Wash-
ington, Mr. LEWIS, Ms. JACKSON
LEE, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. 
BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. MOORE, Mr. CON-
YERS, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CICILLINE, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. HASTINGS of 
Florida, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of 
Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. RICH-
MOND, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. WATERS, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. BISHOP 
of Georgia, Mr. RUSH, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. ELLISON, 
Ms. NORTON, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. HONDA, Mr. SERRANO, 
and Ms. EDWARDS) submitted the following resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Black HIV/ 
AIDS Awareness Day. 
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC) estimates that in the United States, more than 
1,100,000 people are living with HIV, and 21 percent do 
not know they are infected; 
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Whereas in 2010, approximately 47,129 people were diag-
nosed with HIV in the United States, about 1 person in-
fected with HIV every 11 minutes; 
Whereas African-Americans represented 44 percent of all 
people living with HIV in the United States in 2009; 
Whereas in 2010, nearly 21,000 African-Americans were di-
agnosed with HIV/AIDS, contracting HIV at a rate 7.9 
times as high as the rate in Whites; 
Whereas although African-American teenagers (ages 13 to 
19) represent only 15 percent of all teenagers in the 
United States, they accounted for 69 percent of new HIV 
cases reported among teenagers in 2010; 
Whereas new HIV infections among African-American men 
who have sex with men (MSM) ages 13 to 29, increased 
48 percent from 2006 through 2009; 
Whereas young gay men of color bear a disproportionate bur-
den of the epidemic, with the majority of new HIV infec-
tions in 2010 occurring among 13- to 24-year-old Afri-
can-American MSM, accounting for 45 percent of new in-
fections among African-American MSM and 55 percent 
of all new infections among young MSM; 
Whereas in 2010, African-American women accounted for 68 
percent of new HIV infections among women and had an 
infection rate that was 20 times higher than that of 
White women; 
Whereas among African-American men, the leading trans-
mission category of HIV infection in 2010 was sexual 
contact with other men, followed by heterosexual contact 
and intravenous drug use; 
Whereas in 2008, HIV/AIDS prevalence among men in pris-
ons was 1.4 percent; 
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Whereas in 2010, African-American males were imprisoned 
at a rate nearly 7 times that of White males; 
Whereas among African-American women, the leading trans-
mission category of HIV infection is heterosexual contact, 
followed by intravenous drug use; 
Whereas the CDC notes that socioeconomic issues impact the 
rates of HIV infection among African-Americans, and 
studies have found an association between higher AIDS 
rates and lower incomes; 
Whereas African-Americans are diagnosed with AIDS later 
than their nonminority counterparts, are confronted with 
barriers in accessing care and treatment, and face higher 
morbidity and mortality outcomes; 
Whereas the CDC estimates that among persons whose diag-
nosis of AIDS had been made during 1997 to 2004, Afri-
can-Americans had the poorest survival rates of any ra-
cial or ethnic group, with 66 percent surviving after 9 
years compared with 67 percent of American Indians and 
Alaska Natives, 74 percent of Hispanics, 75 percent of 
Whites, and 81 percent of Asians and Pacific Islanders; 
Whereas approximately 619,400 people have died of AIDS in 
the United States from the beginning of the HIV/AIDS 
epidemic through 2012, and African-Americans account 
for approximately 40 percent of such deaths; 
Whereas in 2007, HIV was the ninth leading cause of death 
for all African-Americans, and the third leading cause of 
death for both African-American men and African-Amer-
ican women between the ages of 35 to 44; 
Whereas life-saving treatment is also proven prevention, and 
research shows that antiretroviral drugs can reduce the 
risk of transmitting HIV/AIDS by up to 96 percent; 
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Whereas the Food and Drug Administration has approved 
pre-exposure prophylaxis as prevention for people who are 
HIV-negative; 
Whereas a sequester that triggers a 5.2-percent reduction 
across nondefense spending, as part of the Budget Con-
trol Act, would result in harmful cuts to programs that 
would significantly undermine the domestic HIV/AIDS 
response; 
Whereas according to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Re-
search, and the National Minority AIDS Council 
(NMAC), such cuts to domestic HIV/AIDS services and 
research would result in the loss of HIV/AIDS treatment 
for 6,500 people of color in the AIDS Drug Assistance 
Program, as well as housing assistance for 1,850 house-
holds, and delay the development of life-saving treatment, 
vaccines, and behavioral interventions; 
Whereas in 1998, Congress and the Clinton Administration 
created the National Minority AIDS Initiative to help co-
ordinate funding, build capacity, and provide prevention, 
care, and treatment services within the African-American, 
Hispanic, Asian Pacific Islander, and Native American 
communities; 
Whereas the National Minority AIDS Initiative assists with 
leadership development of community-based organizations 
(CBOs), establishes and links provider networks, builds 
community prevention infrastructure, promotes technical 
assistance among CBOs, and raises awareness among Af-
rican-American communities; 
Whereas in 2012 the National Association for the Advance-
ment of Colored People (NAACP) released a manual of 
best practices for faith leaders to mobilize communities, 
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advocate for community support for people infected with 
and affected by HIV/AIDS, and organize dialogues on 
HIV/AIDS as a social justice issue as part of ‘‘The Black 
Church and HIV: The Social Justice Imperative’’; 
Whereas the first annual National Black HIV/AIDS Aware-
ness Day was organized on February 23, 2001; and 
Whereas February 7 of each year is now recognized as Na-
tional Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day with the slogan 
‘‘Get Educated! Get Tested! Get Involved! Get Treated!’’: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the goals and ideals of National 
Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day; 
(2) encourages State and local governments, in-
cluding their public health agencies, and media orga-
nizations to recognize and support such day, to pub-
licize its importance among their communities, and 
to all encourage individuals, especially African-Amer-
icans, to get tested for HIV; 
(3) commends the work of AIDS service organi-
zations and community and faith-based organiza-
tions that are providing effective, evidence-based, 
prevention, treatment, care, and support services to 
people living with and vulnerable to HIV/AIDS; 
(4) supports the implementation of the National 
HIV/AIDS Strategy and its goals to reduce new 
HIV infections, increase access to care and improve 
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health outcomes for people living with HIV, reduce 
HIV-related disparities and health inequities, and 
achieve a more coordinated national response to the 
HIV/AIDS epidemic; 
(5) supports reducing the impact of incarcer-
ation as a driver of new HIV infections within the 
African-American community; 
(6) supports reducing the number of HIV infec-
tions in the African-American community resulting 
from intravenous drug use; 
(7) supports effective and comprehensive HIV 
prevention education programs to promote the early 
identification of HIV through voluntary routine test-
ing, and to connect those in need to clinically and 
culturally appropriate care and treatment as early as 
possible; 
(8) supports appropriate funding for HIV/AIDS 
prevention, care, treatment, research, and housing, 
including community based approaches to fight stig-
ma, discrimination, and homophobia; and 
(9) encourages a comprehensive prevention and 
treatment strategy that empowers public health 
workers, educators, faith leaders, and other stake-
holders to engage their communities to help decrease 
violence, discrimination, and stigma towards individ-
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uals who disclose their sexual orientation or HIV 
status, and normalize voluntary testing practices. 
Æ 
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