IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 233 
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness 
Day. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 27, 2010 
Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Ms. WATERS, Mr. 
MEEKS of New York, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CAO, Mr. 
GRIJALVA, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. 
SERRANO, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. NORTON, 
Mr. BERMAN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. 
JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. HONDA, and Ms. EDWARDS of 
Maryland) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
CONCURRENT 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, at the end of 
2006, 1,106,400 people were living with the HIV, and 21 
percent did not know they were infected; 
Whereas each year 56,300 people become newly infected with 
HIV in the United States, and on average, an individual 
is infected with HIV every 91⁄2 minutes; 
Whereas a total of 583,298 people have died of AIDS in the 
United States from the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epi-
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•HCON 233 IH 
demic through 2007, and African-Americans account for 
approximately 40 percent of such deaths; 
Whereas at the end of 2006, African-Americans represented 
46 percent of all people living with HIV in the United 
States, Whites represented 35 percent, Hispanics rep-
resented 18 percent, Asian-Americans and Pacific Island-
ers represented 1 percent, and American Indians and 
Alaska Natives represented less than 1 percent; 
Whereas African-Americans account for approximately 12 
percent of the population of the United States, but ac-
counted for 51 percent of all HIV/ADS cases diagnosed 
in 2007; 
Whereas although African-American teens (ages 13–19) rep-
resent only 15 percent of all teenagers in the United 
States, they accounted for 68 percent of new AIDS cases 
reported among teens in 2007; 
Whereas young gay men of color bear a disproportionate bur-
den of the epidemic, with more new HIV infections in 
2006 occurring among 13 to 29 year old African-Amer-
ican men who have sex with men (MSM) than among any 
other subpopulation of MSM; 
Whereas in 2006, African-American women accounted for 61 
percent of new HIV infections among women and had an 
infection rate that was almost 15 times higher than that 
of White women; 
Whereas among African-American men, the leading trans-
mission category of HIV infection is sexual contact with 
other men, followed by intravenous drug use and hetero-
sexual contact; 
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•HCON 233 IH 
Whereas among African-American women, the leading trans-
mission category of HIV infection is heterosexual contact, 
followed by intravenous drug use; 
Whereas the Black AIDS Institute notes that there are more 
African-Americans living with HIV in the United States 
than there are people living with HIV in 7 out of the 15 
focus countries served by the President’s Emergency 
Plan for AIDS Relief; 
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 in 2007, the rate of AIDS diagnoses for Black 
women was 22 times the rate for White women and the 
rate of AIDS diagnoses for Black men was almost 8 
times the rate for White men; 
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 in 2006, AIDS was the fourth leading cause of 
death for African-American men and the third for Afri-
can-American women, ages 25 to 44, ranking higher than 
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•HCON 233 IH 
for their respective counterparts in any other racial or 
ethnic group; 
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 Minority AIDS Initiative assists with leadership 
development of community-based organizations (CBOs), 
establishes and links provider networks, builds commu-
nity prevention infrastructure, promotes technical assist-
ance among CBOs, and raises awareness among African- 
American communities; 
Whereas, on April 7, 2009, the CDC launched a new commu-
nication campaign entitled ‘‘Act Against AIDS’’, to facili-
tate 
awareness, 
public 
education, 
health 
literacy, 
healthcare provider marketing, and highly targeted be-
havior change communication objectives in the fight 
against HIV/AIDS; 
Whereas as part of the ‘‘Act Against AIDS’’ campaign, the 
CDC launched a $10,000,000, five-year partnership with 
14 African-American organizations to ‘‘harness the col-
lective strength and reach of traditional, longstanding Af-
rican-American institutions to increase HIV-related 
awareness, knowledge, and action within black commu-
nities across the United States’’; 
Whereas the Black AIDS Media Partnership in conjunction 
with the CDC’s ‘‘Act Against AIDS’’ campaign has 
launched ‘‘Greater Than AIDS’’, a public information 
campaign designed to reach African-Americans with life- 
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•HCON 233 IH 
saving information about HIV/AIDS and to confront the 
stigma surrounding the disease; 
Whereas, on February 23, 2001, the first annual ‘‘National 
Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day’’ was organized, with 
the slogan ‘‘Get Educated, Get Involved, Get Tested’’; 
and 
Whereas February 7 of each year is now recognized as ‘‘Na-
tional Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day’’ and this year 
the slogan is ‘‘HIV/AIDS Prevention—A Choice and a 
Lifestyle’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) supports the goals and ideals of ‘‘National 
Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day’’ and recognizes 
the 10th anniversary of observing such day; 
(2) encourages State and local governments, in-
cluding their public health agencies, to recognize 
such day, to publicize its importance among their 
communities, and to encourage individuals, espe-
cially African-Americans, to get tested for HIV; 
(3) encourages national, State, and local media 
organizations to carry messages in support of ‘‘Na-
tional Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day’’; 
(4) supports the development of a national 
AIDS strategy with clear goals and objectives to re-
duce new HIV infections, especially among African- 
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•HCON 233 IH 
Americans, men who have sex with men, and other 
vulnerable communities; 
(5) supports the strengthening of stable Afri-
can-American communities; 
(6) supports reducing the impact of incarcer-
ation as a driver of new HIV infections within the 
African-American community; 
(7) supports reducing the number of HIV infec-
tions in the African-American community resulting 
from injection drug use; 
(8) 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 treatment and 
care as early as possible; and 
(9) supports appropriate funding for HIV/AIDS 
prevention, care, treatment, and housing. 
Æ 
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