IV
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 155
Expressing the sense of Congress that a comprehensive program be developed
and implemented by the Federal Government to deal with the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syn-
drome (AIDS).
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 27, 1993
Mr. BURTON of Indiana submitted the following concurrent resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress that a comprehensive pro-
gram be developed and implemented by the Federal Gov-
ernment to deal with the Human Immunodeficiency
Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS).
Whereas AIDS is currently a noncurable, fatal disease caused
by HIV infection;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has, for five
years, estimated that as many as 1.5 million individuals
in the United States are infected with the HIV virus
without their knowledge;
HCON 155 IH
Whereas, as of September 11, 1993, the CDC has identified
329,216 individuals in the United States who have either
died from AIDS or currently have the disease;
Whereas the CDC’s new 1993 definition for AIDS could ex-
pand the total number of recorded AIDS cases to nearly
350,000 by year’s end;
Whereas the total number of recorded cases of AIDS has
been nearly doubling every two years since the discovery
of the disease;
Whereas certain projections from these figures indicate that
by the mid-1990s the United States will have close to 1
million individuals who have either died from AIDS or
currently have the disease;
Whereas the outward symptoms of HIV infection can remain
dormant for up to ten years or more in an infected indi-
vidual;
Whereas the lifetime cost of medically treating one HIV-in-
fected individual is approximately $100,000;
Whereas 75 percent of individuals with reported AIDS cases
in other parts of the world were infected with the HIV
virus through heterosexual contact;
Whereas former United States Surgeon General Antonia C.
Novello has stated that the fastest growing percentage of
new HIV infections in the United States are resulting
from heterosexual transmission;
Whereas a majority of American teenagers and college-age
students are sexually active;
Whereas the CDC in 1988 estimated that three out of every
1,000 college-age students were infected with the HIV
virus;
HCON 155 IH
Whereas in Washington, DC alone a 300-percent increase in
HIV infection among teenagers between 1988 and 1990
has been documented;
Whereas medical experts are still unsure as to all the possible
transmission routes of the HIV virus;
Whereas HIV transmission between health care workers and
patients during invasive procedures has been documented;
Whereas AIDS is a preventable disease;
Whereas the HIV infection pandemic has been treated like a
civil rights issue rather than a public health issue;
Whereas the United States has the medical and financial re-
sources available to address the HIV infection pandemic;
and
Whereas Congress has failed to address the HIV infection
pandemic in a comprehensive manner: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that a com-
prehensive program be developed and implemented by the
Federal Government to deal with HIV and AIDS, and that
this program should include the following aspects: routine
HIV testing for individuals in the United States between
14 and 55 years of age; contact tracing of HIV-infected
individuals for possible transmission routes; government-
assisted medical and psychological treatment; expanded
medical research; civil rights protections for HIV-infected
persons; public education campaigns about HIV’s effects
HCON 155 IH
and modes of transmission; and penalties for individuals
who knowingly spread the HIV virus.
Æ