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people are living with HIV and 14 percent of those are 
not aware of their status; 
Whereas in the United States, more than 700,000 people 
with AIDS have died since the beginning of the epidemic, 
including nearly 13,000 in 2014; 
Whereas each year nearly 40,000 people become newly diag-
nosed with HIV in the United States; 
Whereas minority communities are disproportionately affected 
by HIV in the United States; 
Whereas the CDC has found that transgender people, sex 
workers, people who inject drugs, and other vulnerable 
populations have prevention challenges that impact HIV 
health outcomes and barriers for seeking high-quality 
care; 
Whereas the CDC estimates that African Americans account 
for almost half (43 percent) of all new infections and rep-
resent more than one-third of all people living with HIV 
in the United States, despite comprising about 13 per-
cent of the population; 
Whereas in the United States, African-American women are 
18 times more likely to become newly infected with HIV 
than White women, and Hispanic women are 5 times 
more likely to have AIDS than non-Hispanic White 
women; 
Whereas among all women diagnosed with HIV at the end of 
2014, an estimated 59 percent were African American, 
20 percent were White, and 16 percent were Hispanic or 
Latina; 
Whereas, in 2018, youth aged 13 to 24 accounted for more 
than 20 percent of all new HIV diagnoses in the United 
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States, with nearly half of youth aged 13 to 24 unaware 
of their status; 
Whereas men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly 
young MSM of color, are the population most affected by 
HIV; 
Whereas, in 2018, MSM accounted for 66 percent of new di-
agnoses among men and 67 percent of all new cases; 
Whereas the national opioid epidemic is a threat to a resur-
gence of HIV cases among people who inject drugs 
(PWID), with an estimated 7 percent of new cases attrib-
utable to injection drug use; 
Whereas Southern States bear the greatest burden of HIV in 
the United States, accounting for more than half of new 
cases in 2017; 
Whereas, in order to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 
United States, on August 18, 1990, Congress enacted the 
Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency 
(CARE) Act to provide primary medical care and essen-
tial support services for people living with HIV who are 
uninsured or underinsured; 
Whereas the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program provides serv-
ices and support for over half of all people diagnosed with 
HIV in the United States and has been reauthorized by 
Congress four times since it was first created (in 1996, 
2000, 2006, and 2009); 
Whereas to further focus attention on the HIV/AIDS epi-
demic among minority communities in the United States, 
in 1998 the Minority AIDS Initiative was established to 
provide funds to State and local institutions and organi-
zations to best serve the health care costs and support 
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the needs of racial and ethnic minorities living with HIV/ 
AIDS; 
Whereas the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) re-
leased an update of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy 
targeting reducing new infections, increasing access to 
care, reducing disparities, and achieving a more coordi-
nated response by 2020; 
Whereas to address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, in 2000, 
Congress passed the Global AIDS and Tuberculosis Re-
lief Act, providing the first contribution and the founding 
framework for what became the Global Fund to Fight 
AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, which provides grants 
to developing countries to combat the 3 diseases; 
Whereas, since the Global Fund was created in 2002, donors 
have pledged more than $49,000,000,000 in funding (of 
which $15,000,000,000 has been donated by the United 
States) and distributed $42,000,000,000 to over 120 
countries; 
Whereas, as of 2018, the Global Fund has saved lives by pro-
viding antiretroviral (ARV) therapy for more than 
18,900,000 people living with HIV, providing access to 
treatment for TB for 5,300,000 people, and distributing 
over 131,000,000 insecticide-treated nets to fight ma-
laria; 
Whereas, in order to further address the global HIV/AIDS 
epidemic, in 2003, Congress and the White House cre-
ated the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 
(PEPFAR); 
Whereas, in 2013, Congress extended the President’s Emer-
gency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through 2018 
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with the PEPFAR Stewardship and Oversight Act of 
2013 to continue to address HIV, TB, and malaria; 
Whereas PEPFAR is currently supporting treatment for 
11,500,000 men, women, and children; critical care and 
support for 6,200,000 orphans and vulnerable children; 
and in fiscal year 2016, PEPFAR supported HIV testing 
and counseling for more than 74,300,000 people, includ-
ing 11,500,000 pregnant women; 
Whereas, as a result of these efforts, more than 11,000,000 
AIDS-related deaths and nearly 17,000,000 HIV trans-
missions have been averted worldwide since PEPFAR 
began; 
Whereas the United States Federal Government has an-
nounced this year the ‘‘Ending the HIV Epidemic: A 
Plan for America’’ initiative to end domestic trans-
missions and the AIDS epidemic within the decade; 
Whereas the international community has repeatedly and col-
lectively committed to the goals of ending the HIV/AIDS 
epidemic by 2030 and creating an AIDS-free generation; 
Whereas the concept of World AIDS Day originated in 1988 
and was established to focus attention on the HIV/AIDS 
pandemic; 
Whereas December 1 is now recognized as World AIDS Day 
and has been recognized by governments, lawmakers, and 
organizations around the world; and 
Whereas World AIDS Day 2019 is focused on communities 
making the difference through recognizing the essential 
role that communities play in the AIDS response at the 
international, national, and local levels: Now, therefore, 
be it 
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Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) supports the goals and ideals of World 
AIDS Day and recognizes the 29th anniversary of 
observing this day; 
(2) commends the President, State govern-
ments, and local governments, including State and 
local public health agencies, for recognizing this day, 
for publicizing its importance among their commu-
nities, for encouraging individuals to undergo testing 
for HIV, and for their other ongoing efforts 
strengthened by the Ending the HIV Epidemic ini-
tiative; 
(3) commends national, State, and local media 
organizations for carrying messages in support of 
World AIDS Day; 
(4) supports the goal of ending HIV/AIDS, 
both in the United States and around the world; 
(5) supports continued funding for prevention, 
care, treatment services, and research programs for 
persons living with HIV/AIDS in the United States, 
including, through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS 
Treatment Extension Act, the Minority HIV/AIDS 
Initiative, the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention, the National Institutes of Health, the Sub-
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stance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis-
tration, the Office of Minority Health, and the Of-
fice of the Secretary of Health and Human Services; 
(6) supports the implementation of the National 
HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States: Updated 
to 2020 (NHAS) and achieving the goals within the 
NHAS Federal Action Plan; 
(7) supports continued funding for PEPFAR 
and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, 
and Malaria to provide prevention, care, and treat-
ment to combat HIV/AIDS in low-income and mid-
dle-income countries; 
(8) supports the goal of improving access to 
comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, 
care, and support programs; 
(9) supports the goal of protecting human 
rights for all people, including vulnerable and mar-
ginalized populations; and 
(10) supports efforts to address the factors that 
make populations vulnerable to HIV/AIDS by com-
bating poverty and hunger, expanding educational 
opportunities for children, and empowering women 
and girls. 
Æ 
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