Title: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in support of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis research, education, and usage, and addressing the barriers to receiving this treatment, especially for communities of color, gay and bisexual men, and transgender people.
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Recognizes the value of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as an effective prevention tool in combating HIV.
Expresses support for the research, education, and usage of PrEP.
Calls on Congress to increase funding to existing programs that work to educate the public and health care professionals about PrEP.
Calls on the Department of Health and Human Services to review outreach efforts of HIV prevention programs and to study solutions regarding barriers to PrEP access.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 960 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 960

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in support of HIV 
pre-exposure prophylaxis research, education, and usage, and addressing 
the barriers to receiving this treatment, especially for communities of 
          color, gay and bisexual men, and transgender people.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 25, 2018

Mrs. Watson Coleman (for herself, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Grijalva, 
 Ms. Norton, and Mr. Pocan) submitted the following resolution; which 
          was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in support of HIV 
pre-exposure prophylaxis research, education, and usage, and addressing 
the barriers to receiving this treatment, especially for communities of 
          color, gay and bisexual men, and transgender people.

Whereas pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is medication that is used to help 
        prevent the contraction of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV);
Whereas currently PrEP is a daily pill consisting of two medications, tenofovir 
        and emtricitabine, that an individual can take orally, which can greatly 
        reduce the likelihood of contracting HIV;
Whereas if used properly, PrEP can reduce the risk of contracting HIV from sex 
        by up to 99 percent and can reduce the risk of contracting HIV among 
        people who inject drugs by more than 70 percent;
Whereas PrEP can be used by anyone who currently does not have HIV and is at 
        substantial risk of contracting the virus;
Whereas quarterly screening for sexually transmitted infections (STI), including 
        testing at extra-genital sites, significantly increases detection of 
        gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis for those on PrEP, providing 
        opportunities for prompt treatment, partner therapy, and prevention of 
        STI-related morbidity;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's HIV/AIDS prevention 
        efforts are under the direction of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, 
        Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention whose mission includes 
        preventing HIV infection and reducing the incidence of HIV-related 
        illness and death;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting projects 
        such as Project PrIDE and Project THRIVE which work to support State and 
        local health department demonstration projects for providing 
        comprehensive HIV prevention and care services for the LGBTQA community 
        and specific communities of color;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 
        approximately 500,000 African Americans and nearly 300,000 Latinos 
        across the Nation could have potentially benefitted from PrEP based on 
        CDC clinical guidelines in 2015-2016, but only 7,000 prescriptions were 
        filled for African Americans and only 7,600 for Latinos during the same 
        time period;
Whereas Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health used a national 
        prescription database to estimate that 61,298 people were using PrEP as 
        of 2017, the majority of whom were White men, over the age of 24, and 
        living in the Northeast, meaning that the medication is not reaching 
        communities of color who are at higher risk of contracting HIV;
Whereas more work needs to be done to further educate the public and health care 
        professionals about PrEP to address this disparity;
Whereas the United States should continue to commit itself to the goal of 
        eradicating HIV; and
Whereas it is more cost effective to prevent diseases than to treat them: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the value of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) 
        as an effective prevention tool in combating human 
        immunodeficiency virus (HIV);
            (2) supports the research, education, and usage of the 
        current PrEP and encourages the medical community, both private 
        and public, to continue working on creating new PrEP 
        medications to reduce the spread of HIV;
            (3) calls on Congress to increase funding to existing 
        programs that are working to educate the public and healthcare 
        professionals about PrEP, how it works, how and when to 
        prescribe these medicines, and how individuals who qualify to 
        take the regimen can obtain it; and
            (4) calls on the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
        to--
                    (A) conduct a departmentwide review on the outreach 
                efforts of all HIV prevention programs in agencies such 
                as the Health Resources and Service Administration, the 
                Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 
                Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
                Administration, and others to ensure that they are 
                conducting effective outreach, especially to 
                communities of color, gay and bisexual men, and 
                transgender people; and
                    (B) conduct a study on the solutions to the 
                barriers individuals face in accessing PrEP medication 
                and its associated services, such as HIV and other STI 
                screening, especially among communities of color, gay 
                and bisexual men, and transgender people.
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