[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 974 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 974
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS
Awareness Day.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 9, 2022
Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Ms. Titus, Ms. Williams of Georgia,
Ms. Sewell, Ms. Matsui, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Rush, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Watson
Coleman, Mr. Kilmer, and Mr. Costa) submitted the following resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in
addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS
Awareness Day.
Whereas 1,700,000 individuals are newly infected with human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) every year, including 40,000 individuals in the United
States;
Whereas, in the United States, more than 770,000 individuals with acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) have died since the beginning of the
HIV epidemic, including nearly 16,000 deaths among individuals diagnosed
with HIV in 2018;
Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
Black/African-American, Latino, Asian-American, American Indian, Alaska
Native, and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander individuals are
disproportionately affected by HIV in the United States;
Whereas, according to the CDC, Black/African-American, Latino, and White gay and
bisexual men and Black/African-American heterosexual women bear the
greatest burden of new HIV infections in the United States;
Whereas homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia are associated with minority
stress (high stress levels faced by members of stigmatized groups) and
may contribute to sexual behaviors that can increase the risk of HIV
transmission and create barriers to preventative care and treatment for
HIV/AIDS;
Whereas, among the 3,000,000 HIV testing events reported to the CDC in 2017, the
percentage of transgender individuals who received a new HIV diagnosis
was 3 times the national average for all individuals;
Whereas, despite significant gains, every week 6,000 adolescent girls and young
women are infected with HIV worldwide;
Whereas inequitable gender norms, transactional sex, sexual violence, sexually
transmitted infections (STIs), and early pregnancy continue to drive new
HIV infections in many countries and young women account for 61 percent
of new HIV infections among young individuals in sub-Saharan Africa;
Whereas, from 2015 to 2019, the rate of new HIV infections among Black/African-
American women was 11 times that of White women and 4 times that of
Latina women;
Whereas, as of the end of 2019, an estimated 38,000,000 individuals globally
were living with HIV/AIDS, including 1,800,000 children;
Whereas, in the United States, almost 40 percent of new HIV infections occur in
individuals from 13 to 20 years of age;
Whereas, among new adolescent HIV diagnoses in the United States in 2019, 85
percent occurred in males, 12 percent occurred in females, and 3 percent
occurred in transgender females;
Whereas, in the United States in 2019, individuals from 13 to 24 years of age
comprised 21 percent of the 36,398 new HIV diagnoses;
Whereas 44 percent of individuals from 13 to 24 years of age living with HIV are
unaware of their HIV status;
Whereas Black/African-American youth are the group most affected by the HIV
epidemic, comprising 57 percent of new transmissions in individuals who
are 13 to 24 years of age;
Whereas, when a woman living with HIV receives comprehensive care before,
during, and after a pregnancy, the risk of passing HIV to the child is
less than 1 percent;
Whereas women and adolescent girls face serious challenges with respect to
prevention of infection due to inadequate access to evidence- and
rights-based, age-appropriate, and comprehensive sexuality and HIV-
prevention education and tools, including--
(1) pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and testing;
(2) sexual- and gender-based violence prevention and care services; and
(3) sexual and reproductive health information and services, including
screening and treatment for STIs and access to a full range of
contraceptive methods, including male and female condoms;
Whereas the Division of Adolescent and School Health of the CDC is the only
Federal program supporting HIV prevention for adolescents in schools;
Whereas the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides youth, including
those living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, better access to healthcare
coverage, more health insurance options, additional funding for sexual
education, a prohibition against denying individuals living with HIV
access to healthcare, and expanded access to Medicaid, which will
support more youth living with HIV to receive care;
Whereas, in 2021, the Biden administration, as stated in the 2022-2025 HIV
National Strategic Plan (HIV Plan), committed to reenergize and
strengthen a whole-of-society response to the HIV epidemic while
supporting people with HIV and reducing HIV-associated morbidity and
mortality;
Whereas the Biden administration's National Strategy on Gender Equity and
Equality states a commitment to ``address sociocultural factors that
compromise access to care for women and girls, rendering them more
vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, unattended births, and other poor health
outcomes--including by engaging men and boys as partners in addressing
gender inequities in health'';
Whereas the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations established a
global target to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, and the
United Nations is committed to achieve gender equality and empower all
women and girls;
Whereas the document published by UNAIDS and titled ``Global Aids Strategy 2021-
2026--End Inequalities. End AIDS''--
(1) reinforces the global need for ``tailored, combination HIV
prevention packages . . . including scale-up of underutilized prevention
approaches and community-led responses, such as comprehensive sexuality
education, sexual and reproductive health (including contraception), harm
reduction services, condoms, lubricants, PrEP and U=U, and emerging
prevention tools, such as antiretroviral containing vaginal rings''; and
(2) includes access to sexual and reproductive health services in the
global targets of the Strategy;
Whereas Federal and State criminal law does not reflect the 4 decades of medical
advances and discoveries made with regard to transmission and treatment
of HIV/AIDS;
Whereas 2022 marks the 16th annual observance of National Women and Girls HIV/
AIDS Awareness Day;
Whereas the 2021 National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day theme, ``You.
Me. WE. Changing the face of HIV'', highlights the role that everyone
can play in HIV prevention, including individuals, community
organizations, healthcare professionals, businesses, and faith
institutions;
Whereas the Office on Women's Health and the Office of Infectious Disease and
HIV/AIDS Policy of the Department of Health and Human Services, HIV
advocates, and individuals living with HIV play a critical role in
helping recognize the effect of HIV/AIDS on women and girls; and
Whereas each year on March 10, individuals, organizations, and policymakers
across the United States participate in National Women and Girls HIV/
AIDS Awareness Day to increase awareness of, spark conversations on, and
highlight the work being done to reduce the incidence of HIV among women
and girls while showing support for those with HIV: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the progress made over 40 years, and
recommits to bipartisan efforts, to end the HIV epidemic in the
United States and globally;
(2) calls for greater focus on the HIV-related
vulnerabilities of women and girls, including those at risk of,
or who have survived or faced, violence or discrimination as a
result of the disease;
(3) supports strong, sustained investment in prevention,
care, treatment services, and research programs, including
efforts to reduce disparities and improve access to life-saving
medications, for women and girls affected by HIV and
individuals diagnosed with HIV in the United States and
globally;
(4) supports the implementation of the HIV Plan and its
goals to reduce new HIV infections, increase access to care and
improve health outcomes for women and girls living with HIV,
reduce HIV-related disparities and health inequities, and
achieve a more coordinated national response to the HIV
epidemic;
(5) supports the investment of the United States
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in the
Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe
(DREAMS) partnership, which aims to significantly reduce new
HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women through
evidence-based, multi-sectoral approaches;
(6) encourages PEPFAR to increase investment in the DREAMS
partnership;
(7) encourages youth-friendly, culturally responsive,
inclusive, and accessible healthcare services, especially
access without parental consent to medications such as pre- and
post-exposure prophylaxis and antiretroviral therapy, to better
provide for the early identification of HIV through voluntary
routine testing and to connect those in need to clinically and
culturally appropriate care and treatment as early as possible;
(8) encourages continued investment and engagement across
foreign assistance programs and diplomatic efforts to--
(A) address violence against women and girls;
(B) combat discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation and gender identity; and
(C) recognize the inability of adolescent girls to
access a full range of sexual and reproductive health
services and rights as a key driver of the HIV
epidemic; and
(9) promotes access to up-to-date, inclusive, culturally
responsive, and medically accurate information about HIV, such
as information on pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis, in sexual
education curricula to ensure that all individuals, including
women and girls, are educated about HIV, as called for in the
2022-2025 HIV National Strategic Plan.
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