Text of US HR 281 (2023)

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 281 Supporting the goals and ideals of ‘‘National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day’’. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 6, 2023 Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. JACOBS, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. CHU, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. EVANS, and Ms. SEWELL) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Supporting the goals and ideals of ‘‘National Youth HIV/ AIDS Awareness Day’’. Whereas ‘‘National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day’’ is a nationwide observance that calls on people to take action to invest in the health, education, and leadership of young people; Whereas, more than 40 years into the epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in the United States more than 1,189,700 people are living with HIV, and 30,635 people were diagnosed with HIV in the United States in 2020; Whereas, in 2020, youth aged 13 to 24 years composed 20 percent of all new HIV diagnoses in the United States; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR281.IH HR281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HRES 281 IH Whereas young people living with HIV are the least likely of any age group to be retained in care and have a sup- pressed viral load; Whereas 56 percent of young people living with HIV ages 13 to 24 are unaware of their HIV status; Whereas African-American youth are most impacted by the epidemic, representing 54 percent of new transmissions in young people ages 13 to 24; Whereas young African-American gay and bisexual men are even more severely affected, representing 53 percent (2,740) of new HIV diagnoses among young gay and bi- sexual men; Whereas young gay and bisexual men accounted for 84 per- cent (5,161) of all new HIV diagnoses in people aged 13 to 24 in 2020; Whereas the National HIV/AIDS Strategy expands the fact that youth experience worse HIV outcomes on status awareness, pre-exposure prophylaxis uptake, and health outcomes; Whereas the National HIV/AIDS Strategy recommends chil- dren and young adults with HIV need tailored and often more intensive medical and support services to support them as they grow and become young adults; Whereas the Division of Adolescent and School Health is the only Federal program supporting HIV prevention for adolescents in schools; Whereas the Nation’s largest Federal program dedicated to providing care and treatment for people living with HIV was named after Ryan White, a teenager from Indiana who helped educate a Nation about HIV and AIDS in the 1980s; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR281.IH HR281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HRES 281 IH Whereas the Ryan White Part D Program is one of the na- tional efforts to link young people living with HIV to medical care and support services; Whereas the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act pro- vides youth, including those living with or impacted by HIV and AIDS, better access to health care coverage, more health insurance options, additional funding for sex education, a prohibition against denying people living with HIV access to health care, and expanded access to Medicaid which will support more young people living with HIV receiving care; and Whereas April 10 of each year is now recognized as ‘‘Na- tional Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day’’: Now, there- fore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) supports the goals and ideals of ‘‘National 2 Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day’’; 3 (2) encourages State and local governments, in- 4 cluding their public health agencies, education agen- 5 cies, schools, and media organizations to recognize 6 and support such a day; 7 (3) supports young people’s right to education, 8 prevention, treatment, and care, and to live without 9 criminalization, discrimination, oppression, and stig- 10 ma; 11 (4) promotes up-to-date, inclusive, culturally re- 12 sponsible, and medically accurate information about 13 HIV, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis PreP, in sex 14 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR281.IH HR281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HRES 281 IH education curricula to ensure that all young people 1 are educated about HIV, as called for in the Na- 2 tional HIV/AIDS Strategy; 3 (5) supports removal of HIV laws that are sci- 4 entifically inaccurate and unfairly criminalize young 5 people living with HIV for behaviors that are con- 6 sensual or have no risk of transmission; 7 (6) urges youth-friendly and accessible health 8 care services, especially access to medications such 9 as pre-exposure prophylaxis, post-exposure prophy- 10 laxis, and antiretroviral therapy without parental 11 consent, to better provide for the early identification 12 of HIV through voluntary routine testing, and to 13 connect those in need to clinically and culturally ap- 14 propriate care and treatment as early as possible; 15 (7) supports the increase of funding for pro- 16 grams that support people impacted by and living 17 with HIV, including the Centers for Disease Control 18 and Prevention’s Division of Adolescent and School 19 Health, the Division of STD Prevention, and the Di- 20 vision of HIV Prevention, the Ryan White HIV/ 21 AIDS Program, the Medicaid program, AIDS Drug 22 Assistance Programs, and programs that support 23 medical mentorship, peer navigation, educating com- 24 munities on testing and treatment options, and peo- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR281.IH HR281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HRES 281 IH ple accessing PrEP, and ensure a smoother transi- 1 tion to adult HIV care; 2 (8) recommends a comprehensive prevention 3 and treatment strategy that empowers young people, 4 parents, public health workers, educators, faith lead- 5 ers, and other stakeholders to fully engage with their 6 communities and families to help decrease violence, 7 discrimination, and stigma toward individuals who 8 disclose their sexual orientation or HIV status; 9 (9) calls for a generation free of HIV stigma in 10 a manner that prioritizes youth leadership and devel- 11 opment in order to ensure youth involvement in deci- 12 sions which impact their health and well-being as 13 well as advance a pipeline for the next generation of 14 HIV and AIDS doctors, advocates, educators, re- 15 searchers, and other professionals; and 16 (10) recognizes the direct impact from harmful 17 legislative efforts seeking to restrict bodily autonomy 18 for young people, such as restrictions on abortion 19 and birth control access and bans on transgender 20 health care, which negatively impact youth access to 21 nonstigmatizing HIV prevention, education, con- 22 fidential testing and treatment, and increases risk 23 for criminalization. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR281.IH HR281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB