Congresswoman Waters Calls for National Strategy to Stop the Spread of HIV/AIDS; Says Epidemic is Worse Than We Thought

July 21, 2009

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-35) today reiterated her call for a national strategy to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, in light of new estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicating the epidemic is even more severe than previously believed.

"The CDC's new estimates of HIV infections in the United States prove that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is even worse than we thought. We need a comprehensive national strategy to stop the spread of this disease in communities throughout the United States," said Congresswoman Waters.

The CDC released new estimates of HIV infection in the United States over the weekend. The new estimates indicate that approximately 56,300 new infections occurred in the United States in 2006. This figure is approximately 40% higher than CDC's previous estimates of 40,000 new infections per year. The estimates are based on new technology that allows the CDC to distinguish new HIV infections from long-standing HIV infections and track the spread of the disease more effectively.

The CDC noted that the new estimates do not represent an actual increase in the annual number of new HIV infections. Instead, they indicate that the number of new infections per year has remained relatively stable since the late 1990's, but at a level that is much higher than previously thought. The CDC calculated that there have been 55,000 to 58,500 new infections per year since 1997. According to the CDC, the data confirm that the most severe impact is among gay and bisexual men of all races, and black men and women. The rate of new infections among blacks was seven times the rate among whites in 2006.

"HIV/AIDS has continued to ravage communities throughout our country. Meanwhile, HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs remain woefully underfunded. Funding for the Minority AIDS Initiative has remained virtually stagnant since fiscal year 2003. It is long past time for the United States to take this disease seriously and to provide sufficient funding to fight this killer," said the Congresswoman.

A diverse coalition of HIV/AIDS service and advocacy organizations are calling for a comprehensive national strategy to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Such a strategy would bring together government agencies, political leaders, the private sector, and the HIV/AIDS community to confront the epidemic in a coordinated way. Congresswoman Waters announced her support for a such comprehensive national strategy on April 29, 2008, at a rally on Capitol Hill organized by the National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA).

"In spite of all of the hard work by Members of Congress and HIV/AIDS activists, it is clear that there hasn't been a decrease in the rate of new infections. We need to double our efforts, and we need to work together. We need to develop and implement a comprehensive national strategy to stop the spread of this disease," said the Congresswoman.

Congresswoman Waters is the Co-Chair of the AIDS Task Force of the Congressional Black Caucus. She has sponsored four initiatives in the 110th Congress to promote HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention, testing and treatment.

1. She introduced H.R. 822, the Routine HIV/AIDS Screening Coverage Act. This bill would require health insurance plans to cover routine HIV tests under the same terms and conditions as other routine health screenings and therefore encourage and enable more Americans to be tested for HIV/AIDS. This bill has over 40 cosponsors.

2. She is continuing her efforts to expand the Minority AIDS Initiative, which she established back in 1998 to expand HIV testing, treatment and prevention among racial and ethnic minorities. HIV/AIDS is more prevalent in minority communities. On March 19, 2008, she sent a letter to House appropriators requesting $610 million for the Minority AIDS Initiative in fiscal year 2009, and 79 Members of Congress signed her letter.

3. She introduced H.R. 1943, the Stop AIDS in Prison Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives on September 25, 2007, and now awaits consideration in the Senate. This bill requires the Federal Bureau of Prisons to test all prison inmates for HIV, unless the inmate opts out of taking the test. The bill also requires HIV/AIDS prevention education for all inmates and comprehensive treatment for those who test positive.

4. She introduced H.Res. 1359, a resolution to honor the first annual National Clinicians HIV/AIDS Testing and Awareness Day. A total of 29 Members of Congress cosponsored this resolution.

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