Congresswoman Waters Urges Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to Respond to HIV/AIDS Crisis Among Minorities

Today, at a hearing on domestic HIV prevention in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-35) urged officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to take action to respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis among African Americans and other minority communities.  Witnesses at the hearing included Dr. Julie Gerberding, the Director of the CDC.  The Congresswoman made the following statement:

I would like to thank Chairman Henry Waxman and Ranking Member Tom Davis for organizing this hearing on domestic HIV prevention and allowing me to participate.  The title of today's hearing, "The Domestic Epidemic is Worse than We Thought:  A Wake-Up Call for HIV Prevention," is most appropriate. 

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States today is indeed worse than we thought.  Last month, the CDC released new estimates of domestic HIV infection, which indicate that there have been 55,000 to 58,500 new infections per year since 1997.  This figure is approximately 40% higher than CDC's previous estimates of 40,000 new infections per year.  The estimates reportedly are based on new technology that allows the CDC to track the spread of the disease more effectively.  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.

Many people in the black community have long suspected that the epidemic was worse than our nation's leaders thought it was.  Even before the CDC's new estimates were released, we knew that African Americans accounted for about half of new AIDS cases, and we knew that HIV/AIDS was having a profound impact on African Americans.  In 1998, we sounded the alarm in the halls of Congress.

On April 24, 1998, while I was the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), the CBC held a Health Braintrust, which was sponsored by Congressman Louis Stokes.  During this Braintrust, CBC members were shocked by the presentation of Dr. Beny J. Primm, the Executive Director of the Addiction Research and Treatment Corporation.  Dr. Primm's presentation described a state of HIV/AIDS crisis in minority communities, particularly the black community. 

On May 11, 1998, the CBC held a meeting that brought together over 20 public health workers, AIDS activists and representatives from all over the country to tell us about the impact of HIV/AIDS on minority communities.  That same day, the CBC called for President Bill Clinton to declare a "Public Health Emergency" to combat the crisis in minority communities.

In the fall of 1998, Louis Stokes, Donna Christensen and I met with Donna Shalala, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to discuss the crisis.  We agreed that what was really needed was not a declaration of a Public Health Emergency but rather money for programs to address the crisis.  On October 28, 1998, the CBC held an event to roll out the Minority AIDS Initiative.  The event featured the participation of President Clinton, Secretary Shalala, and representatives of HIV/AIDS organizations from around the country. 

The Minority AIDS Initiative provides grants to community-based organizations and health care providers for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs serving African American, Hispanic, Asian American and Native American communities.  The Initiative was designed to target outreach programs to minority communities and enable the organizations serving these communities to expand their capacity and deliver culturally and linguistically appropriate services.

At the 1998 "Roll-out," we announced that the Minority AIDS Initiative would receive an initial appropriation of $156 million in fiscal year 1999.  The Minority AIDS Initiative grew significantly over the next five years.  Since then, funding has remained stagnant at about $400 million per year since fiscal year 2003.

On March 19th of this year, I sent a letter to House Appropriators requesting an appropriation of $610 million for the Minority AIDS Initiative in fiscal year 2009, and 79 Members of Congress signed my letter.  Needless to say, this was before the CDC released the new estimates of HIV infection, but these new estimates make the need for the Minority AIDS Initiative so much more obvious. 

I have also looked for other opportunities to promote HIV testing and prevention.  Last year, I introduced H.R. 1943, the Stop AIDS in Prison Act.  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.  The Stop AIDS in Prison Act was passed by the House of Representatives, and is now awaiting action in the Senate.  I call on my colleagues in the Senate to pass this bill and send it to the President's desk before Congress adjourns this year!

I am pleased that the CDC has developed methods to more accurately track the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States.  These methods provide Congress, AIDS advocacy organizations, and the American people a more accurate picture of the impact of this disease.

I look forward to hearing the testimony of the witnesses.  I hope this hearing will shed some light not only on the severity of the epidemic, but also on how we can improve the effectiveness of our response and stop the spread of this devastating disease.

BACKGROUND

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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