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Required text to House:
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I am a constituent concerned about the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic. Last year, in its Professional Judgment Budget, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported there are 56,300 new HIV infections every year, an increase of 40% from previous estimates. One in every 5 HIV positive Americans does not know their HIV status, and only half of those living with HIV are receiving care. Moreover, communities of color are hit hardest by this crisis. What actions are you taking to address HIV/AIDS?
The PEPFAR Reauthorization Act (H.R. 5501/ S. 2731) demonstrated the commitment Congress has made to eliminate HIV/AIDS. Although, the U.S. has become a leader in the fight against global AIDS, efforts to eradicate domestic HIV have fallen to the wayside. It is time to reinvigorate policy makers in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the United States. We must hold ourselves to the same high standards we have set forth for countries receiving PEPFAR assistance. We must lead by example - developing and implementing a national strategy that focuses on reducing incidence, increasing access to care, and reducing racial disparities.
Increased incidence rates are overwhelming communities across our country and straining our healthcare system with billions of dollars in treatment costs, demonstrated most clearly by the CDC’s estimated lifetime cost of over $1,000,000 per HIV infection. As such, the CDC has called for an additional $877 million in FY 2009 and an additional $4.8 billion over the next five years to effectively address the HIV crisis in the United States. The CDC’s recommended investment would be cost saving to society by preventing at least 4,800 new infections in the next five years. Furthermore, short-falls in funding for HIV prevention has adversely affected our nation’s already eroding public health infrastructure and workforce, forcing health departments and community based organizations to dramatically cut staff and essential programs. I adamantly support this call by the CDC for increased funding and its recommendation for the creation of a national AIDS strategy.
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Please strengthen our communities by supporting a national strategy that focuses on the following measures. To be effective, a national AIDS strategy should:
(1)Improve prevention and treatment outcomes through reliance on evidence-based programming
(2)Set ambitious and credible prevention and treatment targets and require annual reporting on progress towards goals
(3)Identify clear priorities for action across federal agencies and assign responsibilities and timelines for follow-through
(4)Include, as a primary focus, the prevention and treatment needs of African Americans, other communities of color, gay men of all races, and other groups at elevated risk
(5)Address social factors that increase vulnerability to infection
(6)Promote a strengthened HIV prevention and treatment research effort
(7)Involve many sectors in developing the national strategy: government, business, community, civil rights organizations, faith based groups, researchers, and people living with HIV/AIDS
Now is the time to urge leadership to push forward!
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