releases: https://lee.house.gov/news/press-releases/congresswoman-barbara-lee-addresses-pepfar-and-the-black-america-hivaids-epidemic
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://lee.house.gov/news/press-releases/congresswoman-barbara-lee-addresses-pepfar-and-the-black-america-hivaids-epidemic | Congresswoman Barbara Lee Addresses PEPFAR and the Black America HIVAIDS Epidemic | 2008-08-03 | 2008 | 2008-08 | Democrat | House | CA | Barbara Lee | L000551 | lee.house.gov | legacy | 08.03.08 Congresswoman Barbara Lee Addresses PEPFAR and the Black America HIVAIDS Epidemic For Immediate Release August 4, 2008 Contact: Sean P. Nichols (202) 225-2661 While attending the 17th Annual AIDS Conference in Mexico City Congresswoman Calls for Domestic Response to Rival Global Efforts Washington D.C. Congresswoman Barbara Lee addressed Black America and the Global AIDS Epidemic" during a press conference today at the XVII Annual International AIDS Conference in Mexico City where she is the only member of Congress in attendance. The Congresswoman discussed the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which authorizes $48 billion to help millions of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS globally, and she addressed the growing epidemic among African Americans. Congresswoman Lee was co-author of the original 2003 PEPFAR legislation and the 2008 reauthorization that was signed by the President on July 30. As a co-author of virtually every bipartisan global AIDS bill that has passed in Congress over the last ten years including the most recent legislation to extend and expand the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, I am pleased by our progress in combating this disease globally, stated Congresswoman Lee. However our progress in combating this disease at home has not met with the same results. As the new numbers from the Centers for Disease Control show, AIDS is still running rampant in America, especially among African Americans and young gay men. A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on August 3rd reveals that the number of cases reported annually in the U.S. is as high as 56,300, far exceeding the 40,000 reported earlier. And If Black America were its own country, according to a report from the Black Aids Institute, Left Behind, it would rank 16th worldwide in the number of people infected, more than in Botswana, Cte d'Ivoire, Lesotho or Swaziland. We need a domestic AIDS response that brings new resources to an effort that has been virtually flat funded for years, stated Congresswoman Lee. We need to double the CDC's HIV prevention budget to $1.3 billion, and provide at least $610 million for the Minority AIDS Initiative, while expanding funding for treatment services under the Ryan White CARE Act. We need to rebuild our healthcare infrastructure in communities around the country. We need universal health care. We need a domestic AIDS response that is oriented around achieving clear and ambitious objectives in terms of reducing HIV infection rates, increasing access to care, and reducing racial and ethnic health disparities. And we need a response that builds stronger partnerships between communities and our public health service agencies. Most importantly, we need a National AIDS Strategy that can coordinate a targeted national response to stop the spread of HIV and provide access to treatment for all those who are infected. For years, the United States has been global leader in the response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, while neglecting our own serious AIDS epidemic at home. Now we must learn the lessons of our own global response and launch a better-resourced, evidence-based and results-oriented effort to address AIDS at home. In short, we need a PEPFAR for the United States. ### Congresswoman Barbara Lee (Oakland-D) is a leader in the fight against the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. She co-authored legislation signed into law creating the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria in 2000, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2003, the PEPFAR Reauthorization Act in 2008 , and legislation addressing the needs of orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS in 2005. She is the only member of Congress serving on both the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education which have jurisdiction over all US global and domestic AIDS programs. Next Article | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |