Barbara Lee Statement
on National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
September 27, 2012 - Washington, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) issued the following
statement in observance of National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day:
"September 27th, 2012 marks the 5th Annual National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. In the thirty years since HIV
was discovered in the US, we have made great strides in treatment, care and prevention efforts; but much work remains. Gay men in
the U.S. represent the largest proportion of new HIV infections--- and for African Americans, the crisis is especially dire.
National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is an important opportunity to rededicate ourselves to achieving a world free of AIDS."
Congresswoman Lee has been 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 in 2005 legislation addressing the needs of orphans and vulnerable children affected by
HIV/AIDS. She has also been a leader in the effort to establish a National AIDS Strategy, and is a member of the Appropriations
Subcommittee on Labor, Health, Human Services & Education with jurisdiction over all domestic HIV/AIDS funding. She is the
only United States representative on United Nations Development Programme's Global Commission on HIV and the Law and was
the original sponsor of legislation that lead to the repeal of the Immigration and Travel ban that barred the entry of
HIV positive individuals. The repeal allowed the International AIDS conference to be held in the United States in July 2012.
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SOURCE: Congresswoman Barbara Lee
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