On the recordJuly 18, 2012
This Sunday, the International AIDS Conference is going to be held in our Nation's Capital. It was some 30 years ago that this serious disease became known in our great country and spread from other parts of the world. Since that time, we've lost over a half a million people, yet we have not found a cure for this deadly disease. I have introduced legislation, H.R. 1462, with Senator Gillibrand, to see whether or not we can have more national attention focused on the fact that we can do a lot more than we are doing. The major thrust, of course, of what we have to do is to educate people that, although it used to have great stigma, there are so many different ways to come in contact with the disease. Education is one way that we can help people. Prevention, of course, is another, but I would like to emphasize the need for testing. So many people are walking around with the virus and have no idea that they have it. Even though there have been efforts made by community organizations for free testing, this is one of the exciting things about the President's Affordable Care Act. There is no question that after we get finished with the political circus that we are forced to go through because of the coming election that more and more Americans will understand the benefits they are receiving even now from this universal coverage, which so many people need, and the dramatic decrease in cost when people are able to get preventative care.…
