Bill Lee: “Mr. Speaker, 2 days ago, on February 7, we commemorated the fifth National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a day when we…”

“Mr. Speaker, 2 days ago, on February 7, we commemorated the fifth National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a day when we urged African Americans and all Americans to get educated, to get involved, and get tested. National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day was created in 2001 by a coalition of five national nonprofit organizations to raise awareness about the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic among the African American community. The numbers are startling, Mr. Speaker. Over 42 percent of all people living with HIV and AIDS are African American, even though, as my colleague from New York pointed out, we only represent about 13 percent of the population. That is about 172,000 people. Each year, African Americans make up over half of all new HIV/AIDS cases diagnosed in the United States.”