Washington, DC – Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson submitted the following Congressional Record statement in support of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act, which passed the House today by a vote of 408-9:

I rise today in support of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009. 

This important program has helped numerous people across the country living with HIV/AIDS by helping to provide funding to states, urban areas, insurance providers, and other organizations for HIV/AIDS related care.  It is estimated that the Ryan White Program helps more than half of a million people annually, and legislation to extend this program is incredibly important for those individuals’ wellbeing.  Reauthorized three times since it was first enacted in 1990 in response to the growing HIV/AIDS crisis, this legislation will help to modernize the program to address present day concerns.

I would be remiss as well if I did not discuss the disproportionate impact that HIV/AIDS has on minority communities and particularly the African-American community.  Although African-Americans account for about 13% of the US population, they constitute roughly half of all Americans who become infected with HIV/AIDS.  According to the Center for Disease Control, the rate of AIDS diagnoses for African-American adults and adolescents is ten times higher than the rate for whites and three times higher than the rate for Latinos.  Truly these numbers are way too high, and we must resolve anew to continue to fight this terrible disease.

I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act so that we can offer care to those individuals who are suffering with HIV/AIDS and combat the disease as well. 

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U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure and a senior member of the Science Committee. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas, which, includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Oak Lawn, Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, & South Oak Cliff; all of Balch Springs, DeSoto, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Ferris, Glenn Heights and Ovilla.