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As we recognize the 28^th World AIDS Day, we have much progress to celebrate. We also have new challenges to address.

Consider that the CDC ranks Atlanta as 5th in the nation with new HIV infections and the South ranks first in the nation for its rate of new HIV cases. In 2013, the South had a rate of 20.5 HIV infections per 100,000 residents.

Compared with members of other races and ethnicities, African Americans account for a higher proportion of HIV infections at all stages of disease from new infections to deaths. According to the CDC, African Americans accounted for 44 percent of all new HIV infections in that year. In Georgia, African Americans represented 30 percent of the total population in 2009, but 74 percent of all diagnosed HIV cases.

Congressman Scott is a strong advocate for awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS. He was a leader as a member of the Georgia State Senate in writing the first sex education program in Georgia. Each year, hundreds of AIDS tests are provided to district residents for free at his health fair by partners like AID Atlanta and the Clayton County Community Services Board. At the 2015 event, 125 HIV tests were conducted and in 2014, 203 tests were conducted.

Do you know your HIV status? If you don’t, please get tested.

For more information about HIV/AIDS, please visit the comprehensive website: www.aids.gov

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HIV/AIDS related legislation co-sponsored by Congressman Scott in 2015:

HR 1706: Real Education for Healthy Youth Act of 2015

• Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award competitive grants for comprehensive sexual education for adolescents and higher education institutions as well as training for faculty and staff to teach comprehensive sexual education to elementary and secondary school students.

• Amends the Public Health Service Act to remove limitations on using AIDS prevention program funding for education or information that promotes sexual activity or intravenous substance abuse.

• Amends Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow funding to be used for Contraceptive distribution in schools.

HR 6: 21^st century Cures Act

• Reauthorizes National Institute of Health through 2018.

• Establishes the NIH Innovation Fund to fund the development and implementation of a strategic plan, early-stage investigators and high-risk, high-reward research.

Rep. Scott Signed Letters to Appropriations Committees In Support of AIDS Research and Programs:

Adolescent Sexual Education and Pregnancy Prevention - Programmatic funding for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (TPPI), the Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH), and the elimination of funding for the ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage (AOUM) grant program in FY2016.

National Institutes of Health Funding - The National Institutes of Health are our nation’s preeminent medical research centers and represent our best hope for finding cures, improving treatments, and gaining a better understanding of the diseases and conditions that affect millions of Americans. NIH research is a critical part of meeting health care challenges, strengthening our economy, inspiring the next generation of scientists, and maintaining our nation’s leadership in innovation. Continued investment in the NIH can leverage existing resources for maximum impact and will build on current progress to further help the American public.

Title X Family Planning Services - Far beyond just family planning services, Title X provides critical access to preventive health care services such as breast and cervical cancer screenings, HIV tests and immunizations. For many of the patients Title X serves, this program is the only source they can rely on for these services.

HIV/AIDs Prevention - The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program works with cities, states, and local community-based organizations to provide services to an estimated 536,000 people each year who do not have sufficient health care coverage or financial resources to cope with HIV disease. The majority of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funds support primary medical care and essential support services. A smaller but equally critical portion is used to fund technical assistance, clinical training, and the development of innovative models of care.

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