Expressing the sense of the Congress that the lack of adequate housing must be addressed as a barrier to effective HIV prevention, treatment, and care, and that the United States should make a commitment to providing adequate funding for developing housing as a response to the AIDS pandemic.

I thank the gentleman from Indiana for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my resolution, H. Con. Res. 137, which expresses the sense of Congress that housing is a key component of combating the war against HIV and AIDS.

I want to thank Chairman Frank and my colleagues, both parties on the Financial Services Committee, for bringing this resolution to the floor, and I call on my colleagues to join me in supporting this important resolution.

It is remarkable how far we have come as a society in our understanding of the HIV virus. In the early 1980s and well into the 1990s, an HIV-positive diagnosis was seen as a death sentence.

But nearly three decades after the launch of a global campaign to study the disease, to develop and disseminate treatment, and to teach prevention, those who contract HIV now have more than just an elusive hope for the future. They have a natural reality of living healthy and productive lives for decades.

Today we have an entire medical, organizational, and legislative foundation from which we can provide information, medication, and health care to those who have contracted the disease. Yet, just as advances are being made to extend and enhance the lives of those

living with HIV and AIDS, we still have a long way to go in the United States in order to make sure that everyone benefits.

While we now have effective HIV medications, there are still many complicating factors in making sure that everyone can get and successfully use those medications. These drugs can be very expensive, forcing people to choose between lifesaving drugs and other essentials such as food, clothing, and housing. In addition, these complex medications often require refrigeration and precise daily routines and mealtimes for their administration.

Successfully integrating these drugs into anyone's life has its complications. For those who are homeless, or who don't know where they will be sleeping day to day or month to month, the situation is extremely difficult and often, sadly, life threatening.

Study after study has confirmed the connection between the ability to remain healthy after being diagnosed with HIV and access to stable housing.

Here are just a few statistics. According to a 2007 study in the American Journal of Public Health, housing status is a more significant predictor of health care access and outcomes than individual characteristics, insurance status, substance abuse, and mental health comorbidities, or even service utilization.

Up to 70 percent of all people living with HIV report a lifetime experience of homelessness or housing instability.

Rates of HIV infection are 16 times higher, 16 times higher, among those who are homeless or unstably housed compared to similarly situated people with stable housing.

Up to 14 percent of all homeless people are HIV positive, 10 times the rate in the general population.

The death rate due to HIV or AIDS among homeless people living with HIV is seven to nine times the death rate due to HIV-AIDS among the general population.

The studies are equally clear that ensuring access to stable housing is cost-effective. According to economic evaluation studies done by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, providing housing to those who are HIV positive either helps to save costs associated with treating these patients, or has similar effects such as those associated with kidney dialysis and screening for breast and colon cancer.

If we are to tackle the spread and treatment of HIV and AIDS in our society, we absolutely must address the need for stable housing for people with HIV and AIDS. Housing is not a luxury; it's a necessity. And with stable, safe housing comes better health and healthier habits, especially for those living with HIV-AIDS.

So I ask my colleagues in both parties to support this resolution so that we can move toward a sound and comprehensive policy for the prevention and treatment of HIV-AIDS.

I thank the gentleman from Indiana for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my resolution, H. Con. Res. 137, which expresses the sense of Congress that housing is a key component of combating the war against HIV and AIDS.

I want to thank Chairman Frank and my colleagues, both parties on the Financial Services Committee, for bringing this resolution to the floor, and I call on my colleagues to join me in supporting this important resolution.

It is remarkable how far we have come as a society in our understanding of the HIV virus. In the early 1980s and well into the 1990s, an HIV-positive diagnosis was seen as a death sentence.

But nearly three decades after the launch of a global campaign to study the disease, to develop and disseminate treatment, and to teach prevention, those who contract HIV now have more than just an elusive hope for the future. They have a natural reality of living healthy and productive lives for decades.

Today we have an entire medical, organizational, and legislative foundation from which we can provide information, medication, and health care to those who have contracted the disease. Yet, just as advances are being made to extend and enhance the lives of those

living with HIV and AIDS, we still have a long way to go in the United States in order to make sure that everyone benefits.

While we now have effective HIV medications, there are still many complicating factors in making sure that everyone can get and successfully use those medications. These drugs can be very expensive, forcing people to choose between lifesaving drugs and other essentials such as food, clothing, and housing. In addition, these complex medications often require refrigeration and precise daily routines and mealtimes for their administration.

Successfully integrating these drugs into anyone's life has its complications. For those who are homeless, or who don't know where they will be sleeping day to day or month to month, the situation is extremely difficult and often, sadly, life threatening.

Study after study has confirmed the connection between the ability to remain healthy after being diagnosed with HIV and access to stable housing.

Here are just a few statistics. According to a 2007 study in the American Journal of Public Health, housing status is a more significant predictor of health care access and outcomes than individual characteristics, insurance status, substance abuse, and mental health comorbidities, or even service utilization.

Up to 70 percent of all people living with HIV report a lifetime experience of homelessness or housing instability.

Rates of HIV infection are 16 times higher, 16 times higher, among those who are homeless or unstably housed compared to similarly situated people with stable housing.

Up to 14 percent of all homeless people are HIV positive, 10 times the rate in the general population.

The death rate due to HIV or AIDS among homeless people living with HIV is seven to nine times the death rate due to HIV-AIDS among the general population.

The studies are equally clear that ensuring access to stable housing is cost-effective. According to economic evaluation studies done by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, providing housing to those who are HIV positive either helps to save costs associated with treating these patients, or has similar effects such as those associated with kidney dialysis and screening for breast and colon cancer.

If we are to tackle the spread and treatment of HIV and AIDS in our society, we absolutely must address the need for stable housing for people with HIV and AIDS. Housing is not a luxury; it's a necessity. And with stable, safe housing comes better health and healthier habits, especially for those living with HIV-AIDS.

So I ask my colleagues in both parties to support this resolution so that we can move toward a sound and comprehensive policy for the prevention and treatment of HIV-AIDS.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 137) expressing the sense of the Congress that the lack of adequate housing must be addressed as a barrier to effective HIV prevention, treatment, and care, and that the United States should make a commitment to providing adequate funding for developing housing as a response to the AIDS pandemic.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the sponsor of this concurrent resolution, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler).

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 137) expressing the sense of the Congress that the lack of adequate housing must be addressed as a barrier to effective HIV prevention, treatment, and care, and that the United States should make a commitment to providing adequate funding for developing housing as a response to the AIDS pandemic.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the sponsor of this concurrent resolution, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler).

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

House Concurrent Resolution 137 expresses the sense of Congress regarding adequate housing options for persons with HIV-AIDS. Studies show that the rates of HIV infection are 3 to 16 times higher among persons who are homeless or unstably housed, and 70 percent of all persons living with HIV-AIDS report a lifetime experience of homelessness.

Currently, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, through its Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS, HOPWA, provides grants to eligible States and cities to provide housing assistance and related supportive services to meet the housing needs of low-income persons with HIV-AIDS and their families.

I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.