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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, An estimated 35,000 Illinoisans are living with
3 HIV/AIDS ; and
 
4     WHEREAS, The federal Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS
5 Resources Emergency (CARE) Act is critical to meeting the
6 healthcare and support service needs of Illinoisans living with
7 HIV who are low-income and/or uninsured; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Illinois communities rely on more than
9 $60,000,000 in Ryan White CARE Act funding each year to provide
10 an array of HIV-related healthcare, dental, mental health,
11 substance abuse treatment, case management, medication
12 reimbursement, legal assistance, housing, nutrition
13 counseling, and other essential services; and
 
14     WHEREAS, The most recent CARE Act authorization law expired
15 on September 30, 2005, and Congress will soon consider new
16 legislation to shape the future direction of CARE Act programs;
17 and
 
18     WHEREAS, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
19 (HHS) released a reauthorization proposal in July of 2005,
20 that, if enacted, would severely reduce CARE Act funding for
21 Illinois; and
 
22     WHEREAS, One of the provisions in the proposal requires
23 funding formulas beginning in FY 2007 to include the number of
24 HIV cases, but the U.S. government has refused to accept data
25 from Illinois because it has collected HIV case reports by
26 code, an option given to states in 1999; and
 
27     WHEREAS, On January 1, 2006, Illinois will begin collecting
28 and reporting cases of HIV by name, the preferred method for
29 the federal government, but will need additional time for the

 

 

HR0686 - 2 - LRB094 14913 RSP 49967 r

1 reporting system to mature so that all cases of HIV reported in
2 Illinois can be counted toward funding formula allocations; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Other provisions recommended by HHS would result
4 in dramatic funding reductions for AIDS-related services to
5 suburban, rural, and urban communities across Illinois, and
6 reduce AIDS-related healthcare and essential services;
7 therefore, be it
 
8     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
9 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
10 we urge the Congress of the United States to enact legislation
11 retaining the current "hold-harmless" provisions of the 2000
12 Ryan White CARE Act reauthorization, which protects
13 jurisdictions from large, destabilizing reductions in funding;
14 and be it further
 
15     RESOLVED, That we urge Congress to explore the use of
16 scientifically-derived estimates of the number of people
17 living with HIV/AIDS in U.S. jurisdictions for funding
18 distribution purposes until HIV surveillance systems are
19 sufficiently accurate and complete across the nation to fairly
20 base funding decisions; and be it further
 
21     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
22 delivered to the President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate, the
23 Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Secretary of
24 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Governor Rod
25 Blagojevich, and each member of the Illinois congressional
26 delegation.