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Clergy Coming to Capitol Hill to Push Bill Declaring AIDS an 'Epidemic' Among Blacks

NEW YORK, March 15, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLCA) will lead more than 50 influential members of the clergy to Congress on March 17 to push for approval of H.R. 1964/S. 3011, the National Black Clergy for the Elimination of HIV/AIDS Act of 2009. The bill lays out a comprehensive plan for the federal government to lead the way in marshaling resources in the fight against HIV and AIDS and targeting them where they are most needed.

The campaign comes at a critical time as the Obama Administration has been working intensely on its National AIDS Strategy for several months. One of NBLCA's key goals is to make sure that the policy that emerges recognizes the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on Black America.

NBLCA Board Chairman Rev. Calvin O. Butts III said Black leaders have long urged greater attention to the AIDS toll on African Americans. He noted that the nation last month marked the 10^th anniversary of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a day established to call attention to the problem of HIV/AIDS among Black Americans.

"We as a nation recognized long ago that HIV and AIDS are at crisis levels in the Black community," Rev. Butts said. "This is the year that we must finally put into place policies that address the alarming numbers we have been seeing for decades."

Butts noted that Blacks represent about 12 percent of the U.S. population but accounted for almost half of new AIDS diagnoses in 2007, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Black Americans accounted for 57 percent of deaths due to HIV in 2006, and their survival time after an AIDS diagnosis is lower on average than it is for most other racial and ethnic groups.

NBLCA and its supporters from around the country will visit the offices of various members of Congress to urge passage of the National Black Clergy for the Elimination of HIV/AIDS Act of 2009. They will hold a press conference on Wednesday, March 17, at 2:30 p.m. in H137 of Capitol Building that will include Rev. Butts as well as Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The National Black Clergy for the Elimination of HIV/AIDS Act of 2009 emerged out of a 2007 conclave organized by NBLCA that brought together clergy, medical experts and others from around the country to develop an agenda to fight HIV and AIDS. Rep. Rangel introduced the legislation into the House in April of 2009, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced it into the Senate in February.

"This is the first legislation to address HIV/AIDS in a comprehensive way, and although it reflects the wisdom and experience of health experts and community leaders, it is significant that Black clergy are leading the fight," said C. Virginia Fields, President and CEO of NBLCA. "They have been at the forefront of so many campaigns to right injustices."

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