Reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act

WHEREAS, Congress first passed the Ryan White CARE Act in 1990 to respond to the growing crises in communities hit hardest by the epidemic; and

WHEREAS, The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act is the heart of the nation's response to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic; and

WHEREAS, each year, Ryan White CARE ACT funded programs serve over 500,000 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Territories, providing life-saving anti-HIV medication and the medical care and support services people living with HIV/AIDS need to access and benefit from these powerful drugs; and

WHEREAS, the Ryan White CARE Act's authorization expired on September 30, 2005; and

WHEREAS, according to CDC data, there are now more people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. than at any other time in the epidemic and more than 40,000 individuals in the U.S. are newly affected each year; and

WHEREAS, an estimated 42 to 59 percent of all people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States do not receive regular HIV Care; and

WHEREAS, in 2000 69% of CARE Act clients were minorities; now

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP calls upon the U.S. Congress to reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act with the following provisions to the reauthorization:

1. Problem proportional funding for existing and new Title III projects to provide high-quality, community-based primary care to low-income, underserved and underinsured populations living in rural and underserved areas;

2. Creation of an "Infrastructure and Capacity Expansion Program" to provide resources to assist community-based organizations in providing high-quality medical and supportive services to rural and urban communities serving underserved minority populations. Provision of these resources would build the organizational infrastructure and HIV service capacity in underserved communities;

3. Preservation and quadrupling of the Congressional Minority AIDS Initiative to address the development, implementation and provision of high quality care by indigenous, culturally competent organizations to underserved minority individuals living with HIV/AIDS