Countdown to Zero

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A diagnosis of HIV/AIDS used to be a death sentence.

Now, with proper treatment, people with HIV can live long, healthy lives – and if they take their medications regularly, the amount of the virus in their blood can be so small that it is impossible to infect others. In many ways, this week we celebrated the most hopeful World AIDS Day we have seen in the 35-year history of the scourge that we know as HIV/AIDS. Yet, it is also one of the most challenging, in terms of the work we still have to do to translate scientific progress into more saved lives, fewer new infections and ultimately an end to the AIDS pandemic.

In commemoration of World AIDS Day, the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus is proud to highlight the decades-long work of Caucus Vice Chair, Representative Barbara Lee (CA-13). Since entering Congress in 1998, Representative Lee has authored or coauthored every major piece of legislation relating to HIV/AIDS, both domestically and internationally.

She has supported issues related to HIV/AIDS ranging from support for prevention education programs and eliminating discrimination and stigma, to intensifying research efforts to find a cure, to scaling up treatment and reducing the price of life-enhancing drugs. The Congresswoman has fought to expand and improve access to medical care for everyone – and she is working to address the disproportionate impact of HIV on communities of color. In a statement recognizing World AIDS Day, Representative Lee released the following statement:

With an estimated 12,500 new infections amongst, we must ensure that every student has the information necessary to make healthy decisions.

My legislation, Real Education for Healthy Youth Act (H.R. 1706), would ensure that our nation's young people have medically and scientifically accurate information about HIV and their health. Passing this legislation would be an important step forward to reducing and finally ending the high rate of new HIV infections amongst American youth.

In addition to education, we must end the discrimination that surrounds this virus. Thirty-three states still have HIV criminalization laws on the books. These laws serve only to breed fear, distrust and misunderstanding and it's past time to repeal them.

Earlier this year, I re-introduced the bipartisan REPEAL Act (H.R. 1586) which would take steps to address these discriminatory laws. While our fight to end HIV/AIDS has come a long way; we still have much work to do. But together, we can make World AIDS Day 2015 the start of the end of HIV.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee is the co-chair and co-founder of the bipartisan Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus and served as a Commissioner for the UN Commission on HIV and the Law. She is Vice Chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus and proudly represents California's East Bay in Congress.