Pelosi Statement on 35th Anniversary of HIV/AIDS in America

Contact: Drew Hammill/Evangeline George, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement marking 35 years since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report on what would later be understood as the first documented cases of AIDS:

"The story of HIV/AIDS in America is one of great tragedy, courage and progress. In San Francisco, we acutely feel the long, hard path from the dread and stigma of 35 years ago to the hope and possibility of today. We will never forget what it took to come from those darkest months when many of us were going to two funerals a day, to a time when we are celebrating weddings and retirements of people with HIV.

"HIV has proven to be a tenacious and resourceful virus, ever mutating to escape our destruction of it. We must be equally tenacious and resourceful to at long last banish HIV to the dustbin of history. We cannot take our progress for granted – we must continue to act with urgency, vigilance and compassion.

"As we reflect on the struggles of the past 35 years, we remember the friends, family and loved ones who were lost and rededicate ourselves to the challenges that remain. The AIDS-free generation is a dream within our grasp to achieve. In America, and abroad, let us commit to make HIV nothing more than a dark and sad memory."

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