Norton to get HIV Test Today at 10 a.m. in Advance of National HIV Testing Day

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will be tested for HIV today, Tuesday, June 26, 2012, between 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. at a mobile clinic located at the intersection of New Jersey Ave. and C St. SE. The mobile clinic will offer free and confidential HIV testing from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m and the Congresswoman hopes to be first in line. Norton invites mobile clinics to Capitol Hill every year for National HIV Testing Day, so members of Congress can lead by example and encourage their constituents to get tested. Because African-American communities continue to be particularly hard hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Norton worked with the Congressional Black Caucus to arrange this year's mobile clinic from the AHF Blair Underwood Clinic, an office serving the District of Columbia. "In getting tested, I am trying to send a message to my constituents that if we are serious about controlling the HIV epidemic here, D.C. residents should be tested either as an example for their children and neighbors, or because they are part of an at-risk population," Norton said. Norton's website will carry a photo of the Congresswoman being tested, and she will post that photo to Twitter and Facebook as well.

Confronting HIV/AIDS has been a major Norton priority. House Republicans have tried and failed to re-impose a rider banning D.C. from spending money on needle-exchange programs, ever since Norton got it removed in fiscal year 2008. The needle-exchange rider was attached to the D.C. Appropriations bill for a decade, and is responsible for the District's distinction as the jurisdiction with the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the United States. Since its removal, a significant reduction in injection-related HIV cases has been documented.

Published: June 26, 2012