Today, many scientific advances have been made in the medical treatments for HIV/AIDS. There are also widespread efforts to understand the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Despite this, stigma and discrimination remain a reality for people living with HIV/AIDS. Many are still unaware about how to prevent infection.
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Representative Charles B. Rangel
Representing the 13th Congressional District of New York
Recently in Op-Eds
America's immigration system is broken. Children are separated from their parents, husbands are separated from their wives, and businesses are suffering without efficient workers needed for economic stability. Immigrant families without a breadwinner are struggling to keep their heads above water. Our current archaic immigration policy is long-overdue for comprehensive reform that reflects our nation's core values.
In the United States, suicide has become the seventh leading cause of death for men and the fifteenth for women. Every year, there are nearly a million suicide attempts. I am especially alarmed that veterans account for 20% of all suicides. Nearly eighteen veterans and one active-duty soldier take their lives each day. This is simply unacceptable.
Over the past several years, suicide rates among our veterans have increased significantly, to nearly 18 each day. Many of these cases are the result of the inability of our nation’s veterans to access the care they need, when they need it. Congress has a responsibility to provide our veterans with the best medical care, which can be further expanded through access to telemedicine.
"President Barack Obama recently called on Congress to extend tax breaks for America's 114 million middle-income families that make less than $250,000. The President has also proposed to let the Bush era's high-income tax cuts expire at the end of this year and use the resulting $1 trillion in savings over 10 years as part of a balanced plan to reduce deficits and debt and put the nation in the right direction towards shoring up our national budget."
It is important to invest in our students early in the education process. That is why I sponsored the Rebuilding America's Schools Act which will allocate $11 billion for various school construction projects and allow schools to borrow money at little to no interest. Schools must have adequate funding in order to support certain operational or expansionary investments.
Thousands of protesters marched in silence through Manhattan on Sunday in an effort to end the New York Police Department's "stop-and-frisk" policy, which they claim disproportionately affects young black and Latino men.
Several thousand New Yorkers marched silently down Manhattan's Fifth Avenue from lower Harlem to the mayor's Upper East Side townhouse on Sunday to protest the New York Police Department's contentious stop-and-frisk policy.
Black soldiers have fought and died in every American war, both abroad and domestic. Throughout history, they have demonstrated courage and valor in the face of discrimination and prejudice. It is our patriotic duty to admire their resolve and honor their unwavering dedication to service.
As President Barack Obama begins to bring more of our men and women in uniform home from Iraq and Afghanistan, we should use this Memorial Day as an opportunity to remember the sacrifices that American soldiers of all social and political stripes have made in defense of our country. We need to make it clear that we treat those who defend our freedoms with dignity and respect.