REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT SIGNING OF THE RYAN WHITE HIV/AIDS TREATMENT EXTENSION ACT OF 2009

THE PRESIDENT: We often speak about AIDS as if it's going on somewhere else. And for good reason -- this is a virus that has touched lives and decimated communities around the world, particularly in Africa. But often overlooked is the fact that we face a serious HIV/AIDS epidemic of our own -- right here in Washington, D.C., and right here in the United States of America. . . .there are still 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States, and more than 56,000 new infections occur every single year. Some communities still experience unacceptably high rates of infection. . . .African Americans make up roughly half of all new cases. Nearly half of all new cases now occur in the South. So tackling this epidemic will take far more aggressive approaches than we've seen in the past -- not only from our federal government, but also state and local governments, from local community organizations . . .