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National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Records

 Collection
Identifier: MS C 544

Abstract

Briefing books, hearing and meeting transcripts, reports, and press clippings document the activities of the National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Materials cover all but the last year of the Commission's existence. The majority of the collection consists of briefing books, and hearing and meeting transcripts of the National Commission.

Dates

  • Creation: 1983-1994

Extent

10.2 Linear Feet (9 boxes)

Creator

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Language of Materials

Collection materials primarily in English

Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Copyright and Re-use Information

The National Library of Medicine believes these materials to be in the public domain. Archival collections often contain mixed copyrights; while NLM is the owner of the physical items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. It is the user's responsibility to research and understand any applicable copyright and re-publication rights not allowed by fair use. NLM does not grant permissions to publish.

Privacy Information

Archives and manuscript collections may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in any collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications for which the National Library of Medicine assumes no responsibility.

Historical Note

The National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome was an independent body created in 1989 by federal statute (Public Law 100-607). The mission of the National Commission was to advise Congress and the President on the development of "a consistent national policy" concerning the HIV epidemic. The statute created the Commission for a period of up to four years, which expired on September 3, 1993.

The National Commission was preceded by the Presidential Commission on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Epidemic, which was established on June 24, 1987, by Executive Order 12601. The Presidential Commission held over 45 days of hearings and site visits in preparation of their final report to the President, which was completed on June 27, 1988. One of the recommendations of the final report was the development of a national commission on AIDS to continue their work.

The National Commission consisted of fifteen members including five appointed by the Senate; five by the House; two by President George W. Bush Sr.; and the secretaries of Health and Human Services, Defense, and the Veterans Administration. The Commission accomplished its mission through numerous hearings and site visits.

The Commission's hearings covered the following topic concerning AIDS: healthcare, treatment, and international aspects of the HIV epidemic; Federal, State, and Local responsibilities; the Southern California epidemic; social and human issues; Executive and Legislative branch issues; current research and clinical trials; HIV epidemic in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; African American communities; Pediatric and Adolescent HIV; Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual communities among Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders; Women and HIV disease and civil rights; religious communities response; and risks of transmission in healthcare settings.

Site visits included Southern California community based organizations in order to observe their response to the epidemic. Other site visits also included the homeless in New York City, Newark, and Jersey City; AIDS in the rural communities of Waycross, Albany, and Macon, Georgia; HIV and AIDS in New York City correctional facilities; the epidemic in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; regional responses in Belle Glade and Miami, Florida; and the Native American Communities of Oklahoma, Minnesota, South Dakota, Arizona, and New Mexico.

During its tenure the Commission produced fifteen reports plus analytical and policy statements on a number of issues. AIDS: An Expanding Tragedy, the Commission's final report was issued in June 1993. The final report discusses the future of the AIDS epidemic in America and established two main recommendations on the appropriate response. The first recommendation was that leaders at all levels must speak out about AIDS to their constituencies. Secondly, we must develop a clear well-articulated national plan for confronting AIDS. The steps necessary to meet these guidelines are outlined by the Commission in Mobilizing America's Response to AIDS, which was sent directly to the President.

Collection Summary

Briefing books, hearing and meeting transcripts, reports, and press clippings (1983-1993; 10.2 l.f.) document the activities of the National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (NCAIDS). Materials cover all but the last year of the Commission's existence. The majority of the collection consists of NCAIDS briefing books, and hearing and meeting transcripts. Series 1 contains hearing transcripts from the Commission's predecessor, the Presidential Commission on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Epidemic (1987-1988); Series 2 contains the work conducted by NCAIDS. In Series 3 the collection also includes various topical reports on AIDS published by external agencies. There are no notes or correspondence in this collection and all materials appear here in published form. In addition, the Commission's report Mobilizing America's Response to AIDS, is also not included within this collection but can be found n the Library's General Collection. The bulk of the collection spans the years 1987 to early 1992.

The collection comprises four series: Presidential Commission on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Epidemic, 1987-1988; Briefings and Transcripts of Hearings and Meetings, 1989-1992; Press Coverage and Reports, 1989-1993; and Reports on AIDS from External Institutions and Government Agencies, 1983-1992.

Of special interest is the Commission's final report AIDS: An Expanding Tragedy, which serves as a summary of the Commission's activities and includes a detailed chronology of its activities and provides an extensive list of all hearings, site visits, reports, and publications related to the Commission.

Abstract

Briefing books, hearing and meeting transcripts, reports, and press clippings document the activities of the National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Materials cover all but the last year of the Commission's existence. The majority of the collection consists of briefing books, and hearing and meeting transcripts of the National Commission.

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Provenance

Gift, John L. Parascandola, PHS Historian's Office, 3/1/1994, Acc. #812. Gift, Donald Goldman, Acc. #2005-21.

General

Processed by
Daniel J. Lavoie II
Processing Completed
October 2004
Encoded by
John P. Rees

General

Commission Members List

  1. June E. Osborn, M.D., Chairman
  2. David E. Rogers, M.D., Vice Chairman
  3. The Honorable Diane Ahrens
  4. K. Scott Allen
  5. Don C. Des Jarlais, Ph.D.
  6. Eunice Diaz, M.S., M.P.H.
  7. Mary D. Fisher
  8. Donald S. Goldman, Esq.
  9. Larry Kessler
  10. Charles Konigsberg, Jr. M.D., M.P.H.
  11. The Honorable J. Roy Rowland, M.D.

Ex Officio

  1. Les Aspin, Ph.D., Secretary of Defense
  2. Donna E. Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services
  3. Jesse Brown, Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Department of Defense

  1. Col. Michael R. Peterson, D.V.M., Dr. P.H., Executive Secretary, Armed Forces Epidemiological Board

Department of Health and Human Services National AIDS Program Office

  1. James R. Allen, M.D., M.P.H., Former Director
  2. Valerie Setlow, Ph.D., Acting Director

Department of Veterans Affairs

  1. Irwin Pernick, J.D., Former Counselor to the Secretary, Associated Deputy Assistant for Policy
  2. Marvelu R. Peterson, Ph.D., Associate Director, AIDS Services

Former Members

  1. Harlon L. Dalton, Esq.
  2. Earvin Johnson, Jr.
  3. Belinda Mason
  4. Richard B. Cheney, Former Secretary of Defense
  5. Edward J. Derwinski, M.D., Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs
  6. Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., Former Secretary of Health and Human Services
Title
Finding Aid to the National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Records, 1983-1994
Status
Unverified Partial Draft
Author
Daniel J. Lavoie II
Date
November 2004
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latn
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English
Edition statement
1.0

Revision Statements

  • July 2019: Digital repository URLs added

Collecting Area Details

Part of the Archives and Modern Manuscripts Collections Collecting Area

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