Council of the District of Columbia

Greetings and Happy New Year from the Committee on Health!

Welcome to Council Period 19. Chairman Catania and the Committee on Health are looking forward to
the work ahead as we continue the District’s leading efforts to expand and improve the health of all
District residents. In the first legislative meeting of the Council Period, Chairman Catania began this
work by introducing two vital pieces of legislation.

The first is B19-2, the Department of Health Care Finance District of Columbia Health Care Exchange
Authorizing Act of 2011. This piece of legislation lays the framework for establishing the District Health
Care Exchange, a vital part of the federal health care reform legislation passed last spring.

The second is B19-3, the HIV/AIDS Program Management Act of 2011. This legislation would allow the
HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Administration currently within the Department of Health to
function as a cabinet level agency for the purposes of the management of programs and services related
to the transmission, prevention, and treatment of HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases in the
District. In other words, while HAHSTA would still remain part of the Department of Health, the Senior
Deputy Director would report to the mayor on key policies and programs. This is critical as the District
begins planning for the International Aids Society 2012 Conference, the first IAS conference to be held in
the United States in over twenty years.

Things of Note:
• On Wednesday January 12, 2011 from 3:00pm-5:00pm the Committee on Health will be holding
an open house to allow the community to come and speak with Committee staff members. This
will give members of the community the opportunity to meet with the staff, discuss various
issues, and learn the roles of each member of the office and the issues they will be overseeing.
The Committee on Health is located in room 115 of the John A. Wilson Building, light
refreshments will be provided.
• As the Committee on Health prepares to conduct its annual oversight of the agencies under our
jurisdiction we are calling on members of the community to submit any questions they would
like to see asked in the oversight process. While not all questions will be asked in the final
report, we look forward to the ideas, suggestions, and guidance your questions will provide.
Please submit questions to Jonathan Antista via email at jantista@dccouncil.us or by phone at
202.724-8170 by 5:30pm on Friday January 7, 2011.
Upcoming Hearings and Events:
• On Wednesday January 19, 2011 the Committee will hold a public hearing on B19-3 the
HIV/AIDS Program Management Act of 2011 at 10:00am in room 500 of the John A. Wilson
Building. Please see published notice in the DC Register for further details.
• On Thursday January 20, 2011 the Committee will hold a public oversight roundtable on United
Medical Center at 10:00am in room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building. While this hearing is
open to the public, only invited witnesses will be allowed to orally testify. Please see published
notice in the DC Register for further details.
• On Wednesday January 26, 2011 the Committee will hold a public hearing on B19-2, the
Department of Health Care Finance District of Columbia Health Care Exchange Authorizing Act
of 2011 at 11:00am in room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building. Please see published notice in
the DC Register for further details.
• On Thursday January 27, 2011 the Committee will hold a public hearing on B19-7, the Athletic
Concussion Protection Act of 2011 at 2:00pm in room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building.
Please see published notice in the DC Register for further details.

As always, if you or your organizations have any upcoming events please let me know and I will do my
best to add them to the newsletter. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please don’t
hesitate to call or email.