[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 428 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 428

Promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals 
of National Minority Health Month in April 2014, which include bringing 
 attention to the health disparities faced by minority populations of 
  the United States, such as American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian 
Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Hawaiians 
                      or other Pacific Islanders.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 29, 2014

 Mr. Cardin (for himself, Mr. Schatz, and Mr. Menendez) submitted the 
        following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals 
of National Minority Health Month in April 2014, which include bringing 
 attention to the health disparities faced by minority populations of 
  the United States, such as American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian 
Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Hawaiians 
                      or other Pacific Islanders.

Whereas through the ``National Stakeholder Strategy for Achieving Health 
        Equity'' and the ``HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health 
        Disparities'', the Department of Health and Human Services has set goals 
        and strategies to advance the safety, health, and well-being of people 
        of the United States;
Whereas a study by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, entitled 
        ``The Economic Burden of Health Inequalities in the United States'', 
        concludes that, between 2003 and 2006, the combined cost of ``health 
        inequalities and premature death in the United States'' was 
        $1,240,000,000,000;
Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services has identified 6 main 
        categories in which racial and ethnic minorities experience the most 
        disparate access to health care and health outcomes, including infant 
        mortality, cancer screening and management, cardiovascular disease, 
        diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and immunizations;
Whereas African-American women are more than twice as likely to die of cervical 
        cancer than White women and are more likely to die of breast cancer than 
        women of any other racial or ethnic group;
Whereas the death rate from stroke is 50 percent higher among African Americans 
        than among Whites;
Whereas Native Hawaiians living in Hawaii are 5.7 times more likely to die of 
        diabetes than non-Hispanic Whites living in Hawaii;
Whereas in 2011, Asian Americans were 2.9 times more likely than Whites to 
        contract Hepatitis A;
Whereas among all ethnic groups in 2011, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders 
        had the highest incidence of Hepatitis A;
Whereas Asian-American women are 1.5 times more likely than non-Hispanic Whites 
        to die from viral hepatitis;
Whereas Asian Americans are 5.5 times more likely than Whites to develop chronic 
        Hepatitis B;
Whereas in 2011, 82 percent of children born infected with HIV belonged to 
        minority groups;
Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services has identified diseases of 
        the heart, malignant neoplasm, unintentional injuries, and diabetes as 
        some of the leading causes of death among American Indians and Alaska 
        Natives;
Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives die from diabetes, alcoholism, 
        unintentional injuries, homicide, and suicide at higher rates than other 
        people in the United States;
Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives have a life expectancy that is 4.2 
        years shorter than the life expectancy of the overall population of the 
        United States;
Whereas marked differences in the social determinants of health, described by 
        the World Health Organization as ``the high burden of illness 
        responsible for appalling premature loss of life [that] arises in large 
        part because of the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, 
        work, and age'', lead to poor health outcomes and declines in longevity; 
        and
Whereas community-based health care initiatives, such as prevention-focused 
        programs, present a unique opportunity to use innovative approaches to 
        improve health care practices across the United States and sharply 
        reduce disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate supports the goals and ideals of National 
Minority Health Month in April 2014, which include bringing attention 
to the severe health disparities faced by minority populations in the 
United States, such as American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian 
Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Hawaiians 
or other Pacific Islanders.
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