[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 238 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 238

Promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals 
    of National Minority Health Month in April 2015, which includes 
    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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 30, 2015

 Mr. Al Green of Texas (for himself, Mr. Ben Ray Lujaan of New Mexico, 
 Mr. Caardenas, Ms. Judy Chu of California, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Ms. 
Clarke of New York, Mr. Butterfield, Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New 
  Mexico, and Ms. Lee) submitted the following resolution; which was 
      referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals 
    of National Minority Health Month in April 2015, which includes 
    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 twice as likely to die of cervical cancer 
        than non-Hispanic White women;
Whereas African-American women in 2009 were 10 percent less likely to have been 
        diagnosed with breast cancer, however, they were almost 40 percent more 
        likely to die from breast cancer compared to non-Hispanic White women;
Whereas African Americans are 1.4 times more likely to die from a stroke than 
        non-Hispanic Whites;
Whereas in 2010, Hispanics were 1.5 times more likely than non-Hispanic Whites 
        to die of diabetes;
Whereas Hispanic males are 3 times as likely to have either HIV infections or 
        AIDS as compared to non-Hispanic White males, and Hispanic women are 4 
        times as likely to have AIDS as compared to non-Hispanic White women;
Whereas in 2010, although African Americans represented only 13 percent of the 
        United States population, they accounted for 44 percent of HIV 
        infections in that year;
Whereas Asian American women are 20 percent more likely to be diagnosed with HIV 
        than non-Hispanic White women;
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 2013, 80 percent of children born infected with HIV belonged to 
        minority groups;
Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services has identified heart 
        disease, stroke, cancer, 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 for practices across the United States and sharply reduce 
        disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports the goals and 
ideals of National Minority Health Month, which includes 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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