[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 477 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 477

Promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals 
of National Minority Health Month in April 2016, which include bringing 
 attention to the health disparities faced by minority populations of 
  the United States such as American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Asian 
Americans, African Americans, Latino Americans, and Native Hawaiians or 
                        other Pacific Islanders.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 25, 2016

  Mr. Cardin (for himself, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Brown, Mr. 
Menendez, and Mr. Schatz) 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 2016, which include bringing 
 attention to the health disparities faced by minority populations of 
  the United States such as American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Asian 
Americans, African Americans, Latino Americans, and Native Hawaiians or 
                        other Pacific Islanders.

Whereas the origin of the National Minority Health Month is National Negro 
        Health Week, established in 1915 by Dr. Booker T. Washington;
Whereas the theme for National Minority Health Month in 2016 is ``Accelerating 
        Health Equity for the Nation'';
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 the 
        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, in 2012, African American women were 10 percent less likely to have 
        been diagnosed with, yet were almost 42 percent more likely to die from, 
        breast cancer than non-Hispanic White women;
Whereas African American women are twice as likely to lose their lives to 
        cervical cancer as non-Hispanic White women;
Whereas African Americans are 50 percent more likely to die from a stroke than 
        non-Hispanic Whites;
Whereas, in 2013, Hispanics were 1.4 times more likely than non-Hispanic Whites 
        to die of diabetes;
Whereas Latino men are 3 times more likely to have either HIV infections or AIDS 
        than non-Hispanic White men;
Whereas Latina women are 4 times more likely to have AIDS than non-Hispanic 
        White women;
Whereas, in 2014, although African Americans represented only 13 percent of the 
        population of the United States, they accounted for 43 percent of HIV 
        infections in that year;
Whereas, in 2010, African American youth accounted for an estimated 57 percent 
        of all new HIV infections among youth in the United States, followed by 
        20 percent of Latino youth;
Whereas Asian American women are 18.2 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, although the prevalence of obesity is high among all population groups 
        in the United States, 48 percent of African Americans, 31.8 percent of 
        Hispanics, and 11 percent of Asian Americans are obese;
Whereas, in 2012, Asian Americans were 1.6 times more likely than non-Hispanic 
        Whites to contract Hepatitis A;
Whereas among all ethnic groups in 2012, 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 non-Hispanic 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 Alaskan Natives;
Whereas American Indians and Alaskan Natives die from diabetes, alcoholism, 
        unintentional injuries, homicide, and suicide at higher rates than other 
        people in the United States;
Whereas American Indians and Alaskan Natives have a life expectancy that is 4.4 
        years shorter than the life expectancy of the overall population of the 
        United States;
Whereas African American babies are almost twice as likely as non-Hispanic White 
        or Latino babies to be born at low birth weight;
Whereas American Indian and Alaskan Native babies are twice as likely as non-
        Hispanic White babies to die from sudden infant death syndrome;
Whereas American Indian and Alaskan Natives have 1.5 times the infant mortality 
        rate as that of non-Hispanic Whites;
Whereas American Indian and Alaskan Native babies are 50 percent more likely to 
        die before their first birthday than babies of non-Hispanic Whites;
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;
Whereas the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148; 124 
        Stat. 119) provides specific protections and rights for American Indians 
        and Alaskan Natives, 23 percent of whom lack health insurance;
Whereas, despite the substantial improvements in health insurance coverage among 
        women overall, women of color are more likely to be uninsured;
Whereas, in 2013, 15.9 percent of African Americans were uninsured, as compared 
        to 9.8 percent of non-Hispanic Whites;
Whereas African American women are more likely to be uninsured or underinsured, 
        at a rate of 19 percent;
Whereas \1/4\ of Latinas live in poverty and Latinas have the greatest 
        percentage of uninsured women in any racial group at a rate of 31 
        percent; and
Whereas community-based health care initiatives, such as prevention-focused 
        programs, present a unique opportunity to use innovative approaches to 
        improve health practices across the United States and to 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, which include bringing attention to the severe 
health disparities faced by minority populations in the United States, 
such as American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Asian Americans, African 
Americans, Latino Americans, and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific 
Islanders.
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