[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 21 (Wednesday, March 2, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
       THE DISADVANTAGED MINORITY HEALTH IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1993

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise today in support of a provision 
of a bill that we are going to pass in the Senate by unanimous consent 
in the next couple of days. I thank Senators Kennedy, Hatch, and 
Kassebaum for working with me on a very important amendment for my 
State.
  The bill is the Disadvantaged Minority Health Improvement Act of 
1993, S. 1569.
  The amendment that I rise to support will grant the establishment and 
operation of border State health and environmental labs along the 
United States-Mexico border. This provision supports and leverages the 
important laboratory work our border States are already providing. I 
commend and thank the managers of the bill for incorporating the 
provision which is so important to all of the border States.
  Currently, all of the border States suffer from a critical shortage 
of environmental and occupational health monitoring and surveillance 
and efficient analytical laboratory services to support local and State 
health and environmental agencies. As population and commerce increases 
along the border as a result of our commitment to hemispheric free 
trade, the need for state-of-the-art laboratory capacity will only 
increase.
  I am sure that my colleagues have seen the television reports from 
San Diego/Tijuana, Brownsville/Matamoros, or El Paso/Juarez 
spotlighting the deplorable environmental conditions that have 
developed there. Beyond those television reports are millions of border 
residence, primarily minority, who are subject to the health risks 
incumbent to these conditions.
  We are already aware of some of these risks, but there are others we 
may not be aware of simply because there are not enough facilities to 
analyze them.
  Let me give you an example of this problem from my home State of 
Texas. Recently, as part of a small research project in the Lower Rio 
Grande Valley of Texas, an EPA staff member obtained samples of fish 
from nearby waterways, a regular staple of many local diets, and it was 
determined that the edible tissue of the fish contained an unacceptable 
amount of the highly toxic chemical PCB. After further analysis, the 
Texas Department of Health promptly issued an advisory strongly 
recommending that fish taken from the waterways and reservoirs in the 
area not be eaten.
  Of course, the Texas Department of Health gave these analyses 
priority status. However, in doing so, it had to set aside other 
important and urgent work. There simply is more work of that nature in 
the United States-Mexico border area than there are facilities to do 
it. There is an intolerable potential cost--the health of the citizens 
in the border area. So Federal support will mean badly needed 
improvement in the border States' abilities to respond to the health 
and environmental risks facing their citizens.
  I really appreciate the authors of this bill. I received a call from 
the Governor of California just this week talking about the terrible 
burden that his State faces in dealing with illegal immigration. 
Really, it is a Federal problem, but California and Texas and many of 
the other border States, as well as northern States like New York and 
New Jersey and Florida, are dealing with a problem that really is a 
Federal problem. But they are having to pay for it out of State funds, 
and it is becoming an onerous burden and is causing taxes to increase 
in our State at a level that is really not fair.
  So I am pleased that this one small step for the health of our border 
States is being taken by Senators Kennedy, Hatch, and Kassebaum. I 
think it will go a long way toward improving the health along our 
border.
  I thank you.

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