[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 29, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H9019-H9020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CRITICAL HEALTH CARE ISSUES
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) is recognized
for 5 minutes.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, today, before I start, I want to say
to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) and to the people
of North Carolina that my heart and the heart of my constituents go out
to them. We know what they are going through, although I think their
situation is much worse than ours has ever been. We will stand by them
and are ready to be of assistance in any way that we can to the people
of North Carolina, Virginia, and the other States that are affected.
But today, Mr. Speaker, I come here to give a brief overview of some
of the critical health care issues that are a priority to the
Congressional Black Caucus and its health braintrust which I chair.
Many of my colleagues and I will come back on subsequent days to
elaborate on the dire statistics that have compelled us and some of our
individual critical issues.
Last year, the Caucus was able to secure an unprecedented $156
million to fund a state of emergency or what was called a severe and
ongoing crisis on HIV and AIDS and to target the needs of African
Americans, Latinos, and other people of color with regard to this
epidemic.
The dollars were to increase capacity, to help build infrastructure,
to enable us to get grants, to administer them, and reach the
population within our communities that until now have been hard to
reach, mainly because we, the health care delivery system, have not
been going about it in the right way.
Mr. Speaker, in communities of color, there are many barriers that
must be overcome to bring effective messages of disease prevention and
health promotion. They are language. They are culture. They are decades
of mistrust. They are lack of education. There are other priorities
that come from poverty, joblessness, and other social and economic
factors.
These communities thus have severe disparities and health services
and health status and are disproportionately affected in many diseases,
but especially in HIV and AIDS. The health care delivery infrastructure
is just not there. While we work on that, that cannot be built in 1
day, 365 days, 1 year or even several years.
In the meantime, we need to empower our communities through their
indigenous community organizations to provide the prevention and
intervention services that are needed. The people within the
communities know their communities. They have the trust of their
communities. They can do it best. What they do not have are the
resources, and that is what the CBC initiative is all about.
We will soon be looking at the outcome of this past year's
initiative. We have some doubts that it accomplished what we asked it
to, but we must prepare to continue to improve and expand on that
effort. We are, therefore, asking for an increase in the FY 2000 budget
above the President's request of $171 million.
Because we are seeking to make sure that all communities of color
receive the funding they need commensurate with the level of the
epidemic and the infrastructure deficiencies that each one of us has,
some greater than others, we are asking then for $349 million in the
Labor HHS appropriation.
This funding is critical, as our other requests for $150 million for
the President's disparity initiative, $55 million towards the
international AIDS program, and AIDS in Africa.
Along with our requests with respect to the disparities, we are
asking for the special funding to be set aside to train more providers
of color, to provide Medicare and Medicaid outreach to our communities,
and to increase our knowledge of and attention to HIV/AIDS and other
health care issues in the Nation's prisons.
[[Page H9020]]
Mr. Speaker, there are other issues that are just as important to us
as funding, though, and which actually costs us nothing but our
commitment to reduce the disparities that exist for communities of
color in this country.
They include the funding of the offices of minority health in the
agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services, such as CDC,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SAMHSA, and to Health
and Substance Abuse, HRSA, and the Agency for Health Care Research,
where although they are established, they are not funded.
It has been directed that up to 0.5 percent of the agencies' budget
be allocated to fund them, and we want the committee to direct that
this be done. With the best of intentions, the issue of people of color
will not be adequately addressed unless these offices are empowered and
are given some authority within their individual agencies.
The other important area is the Office of Minority Health Research at
the National Institutes of Health which we are asking to be raised to
the level of a center. That office, to be effective, and to fulfill its
important role in ending a two-tiered system of health care in this
country must have budget sign off. It must have accountability for the
funds and the research it has done on behalf of the people it
represents. We in the Caucus will fight for this as we will fight on
the other issues until this becomes a reality.
We have many other challenges before this country, insuring the
uninsured to name a major one. We can make a major step towards better
health care in this country by supporting the initiatives of the
Congressional Black Caucus. They are undertaken, not just on behalf of
African Americans or Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Asian
or Pacific Islanders, or Native Hawaiians or Native Alaskans, although
those are our priority populations, but they are undertaken on behalf
of all Americans.
Just like justice, health care delayed is health care denied. We have
an obligation as the Representatives of all of the people of this
country to bring health care, not just to some, but to each and every
American.
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