[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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