[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 132 (Tuesday, September 28, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H7192-H7193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DIABETES IN MINORITY POPULATIONS EVALUATION ACT OF 2010
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1995) to amend the Public Health Service Act to prevent and
treat diabetes, to promote and improve the care of individuals with
diabetes, and to reduce health disparities, relating to diabetes,
within racial and ethnic minority groups, including the African-
American, Hispanic American, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Other
Pacific Islander, and American Indian and Alaskan Native communities,
as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1995
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Diabetes in Minority
Populations Evaluation Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. REPORT ON RESEARCH AND OTHER PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIVITIES
OF HHS WITH RESPECT TO DIABETES AMONG MINORITY
POPULATIONS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall submit to the Congress a report on the
research and other public health activities of the Department
of Health and Human Services with respect to diabetes among
minority populations.
(b) Required Contents.--At a minimum, the report under
subsection (a) shall include, with respect to research and
activities described in subsection (a), the following:
(1) Evaluation.--An evaluation of the following:
(A) Research on diabetes among minority populations,
including with respect to--
(i) genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors that may
contribute to disproportionate rates of diabetes among these
populations; and
(ii) prevention of complications among individuals within
these populations who have already developed diabetes.
(B) Surveillance and data collection on diabetes among
minority populations, including with respect to--
(i) efforts to better determine the prevalence of diabetes
among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders subgroups; and
(ii) efforts to coordinate data collection on the American
Indian population.
(C) Community-based interventions targeting minority
populations, including with respect to--
(i) the evidence base for such interventions;
(ii) the cultural appropriateness of such interventions;
and
(iii) efforts to educate the public on the causes and
consequences of diabetes.
(D) Education and training of health professionals
(including community health workers) on the prevention and
management of diabetes and its related complications that is
supported by the Health Resources and Services
Administration, including through--
(i) the National Health Service Corps program; and
(ii) the community health center program.
(2) Recommendations.--Recommendations for improvement of
the research and other public health activities of the
Department of Health and Human Services with respect to
diabetes among minority populations, including
recommendations for coordination and comprehensive planning
of such research and activities.
(c) Definition.--In this Act, the term ``minority
population'' means a racial and ethnic minority group, as
defined in section 1707(g) of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 300u-6(g)).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
General Leave
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material in the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1995, the Diabetes in Minority
Populations Evaluation Act of 2010. H.R. 1995 directs the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to submit a report to Congress on the
Department's research and other public health activities with respect
to diabetes among minority populations.
{time} 2230
I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 1995.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 1995, the Eliminating Disparities in Diabetes Prevention and
Access and Care Act, would authorize a study on how diabetes affects
those with health disparities.
Diabetes affects an estimated 24 million Americans. Approximately 57
million Americans have a pre-diabetic condition. Type 1 diabetes is a
disease
[[Page H7193]]
which results from the body's failure to produce insulin. Type 2
diabetes, which is far more common, results from the body's inability
to make enough insulin or properly use insulin, or the body is
peripherally resistant to insulin.
According to the World Health Organization, an astonishing 6 percent
of the world's population is affected with diabetes, causing six deaths
every minute and 3.2 million deaths yearly.
In the United States we spend well over $200 billion a year on
diabetes, yet the 2006 diabetes mortality rate for Texas was 27 deaths
per 100,000 persons. For my Hispanic and African American constituents,
the rate was 42 and 49 per 100,000; 1.7 million Texans over 18 years
old have diabetes, and it is our State's sixth leading cause of death.
This bill would allow us to understand if minorities have a higher
prevalence of type 2 diabetes, understand the reason for that higher
rate, and begin to provide some relief for this condition.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I also yield back the balance of my time
and urge passage of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1995, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title was amended so as to read: ``A bill to direct the Secretary
of Health and Human Services to prepare a report on the research and
other public health activities of the Department of Health and Human
Services with respect to diabetes among minority populations.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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