[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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