[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 102 (Thursday, June 15, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3537-S3538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Minority Health

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, April was National Minority Health Month. 
I point that out because I have worked with many of my colleagues in 
order to advance minority health.
  We have done some very important things in recent years that I am 
very proud of, and many of those are included in the Affordable Care 
Act. I know that Senator Carper and Senator Blumenthal will be on the 
floor; Senator Carper is here now. They have been instrumental in 
advancing quality healthcare for all Americans, but we do recognize 
that we have a special role in regard to historic discrimination on 
minority health. I was pleased that the Affordable Care Act included 
the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities so 
that we could have a focal point at NIH to deal with the historic 
problems and have a game plan to advance that.
  I was also pleased that the Affordable Care Act provided coverage for 
minorities in greater numbers because when we looked at the number of 
uninsured, the number of minorities were a much higher percentage than 
the general population of uninsured. When we looked at inadequate 
coverage, we saw the same numbers. So we have made advancements.
  In April, historically, I had filed a resolution in order to 
acknowledge the progress we made and to continue our commitment to make 
sure that all Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare 
and that we do not discriminate. That resolution had always cleared 
without any difficulty until 2017. For reasons I cannot explain, there 
were Republican objections, and we were not able to adopt the 
resolution commemorating minority health month.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of that 
resolution be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       Promoting minority health awareness and supporting the 
     goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 
     2017, which include bringing attention to the health 
     disparities faced by minority populations of the United 
     States such as American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Asian 
     Americans, African Americans, Latino Americans, and Native 
     Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders.
       Whereas the origin of National Minority Health Month is 
     National Negro Health Week, established in 1915 by Dr. Booker 
     T. Washington;
       Whereas the theme for National Minority Health Month in 
     2017 is ``Bridging Health Equity Across Communities'';
       Whereas, through the National Stakeholder Strategy for 
     Achieving Health Equity and the HHS Action Plan to Reduce 
     Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, the Department of 
     Health and Human Services has set goals and strategies to 
     advance the safety, health, and well-being of the people of 
     the United States;
       Whereas a study by the Joint Center for Political and 
     Economic Studies, entitled ``The Economic Burden of Health 
     Inequalities in the United States'', concludes that, between 
     2003 and 2006, the combined cost of health inequalities and 
     premature death in the United States was $1,240,000,000,000;
       Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services has 
     identified 6 main categories in which racial and ethnic 
     minorities experience the most disparate access to health 
     care and health outcomes, including infant mortality, cancer 
     screening and management, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, 
     HIV/AIDS, and immunizations;
       Whereas, in 2012, African American women were as likely to 
     have been diagnosed with breast cancer as non-Latina White 
     women, but African American women were almost 40 percent more 
     likely to die from breast cancer than non-Latina White women;
       Whereas African American women are twice as likely to lose 
     their lives to cervical cancer as non-Latina White women;
       Whereas African American men are 60 percent more likely to 
     die from a stroke than non-Latino White men;
       Whereas Latinos are 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed 
     with diabetes by a physician, and are 40 percent more likely 
     to die of diabetes, than non-Latino Whites;
       Whereas Latino men are 3 times more likely to have HIV 
     infections or AIDS than non-Latino White men;
       Whereas Latina women are 4 times more likely to have AIDS 
     than non-Latina White women;
       Whereas, in 2014, although African Americans represented 
     only 13 percent of the population of the United States, 
     African Americans accounted for 43 percent of HIV infections;
       Whereas, in 2010, African American youth accounted for an 
     estimated 57 percent, and

[[Page S3538]]

     Latino youth accounted for an estimated 20 percent, of all 
     new HIV infections among youth in the United States;
       Whereas, between 2005 and 2014, the number of Asian 
     Americans diagnosed with HIV increased by nearly 70 percent;
       Whereas, in 2014, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders 
     were 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV than non-
     Latino whites;
       Whereas Native Hawaiians living in the State of Hawaii are 
     5.7 times more likely to die of diabetes than non-Latino 
     Whites living in Hawaii;
       Whereas Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are 30 
     percent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than non-
     Latino whites;
       Whereas, although the prevalence of obesity is high among 
     all population groups in the United States, 42 percent of 
     American Indian and Alaskan Natives, 41 percent of Native 
     Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, 40 percent of African 
     Americans, 31 percent of Latinos, 24 percent of non-Latino 
     whites, and 11 percent of Asian Americans are obese;
       Whereas, in 2013, Asian Americans were 1.2 times more 
     likely than non-Latino Whites to contract Hepatitis A;
       Whereas, among all ethnic groups in 2013, Asian Americans 
     and Pacific Islanders had the highest incidence of Hepatitis 
     A;
       Whereas Asian American women are 1.3 times more likely than 
     non-Latina Whites to die from viral hepatitis;
       Whereas Asian Americans are 3 times more likely than non-
     Latino Whites to develop chronic Hepatitis B;
       Whereas of the children living with diagnosed perinatal HIV 
     in 2014, 65 percent were African American, 15 percent were 
     Latino Americans, and 11 percent were non-Latino whites;
       Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services has 
     identified heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes as 
     some of the leading causes of death among American Indians 
     and Alaskan Natives;
       Whereas American Indians and Alaskan Natives die from 
     diabetes, alcoholism, unintentional injuries, homicide, and 
     suicide at higher rates than other people in the United 
     States;
       Whereas American Indians and Alaskan Natives have a life 
     expectancy that is 4.4 years shorter than the life expectancy 
     of the overall population of the United States;
       Whereas African American babies are 3.5 times more likely 
     than non-Latino White babies to die due to complications 
     related to low birth weight;
       Whereas American Indian and Alaskan Native babies are twice 
     as likely as non-Latino White babies to die from sudden 
     infant death syndrome;
       Whereas American Indian and Alaskan Natives have 1.5 times 
     the infant mortality rate as that of non-Latino whites;
       Whereas American Indian and Alaskan Native babies are 70 
     percent more likely to die from accidental deaths before 
     their first birthday than non-Latino White babies;
       Whereas only 5 percent of Native Hawaiian and Pacific 
     Islanders, 6 percent of Asian Americans, 8 percent of 
     Latinos, 9 percent of African Americans, and 14 percent of 
     American Indians and Alaska Natives received mental health 
     treatment or counseling in the past year, compared to 18 
     percent of non-Latino whites;
       Whereas marked differences in the social determinants of 
     health, described by the World Health Organization as ``the 
     high burden of illness responsible for appalling premature 
     loss of life'' that ``arises in large part because of the 
     conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and 
     age'', lead to poor health outcomes and declines in 
     longevity;
       Whereas the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 
     (Public Law 111-148; 124 Stat. 119)--
       (1) has reduced the uninsured rate for minority communities 
     by at least 35 percent;
       (2) has helped further combat health disparities for low-
     income individuals through coverage expansions in the 
     Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) and the individual health insurance 
     marketplaces; and
       (3) provides specific protections and rights for American 
     Indians and Alaskan Natives, 21.4 percent of whom lack health 
     insurance;
       Whereas, despite the substantial improvements in health 
     insurance coverage among women overall, women of color are 
     more likely to be uninsured;
       Whereas, in 2012, 36 percent of Latina women, 29 percent of 
     American Indian women, 23 percent of African American women, 
     19 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander women, and 14 
     percent of non-Latina White women were uninsured;
       Whereas community-based health care initiatives, such as 
     prevention-focused programs, present a unique opportunity to 
     use innovative approaches to improve health practices across 
     the United States and to sharply reduce disparities among 
     racial and ethnic minority populations: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate supports the goals and ideals of 
     National Minority Health Month in April 2017, which include 
     bringing attention to the severe health disparities faced by 
     minority populations in the United States, such as American 
     Indians, Alaskan Natives, Asian Americans, African Americans, 
     Latino Americans, and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific 
     Islanders.

  Mr. CARDIN. I thank Senators Menendez, Blumenthal, Brown, Hirono, 
Markey, Klobuchar, Van Hollen, Booker, Peters, Duckworth, and Carper 
for their help in regard to minority health and the resolution.