[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 29, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H5003-H5004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SOUTH ASIAN HEART HEALTH AWARENESS AND RESEARCH ACT OF 2020

  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3131) to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 
research and improvement of cardiovascular health among the South Asian 
population of the United States, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3131

       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 ``South Asian Heart Health 
     Awareness and Research Act of 2020''.

     SEC. 2. HEART HEALTH PROMOTION GRANTS.

       Title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 
     et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 317U (42 
     U.S.C. 247b-23) the following new section:

     ``SEC. 317V. HEART HEALTH PROMOTION GRANTS.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall make grants to 
     States for the purpose of promoting awareness of the 
     increasing prevalence of heart disease, including, where 
     appropriate, its relationship to type 2 diabetes, in 
     communities disproportionately affected by heart disease such 
     as South Asian communities in the United States.
       ``(b) Use of Funds.--A State that receives a grant under 
     subsection (a) shall use such grant funds--
       ``(1) to develop culturally appropriate materials on 
     evidence-based topics such as nutrition education, optimal 
     diet plans, and programs for regular exercise;
       ``(2) to support heart health promotion activities of 
     community organizations that work with or serve communities 
     disproportionately affected by heart disease, such as South 
     Asian communities in the United States; or
       ``(3) to support conferences or workshops on research 
     practices, methodology, and design to include more members of 
     communities disproportionately affected by heart disease, 
     such as South Asian communities in the United States, in 
     scientific studies.
       ``(c) Annual Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days 
     after the date of the enactment of the South Asian Heart 
     Health Awareness and Research Act of 2020, and annually 
     thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 
     on outreach efforts and data relating to heart disease in 
     communities disproportionately affected by heart disease, 
     such as South Asian communities in the United States.
       ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--For purposes of 
     carrying out this section, there is authorized to be 
     appropriated $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 
     2025.''.

     SEC. 3. HEART HEALTH RESEARCH.

       Part B of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 
     U.S.C. 284 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new section:

     ``SEC. 409K. HEART HEALTH RESEARCH.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary may--
       ``(1) conduct or support research and related activities 
     regarding cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and other 
     heart health-related ailments among at-risk populations, 
     including South Asian communities in the United States; and
       ``(2) establish an Internet clearinghouse to catalog 
     existing evidence-based heart health research and treatment 
     options for communities disproportionately affected by heart 
     disease, such as South Asian communities in the United 
     States, to prevent, treat, or reverse heart disease and 
     diabetes.
       ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--For purposes of 
     carrying out this section, there is authorized to be 
     appropriated $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 
     2025.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PALLONE. Madam 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 on H.R. 3131.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the 
United States, and tragically, the risk of heart disease death differs 
dramatically by race and ethnicity.
  Overall, racial and ethnic minorities have an elevated risk of 
morbidity and mortality due to heart disease. Racial and ethnic 
minorities confront more barriers to heart health care than White 
Americans, including higher comorbidity rates, less culturally 
competent care, and fewer proactive heart health interventions.
  This bill, the South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act of 
2020, directs the Department of Health and Human Services to build on 
current heart disease programs to improve further heart health 
awareness, education, training, and research for groups 
disproportionately affected by heart disease.
  In November 2019, the American Heart Association and other medical 
groups issued updated cholesterol guidelines that, for the first time, 
urged doctors to consider ethnicity when determining a patient's 
cardiovascular risk and treatment options.
  This bill builds upon the work of determined medical partners like 
the American Heart Association to provide more resources for States 
that wish to expand their heart health programs.
  This bill would not be on the floor today without the determined 
effort of Congresswoman Jayapal, and I commend her for her leadership 
on this. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3131.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about H.R. 3131, the South Asian 
Heart Health Awareness and Research Act of 2020 sponsored by my friend 
and colleague from the Northwest, Representative Jayapal. This bill 
authorizes initiatives that will help improve our understanding of 
cardiovascular disease in South Asians living in the United States, a 
laudable goal.

                              {time}  1445

  The intent of this bill is laudable, as South Asians are a population 
disproportionately impacted by diabetes and heart disease. In fact, 
according to the American College of Cardiology, South Asians represent 
approximately 25 percent of the world's population, yet they account 
for 60 percent of the world's heart disease patients.
  While I support initiatives to improve health in ethnic and minority 
communities, I do have some concerns with the bill itself.
  In providing technical feedback on the legislation, the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, expressed concerns that the grants 
authorized under the legislation would be duplicative of their current 
efforts to address cardiovascular disease in disproportionately 
impacted communities. These efforts include the CDC's Division of 
Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, in addition to the health 
promotion grants to States and the WISEWOMAN Program, which stands for 
Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for WOMen Across the Nation.
  In addition, the CDC expressed concerns that it would not be able to 
provide the data that the bill is mandating the agency report on.
  Broadly, the agency does have data on minority and disproportionately 
impacted groups with regard to cardiovascular disease; that is true. 
However, they do not have enough data on the specific subgroup of the 
South Asian population in order to put together a complete and 
meaningful report that would be useful for Congress in making future 
policy decisions. While unfortunate, it is because CDC does not yet 
have the data collection technology nor the capabilities to obtain that 
kind of granular data.
  Therefore, before mandating such a report, Congress should instead 
pass H.R. 5321, the Public Health Infrastructure Modernization Act, led 
by Representatives Carter and McBath, bipartisan legislation which 
would modernize CDC's data infrastructure and

[[Page H5004]]

improve the collection of more granular information on communities 
disproportionately impacted by cardiovascular disease, such as South 
Asian communities. It would be nice if we had that bill moving through, 
because that, I think, would provide the ability for CDC to get the 
data that this bill before us today requires.
  So I appreciate the gentlewoman from Washington for bringing needed 
attention to this issue. I would like to thank the majority for working 
with us to get this bill to a better place. While we agree with the 
administration's concerns, we also think the bill is a good first step 
in raising awareness about this important public health issue.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to 
the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal), who is the sponsor of 
the bill.
  Ms. JAYAPAL. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership 
and the ranking member for his excellent comments.
  I understand the concerns, and I would just say that, as the first 
South Asian-American woman ever elected to the U.S. House of 
Representatives, I am so proud to see this important bill come to the 
floor, and I want to thank my colleague, Representative   Joe Wilson, 
for his help and support of this important bipartisan bill.
  South Asians are the second fastest growing minority group in the 
United States, and yet this group is four times more at risk of 
developing heart disease than the general population and has the 
highest prevalence of type 2 diabetes.
  The research and understanding of why we are so prone to heart 
disease is limited, while the devastating impact on our families is 
only increasing. In fact, the story of this bill, as much legislation 
happens, began when my former deputy chief of staff, Ven Neralla, 
unexpectedly lost his mother to heart disease. Wanting to understand 
why this happened, we found that this was not just an isolated 
incident, but an alarming trend that had received far too little 
attention.
  The South Asian Heart Health bill will fund the creation of 
culturally appropriate materials, engagement with community groups 
working to promote South Asian heart health, and create an information 
clearinghouse about South Asian heart health. The bill also funds 
grants for the CDC and NIH to conduct research on the impact of heart 
disease on South Asians in the United States.
  The bill has been endorsed by an incredible number of medical 
organizations, including the American College of Cardiology, the 
American Heart Association, WomenHeart, the South Asian Public Health 
Association, and many, many more.
  COVID-19 has taught us the value of preventing underlying health 
conditions and addressing health inequities afflicting communities of 
color. The South Asian Heart Health bill is a significant step in 
raising the alarm, reversing the trend of heart disease in our 
communities, and saying to South Asian-American communities across the 
country: We see you here in Congress, and we are ready to help.
  Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I have no additional speakers on my side 
of the aisle, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. I urge support of this the bill, and I yield back the 
balance of my time, Madam Speaker.
  Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the 
South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act.
  This bipartisan measure will raise awareness in the South Asian 
community about alarming increases in heart disease and invest in ways 
to reverse this trend.
  South Asians in the United States are those who immigrated or whose 
families immigrated from countries including India, Pakistan, 
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. South Asians represent the sixth 
largest and fastest-growing ethnic group in our nation.
  Despite a traditional diet high in lentils, vegetables, grains and 
spices, heart disease is on the rise in these communities. A Stanford 
study found that South Asians' risk of having a heart attack before 50 
is four times greater than the general population's.
  South Asians also have the highest prevalence of Type 2 diabetes. As 
diabetes is one of the most serious drivers of heart disease, stats 
underscore the urgent need for action.
  The tools and research this bill promotes will give us the insight 
needed to save lives not just in the South Asian community, but the 
greater public, too.
  I thank Congresswoman Jayapal for her vision in developing this bill 
and urge my colleagues to support it.
  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. 3131, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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