[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 196 (Wednesday, November 18, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H5927-H5929]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CONGRESSIONAL HISPANIC CAUCUS DISCUSSES COVID-19 DISPARITIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Lee of Nevada). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 3, 2019, the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Espaillat) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority 
leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, today we reconvene our monthly Special 
Order hour of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for the first time, 
really, since the COVID-19 pandemic reached America's shores.
  As we speak here today, America's staring down the barrel of a third 
wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the worst one, perhaps, that we have so 
far faced.
  We are adding a million cases a week--yes, a million cases every 
week. We are approaching a total of 11.5 million cases, more than any 
other nation in the world by far, despite many more populous countries 
with outbreaks.
  Even more grim, we lead the world in the number of confirmed COVID-
related deaths and quickly are approaching 1,000 deaths per day, more 
than any other nation facing this new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  States and cities are careening towards lockdowns.
  Just today, Madam Speaker, New York City ordered a shutdown of its 
schools. It had attempted to open, partially, the schools, but today 
the mayor of the city of New York ordered another shutdown of the 
school system. Over 1 million children will stay at home with their 
family members.
  And so States and cities are locking down as we speak, right now, as 
we near the Thanksgiving holiday.
  Many States across the country, Governors and mayors have spoken to 
their constituencies and asked them not to congregate in their homes 
with more than 10 people, family members, during Thanksgiving. It is a 
wise recommendation by mayors and Governors.

                              {time}  1830

  Show your loved ones that you love them by keeping them alive. Don't 
expose them to the COVID-19 virus. As we speak right here, as I said, 
New York City has announced that it has indefinitely closed schools.
  Madam Speaker, we all know why America is facing such a terrible 
outbreak of this virus: The abject failure by this administration to 
act and numerous Republican leaders to take this pandemic seriously. It 
was minimized, underestimated, yet it was deadly to over 250,000 
Americans. The failure of leadership--the failure of leadership to 
encourage something as simple as wearing a mask.
  The phenomenon of the COVID-19's unbridled spread throughout the 
United States is a serious one. But there is even more serious 
phenomenon taking place, and that is the alarming disparate impact on 
communities of color.
  So this pandemic zeroes in on communities of color with high rates of 
diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, and other respiratory diseases, 
and cardiovascular problems. Deadly conditions for those that are 
infected by the COVID-19 virus.
  When my home State and the city of New York became the Nation's first 
epicenter of the pandemic, the racial disparities were very clear. The 
hardest

[[Page H5928]]

hit ZIP Codes were those with the highest number of minority 
population.
  My district that has Harlem, East Harlem, Hamilton Heights, 
Washington Heights, Inwood, and the Northwest Bronx was devastated by 
the pandemic. Some of the ZIP Codes had the highest numbers of deaths 
in the country. As the pandemic began to subside in New York, but took 
hold in other parts of the country, the disparities continue to go 
unabated.
  Studies conducted in June bore out statistically what I had seen with 
my very own eyes and on the ground. Now, as the U.S. surpasses 250,000 
COVID-19 deaths and quickly approaches 12 million confirmed cases, 
racial data is more complete, and the trend of this pandemic is crystal 
clear, it discriminates. It discriminate poor people, people with 
preexisting conditions, with diabetes and high blood pressure. It 
discriminates communities of color, disproportionately hurting and 
killing individuals every single day.
  The system is broken in so many ways that the pandemic has both laid 
bare and exacerbated many of these communities. Both African Americans 
and Latinos are consistently at higher risks for health conditions both 
environmental and inherited that have detrimental effects on quality of 
life.
  NPR recently did an analysis using information from the COVID 
Tracking Project, and it shows how the disparities are consistent State 
by State. One key finding is that Hispanics are consistently dying from 
COVID-19 at higher rates than their share of State populations, no 
matter where they are. In May, this was true in only seven States, but 
it has spread now much more.
  Latinos also have a disproportionate rate of infection in 45 States 
and the District of Columbia. It is, unfortunately, easy to see why 
this trend is happening. These communities are often more likely to 
face economic hurdles that have kept them from receiving the quality 
healthcare that they deserve.
  The kinds of preventative treatment that many of us take for granted 
are a luxury to those folks who cannot afford health insurance. We made 
some major improvements with the Affordable Care Act, lowering costs 
and getting millions more Americans insured.
  But the Trump administration has done everything in its power to 
hamper that law. As the pandemic raged across this country, they went 
into court to take away, steal the healthcare for those that need it. 
And we have begun to see a decline in the rate of those with insurance 
rather than the other way around.
  Preventative care is important because it ensures that other 
comorbidities are detected early and well-managed. In the absence of 
that care, something like an infectious disease can make the difference 
between life or death.
  Furthermore, things like food deserts leave many low-income families 
of color without healthy food options, driving up the rate of problems 
like diabetes, heart disease and more.
  Heavy air pollution in densely populated urban centers, which many 
communities of color call home, means higher rates of asthma and other 
chronic respiratory illnesses. So when a highly infectious virus that 
attacks the respiratory system comes along, it is more likely to take 
its toll on those that already have respiratory illnesses.
  And need I mention that Latinos and African Americans make up a 
disproportionate share of our frontline workers, putting them at much 
higher risk. As all of it piles up, it plays out in an obvious way. 
More Black and Brown bodies in the morgue than there should be.
  Madam Speaker, it doesn't have to be this way. Not only can we turn 
this pandemic around, we can also turn the disparities around. With a 
national strategy to contain and combat the virus, we can reduce its 
spread. With a targeted campaign to communities of color, we can keep 
our fellow Americans safe. And with aid to communities who need it the 
most, we can keep families economically stable until finally we are out 
of the woods.
  Since enacting the CARES Act, Democrats have twice passed the HEROES 
Act to get critical aid to our communities. Billions of dollars for 
testing, tracing, and treatment. The three Ts. Testing, tracing, and 
treatment. Billions of dollars for hospitals and needed personal 
protective equipment.
  Billions of dollars for small businesses, and the entertainment and 
food service industries, which are taking a devastating hit. Billions 
of dollars for public transportation and their frontline workers, who 
have heroically kept service going despite months of plummeting 
ridership because they need to get doctors and nurses and first 
responders and supermarket workers to and from work, back home.
  Billions of dollars for State and city governments who are facing 
dire revenue shortfalls through no fault of their own.
  The President has blamed States, divided our country, pointed 
fingers. This is a time of leadership in crisis. There are no blue or 
red States. There are the United States of America. And many of those 
State governments are hurting. They are at the precipice of a fiscal 
crisis of unprecedented proportions.
  Madam Speaker, billions of dollars directly into the pockets of 
fellow Americans through a second stimulus payment, and the $600 
unemployment benefits. I have seen with my very own eyes the food lines 
getting longer and longer around the block. People need the $600 
unemployment benefits. People need another stimulus check for $1,200. 
They need the help. America needs the help. But the White House is 
silent and Mitch McConnell is Doctor No.
  But Republicans in the Senate have refused to even consider the 
HEROES Act. The Trump administration has dragged us along as we have 
tried to negotiate to get robust help for the American people, as they 
should have it in this moment of crisis. It is long past time for them 
to come to the table and work with us to get the HEROES Act signed into 
law right now. The people need the help.
  Finally, Madam Speaker, while we have seen terrible news about the 
rise in cases and deaths these past couple of weeks, we have also been 
given a light at the end of the tunnel.
  But before I speak about that, I also want to highlight that many 
families across the country are backed up in their rent payments--2 
months, 3 months, 4 months, 5 months, and maybe 6 months--and they just 
don't know where they are going to get the money to pay their rent at 
the end of the road. So we must provide also the rental assistance, the 
$100 billion in the HEROES Act for renters across America that can't 
sleep at night because they do not know where they are going to get the 
money to pay the rent. They are backed up 3, 4, 5, 6 months' worth of 
rent. This is a crisis.
  However, in just the past few days, we have received the good news 
that the COVID-19 vaccine may be more than 90 percent effective at an 
incredible rate. It is within our reach. And while it may take time to 
produce the doses that we need to treat everybody and stand up the 
infrastructure to get the vaccine to those who really need it, we must 
make sure from the outset that the vaccine distribution is fair and 
equitable. The ethics of the vaccine distribution must be fair and 
equitable.
  We cannot make the same mistake with the vaccine that we made with 
testing. We can't leave States and communities on their own to fight in 
the free market to wing it on their own for such a vital public health 
resource that is of life and death.
  We cannot allow important things like a vaccine that will be in such 
limited supply to flow to those who are able to pay the highest prices. 
We cannot allow rich folks to muscle in and get the vaccine while poor 
people that suffer from preexisting conditions are exposed to the 
virus.
  We need a comprehensive plan to ensure that the vaccine gets to the 
most vulnerable, the quicker the better. And we must make sure that 
communities that were hardest hit by the pandemic are attended first.
  Communities of color, the African-American community, the Hispanic 
community, Native Americans and others were left out of testing and 
they were short-changed. We must not do that again. They were left out 
of the ICU beds. We must not do that again.
  But they must not be left out of the vaccine distribution. They must 
be fair

[[Page H5929]]

and equitable. The distribution must be fair and equitable. Given the 
disparate way which this virus has hit our communities, they should be 
amongst the first to receive the vaccine and get treated.
  I thank the Madam Speaker for allowing me to address the House on 
this issue of crisis, of imperative action that must be taken 
immediately to address the millions and millions of families that are 
scared in their homes with this pandemic raging across the country.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Garcia).

                              {time}  1845

  Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Espaillat 
for organizing this Special Order hour.
  Madam Speaker, we are more than 8 months into the COVID pandemic, and 
I know that each and every one of us has been impacted.
  For months, we sounded the alarm on the pandemic's disproportionate 
impact on Latinos, minority communities, and especially frontline 
workers.
  It is no coincidence that the top five most impacted zip codes in 
Illinois are in my district. And as many as one in 15 Chicagoans has 
COVID-19, with a vast majority being either Latino or Black.
  But this is a different moment. We are heading into a dark winter and 
working families cannot wait for Congress to act.
  Unless we take immediate action, more will die. The sick are 
splitting pills to pay rent. Diabetics are rationing insulin to save 
money. People are going hungry or doubling up in homes to keep off the 
street.
  This falls on us. Congress. The White House.
  How can I continue to go back home and explain to my constituents 
again why Congress can't pass relief for families?
  We expect everyone to do their part. Stay home or continue working 
the frontlines. It is way past time that we do ours.
  $1,200 is all people were given to get through the lockdown, and many 
of my immigrant constituents didn't even get that. Three, five, four. 
U.S. citizen-born children could not get their $500 checks. U.S. 
citizen spouses could not get their $1,200 checks because they may be 
married to someone who doesn't have a Social Security number yet.
  We call them essential workers, but really, they are expendable as 
far as Donald Trump and the Republican Senate are concerned. We call 
them essential, but they are expendable in the eyes of those who hold 
the keys to relief.
  What do I tell the exhausted doctors and nurses working days at a 
time at hospitals quickly reaching capacity? How do I explain our 
inaction to the mother who had to wait 4 hours just to get tested? Or 
patients trying to figure out how they are paying next month's rent? Or 
children who won't have parents sitting at the table this Thanksgiving?
  Most of my constituents don't have the luxury of working from home. 
They are essential workers. They are on the front lines making sure we 
keep this country running.
  Workers are having to make tough choices these days. Go to work with 
fears of contracting or spreading COVID-19, or stay home and risk 
losing a job, health insurance, or their home.
  All they are asking for is help to get by. People are afraid, 
frustrated, and worried. I am pissed off, and you should be, too.
  What are we doing here? What the heck is the Senate doing sitting 
around confirming judges while 246,000 families grieve?
  Yes, we are all exhausted.
  But months of willful neglect and recklessness from the White House, 
most Republican Governors and the Senate is devastating the Latino 
community and our entire country and economy.
  We have got to get a handle on this virus and our inaction--rather 
than the failure for the Senate or the White House to act--will only 
lead to more death and suffering.
  We must pass the Heroes Act now. Working people cannot wait until 
January. Lives are literally depending on it.
  I plead with all decision makers to come to their senses to save 
people's lives and to help restore our economy by doing the right 
thing. Passing COVID relief legislation that families, small 
businesses, and communities are dying, literally dying, to receive.
  Now is the time for that action, before it gets colder and darker in 
America. We have the solution and the power to act and bring relief to 
all of those grieving and hungry and sick families if we act today.
  It is time for action and no more words. It is time to rise to the 
occasion and restore our people and our economy.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague Jesus Chuy Garcia 
from the State of Illinois. As he clearly said, this pandemic is not 
just about health issues and the catastrophe that has set on America 
with the number of folks that are COVID-19 positive or dead, but also 
has an economic dimension; small businesses must also get another round 
of grants and PPP forgivable loans to ensure that they continue to 
function, to ensure that they continue to provide jobs and 
opportunities for our communities.
  Madam Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity to allow the 
Congressional Hispanic Caucus to talk about the importance of combating 
the disparities laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic and how we can make 
up for the harm that has been wrought.
  I want to thank all of my CHC colleagues, including Congressman 
Garcia and those that were not here today, that I know are on the 
streets every day attending to their districts and their communities to 
ensure that we get through this together, for all the hard work that 
they have been doing on a day-to-day basis since March to help their 
constituents and keep all our communities safe.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________