[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 26 (Thursday, February 11, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                      COVID-19 LANGUAGE ACCESS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GRACE MENG

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 11, 2021

  Ms. MENG. Madam Speaker, with over 25 million people across our 
nation who have limited English proficiency, there is a critical need 
for translated COVID-19 outreach materials during this pandemic 
response.
  We must ensure language barriers do not prevent individuals from 
accessing vital and potentially lifesaving COVID-19 information, 
especially as our federal, state, and local governments are working to 
get every single individual in the United States vaccinated.
  Madam Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated already existing 
vulnerabilities, inequalities, and disparities, particularly in access 
to health care. Inadequate access to health care for reasons such as 
language barriers increases health disparities among vulnerable 
populations, especially those of communities of color.
  Health disparities are often magnified for individuals who have 
limited English proficiency. For weeks after the COVID-19 public health 
emergency was declared, the government provided little to no 
information about COVID in languages other than English and Spanish, 
which left millions of people in the dark. No one should be left in the 
dark.
  That is why I am re-introducing the COVID-19 Language Access Act, 
which would require any federal agency that receives coronavirus-
related funding to provide COVID-19 written resources to the public in 
20 languages: Spanish, Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese, Haitian Creole, 
French, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Tagalog, Urdu, 
Vietnamese, Greek, Polish, Thai, Portuguese, Laotian, and Hmong. These 
selected languages are based on the languages required in the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency's Language Access Plan for Disaster 
Assistance dated October 1, 2016. And Hmong has been added to reflect 
existing federal standards, including at Department of Homeland 
Security, for requiring Hmong translations in addition to Laotian.
  I am proud that my bill has served as a basis for President Biden's 
presidential memorandum to address cultural and linguistic barriers to 
COVID-19 relief and recovery, especially for Asian Americans. President 
Biden's executive actions underscores the inequities of language access 
particularly in the midst of this COVID-19 outbreak.
  Madam Speaker, fighting this pandemic requires everyone to have the 
right information and to be vaccinated. But to do so, we must eliminate 
any language barrier so that everyone is best prepared, informed, and 
ready to defeat this pandemic together. I urge my colleagues to support 
this legislation.

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