[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 81 (Tuesday, May 11, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2458-S2459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 205--PROMOTING MINORITY HEALTH AWARENESS AND 
 SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF NATIONAL MINORITY HEALTH MONTH IN 
APRIL 2021, WHICH INCLUDE BRINGING ATTENTION TO THE HEALTH DISPARITIES 
  FACED BY MINORITY POPULATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES SUCH AS AMERICAN 
INDIANS, ALASKA NATIVES, ASIAN AMERICANS, AFRICAN AMERICANS, HISPANICS, 
            AND NATIVE HAWAIIANS OR OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDERS

  Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mr. Booker, Mr. 
Rubio, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Boozman, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mrs. Capito, Ms. 
Hirono, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Braun, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Brown, 
Mr. Markey, Mr. Padilla, and Mr. Sullivan) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 205

       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 
     2021 is ``Vaccine Ready'';
       Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services has set 
     goals and strategies to enhance and protect the 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 African American women were as likely to have been 
     diagnosed with breast cancer as non-Hispanic White women, but 
     African American women were about 40 percent more likely to 
     die from breast cancer than non-Hispanic White women between 
     2012 and 2016;
       Whereas African American women lose their lives to cervical 
     cancer at more than twice the rate of non-Hispanic White 
     women;
       Whereas African American men are 70 percent more likely to 
     die from a stroke than non-Hispanic White men;
       Whereas Hispanics are twice as likely as non-Hispanic 
     Whites to suffer from end-stage renal disease caused by 
     diabetes, and are 30 percent more likely to die of diabetes, 
     than non-Hispanic Whites;
       Whereas the HIV diagnosis rate among Hispanic men is more 
     than 3 times the HIV diagnosis rate among non-Hispanic White 
     men;
       Whereas the HIV diagnosis rate among Hispanic women is 4 
     times the HIV diagnosis rate among non-Hispanic White women;
       Whereas, in 2018, although African Americans represented 
     only 13 percent of the population of the United States, 
     African Americans accounted for 42 percent of new HIV 
     diagnoses;
       Whereas, in 2018, African American youth accounted for an 
     estimated 51 percent, and Hispanic youth accounted for an 
     estimated 27 percent, of all new HIV diagnoses among youth in 
     the United States;
       Whereas, in 2016, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders 
     were 1.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV than non-
     Hispanic Whites;
       Whereas, in 2018, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders 
     were 2.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than 
     non-Hispanic Whites;
       Whereas Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are 10 
     percent more likely to die from cancer than non-Hispanic 
     Whites;
       Whereas, although the prevalence of obesity is high among 
     all population groups in the United States, 48 percent of 
     American Indian and Alaska Natives, 51 percent of Native 
     Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, 48 percent of African 
     Americans, 45 percent of Hispanics, 37 percent of non-
     Hispanic Whites, and 12 percent of Asian Americans older than 
     18 years old were obese (not including overweight);
       Whereas Asian Americans accounted for 30 percent of chronic 
     Hepatitis B cases, and non-Hispanic Whites accounted for 13.5 
     percent of chronic Hepatitis B cases;
       Whereas of the children diagnosed with perinatal HIV in 
     2017, 65 percent were African American, 9 percent were 
     Hispanic, and 14 percent were non-Hispanic White;
       Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services has 
     identified heart disease,

[[Page S2459]]

     stroke, cancer, and diabetes as 4 of the 10 leading causes of 
     death among American Indians and Alaska Natives;
       Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives die from 
     diabetes, alcoholism, unintentional injuries, homicide, and 
     suicide at higher rates than other people in the United 
     States;
       Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives have a life 
     expectancy that is 5.5 years shorter than the life expectancy 
     of the overall population of the United States;
       Whereas African American women die from childbirth or 
     pregnancy-related causes at a rate that is 3 to 4 times 
     higher than the rate for non-Hispanic White women;
       Whereas African American infants are 3.8 times more likely 
     to die due to complications related to low birth weight than 
     non-Hispanic White infants;
       Whereas American Indian and Alaska Native infants are more 
     than twice as likely as non-Hispanic White infants to die 
     from sudden infant death syndrome;
       Whereas American Indian and Alaska Natives have an infant 
     mortality rate twice as high as that of non-Hispanic Whites;
       Whereas American Indian and Alaska Native infants are 2.7 
     times more likely to die from accidental deaths before their 
     first birthday than non-Hispanic White infants;
       Whereas sickle cell disease affects approximately 100,000 
     people in the United States, occurring in approximately 1 out 
     of every 365 African American births and 1 out of every 
     16,300 Hispanic births;
       Whereas 10.9 percent of Native Hawaiian and Pacific 
     Islanders, 6.3 percent of Asian Americans, 8.8 percent of 
     Hispanics, 8.7 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 18.6 
     percent of non-Hispanic Whites;
       Whereas the 2019 National Healthcare Quality and 
     Disparities Report found African Americans and American 
     Indians and Alaska Natives received worse care than non-
     Hispanic Whites for about 40 percent of quality measures, 
     Hispanics and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders received 
     worse care than non-Hispanic Whites for 33 percent of quality 
     measures, and Asian Americans received worse care than non-
     Hispanic Whites for nearly 30 percent of quality measures;
       Whereas nearly 30 percent of reported COVID-19-related 
     cases are among Hispanics compared to less than 50 percent 
     comprising non-Hispanic Whites;
       Whereas nearly 3.5 times more American Indians and Alaska 
     Natives, 2.9 times more Hispanics, and 2.8 times more African 
     Americans were hospitalized due to COVID-19 compared to non-
     Hispanic Whites;
       Whereas significant differences in social determinants of 
     health can lead to poor health outcomes and declines in life 
     expectancy; and
       Whereas community-based health care initiatives, such as 
     prevention-focused programs, present a unique opportunity to 
     use innovative approaches to improve public health and health 
     care practices across the United States and to 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 2021, which include 
     bringing attention to the health disparities faced by 
     minority populations in the United States, such as American 
     Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, African Americans, 
     Hispanics, and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders.

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