[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 15, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E645]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING DR. ALA STANFORD AS A VIRTUAL GUEST FOR PRESIDENT BIDEN'S 
                  ADDRESS TO JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARY GAY SCANLON

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 15, 2021

  Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Ala Stanford 
from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  On Wednesday, April 28, 2021, President Biden delivered his first 
address to a Joint Session of Congress, 100 days into his first term.
  When President Biden took the oath of office, he pledged that help 
was on the way. Thanks to our work together to enact the American 
Rescue Plan, help is here.
  Hardworking people in Pennsylvania and all across the country have 
been the heroes of the pandemic, and now they are leading our recovery. 
Dr. Stanford is one of those heroes.
  The Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium was founded by Dr. Stanford in 
2020 to educate and advocate for the Black community in order to reduce 
the incidence of disease and death from coronavirus.
  The group originally focused on bringing testing to underserved 
communities, and now they also run vaccination clinics in these same 
areas. Dr. Stanford and her team are intentional about targeting their 
resources to the Black community because Black Americans have been 
disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus and are still 
underrepresented in the number of people who have received the COVID-19 
vaccine.
  After more than a year of having our lives consumed by COVID-19, I 
could think of no better person to represent our region at President 
Biden's Joint Address to Congress than Dr. Stanford. When the pandemic 
hit, she figured out what needed to be done, and then she did it. She 
has dedicated herself to the work of serving her community and reducing 
racial disparities in access to testing and vaccines.
  In a typical year, I would have invited Dr. Stanford to join me in 
the House Chamber for the Joint Address. COVID-19 safety protocols 
limited this year's in-person attendance, and I--along with many other 
Members of Congress--instead watched the address from home.
  However, I couldn't miss this important opportunity to honor Dr. 
Stanford and people like her all across Pennsylvania.

                          ____________________