[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 215 (Tuesday, December 14, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1363-E1364]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             IN RECOGNITION OF THE CAREER OF DR. JAMES HUNT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 14, 2021

  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. James W. Hunt, 
Jr., a leader in community health and health care reform who has spent 
his 41-year career advocating for underserved communities and fighting 
for equitable and affordable healthcare for the people of 
Massachusetts.
  As president and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health 
Centers, Dr. Hunt helped build a network of over 50 community health 
centers across the state. Born out of the civil rights movement, 
community health centers have been instrumental in health care reform. 
and have served over 1 million underserved patients in Massachusetts.
  During his career, Dr. Hunt has worked hard to expand access to 
medical care for low-income Massachusetts residents. He has helped 
secure hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds to build up the 
state's primary care network and to support the growing health care 
workforce of the Commonwealth.
  Madam Speaker, Dr. Hunt's commitment to reforming our broken health 
care system cannot be understated and is exemplified by his tireless 
efforts to expand quality medical care for those who often have the 
hardest time accessing it. Under his leadership, health centers have 
administered about 650,000 doses of the vaccines that protect against 
COVID-19 to residents of Massachusetts--about 65 percent of whom are 
people of color.
  Dr. Hunt began his tenure in public health as a volunteer at the 
Neponset Health Center in Dorchester, MA. Leaving behind a career as a 
civil engineer, he joined the Massachusetts

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League of Community Health Centers in 1980 and soon after became a 
leading force in community health and state health reform. Dr. Hunt's 
advocacy has pushed health centers to the forefront of the fight for 
universal health care coverage in Massachusetts.
  Dr. Hunt stepped down as president and CEO of the Massachusetts 
League of Community Health Centers in December of 2020 and held an 
emeritus position through June of 2021. While he has stepped down from 
his role at the organization, this was not the end of Dr. Hunt's work. 
Dr. Hunt is forward-thinking, human-oriented, and has been and will 
continue to be an integral part of transforming health care in 
Massachusetts to positively impact the lives of the state's most 
marginalized communities.
  Madam Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress and all the 
people in whose lives Dr. Hunt has made a positive difference, it is my 
great privilege and honor to thank and recognize Dr. James W. Hunt, Jr. 
for his tireless efforts to create a more just and equitable world.

                          ____________________