[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 73 (Tuesday, May 3, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2281-S2282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 613--PROMOTING MINORITY HEALTH AWARENESS AND 
 SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF NATIONAL MINORITY HEALTH MONTH IN 
APRIL 2022, 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. Sullivan, 
Mr. Rubio, Mr. Braun, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Markey, Mr. Padilla, 
Mrs. Capito, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Booker, Mr. Brown, Ms. Cortez Masto, and 
Mr. Schatz) submitted the following resolution; which was considered 
and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 613

       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 
     2022 is ``Give Your Community a Boost!'';
       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'', concluded 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 41 percent more likely to die 
     from breast cancer than non-Hispanic White women between 2015 
     and 2019;
       Whereas African American women were twice as likely to be 
     diagnosed with and 2.2 times more likely to die of stomach 
     cancer than non-Hispanic White women;

[[Page S2282]]

       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 be hospitalized for end-stage renal disease caused 
     by diabetes, and are 30 percent more likely to die of 
     diabetes, than non-Hispanic Whites;
       Whereas Asian Americans are 40 percent more likely to be 
     diagnosed with diabetes than non-Hispanic Whites;
       Whereas the HIV or AIDS case rate among Hispanic men is 
     more than 4 times the HIV or AIDS case rate among non-
     Hispanic White men;
       Whereas Hispanic women are 3 times as likely as non-
     Hispanic White women to die of HIV infection;
       Whereas, in 2019, although African Americans represented 
     only 13 percent of the population of the United States, 
     African Americans accounted for 42.1 percent of new HIV 
     diagnoses;
       Whereas, in 2019, African American youth accounted for more 
     than 50 percent, and Hispanic youth accounted for more than 
     10 percent, of all new HIV diagnoses among youth in the 
     United States;
       Whereas, in 2019, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders 
     were 2.4 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 Hawaiian and Pacific Islander men are 10 
     percent more likely to die from cancer than non-Hispanic 
     White men;
       Whereas, although the prevalence of obesity is high among 
     all population groups in the United States, 48.1 percent of 
     American Indian and Alaska Natives, 51.7 percent of Native 
     Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, 38.3 percent of African 
     Americans, 34.9 percent of Hispanics, 30 percent of non-
     Hispanic Whites, and 13 percent of Asian Americans older than 
     18 years old were obese (not including overweight);
       Whereas Asian Americans accounted for 30.1 percent of 
     chronic Hepatitis B cases, and non-Hispanic Whites accounted 
     for 13.5 percent of chronic Hepatitis B cases;
       Whereas heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes are 
     some of the leading causes of death among American Indians 
     and Alaska Natives;
       Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives have higher 
     prevalence and are at a higher risk of diabetes, substance 
     use, obesity, sudden infant death syndrome, and suicide than 
     other groups in the United States;
       Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives have a life 
     expectancy that is 2.2 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 4 times more likely to 
     die due to complications related to low birth weight than 
     non-Hispanic White infants;
       Whereas American Indians 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 approximately 1,000 babies are born with sickle 
     cell disease each year in the United States, with the disease 
     occurring in approximately 1 in 365 newborn Black or African-
     American infants and 1 in 16,300 newborn Hispanic-American 
     infants, and can be found in individuals of Mediterranean, 
     Middle Eastern, Asian, and Indian origin;
       Whereas the 2021 National Healthcare Quality and 
     Disparities Report found African Americans received worse 
     care than non-Hispanic Whites for about 43 percent of quality 
     measures, American Indians and Alaska Natives received worse 
     care than non-Hispanic Whites for about 40 percent of quality 
     measures, Hispanics received worse care than non-Hispanic 
     Whites for 36 percent of quality measures, and Asian 
     Americans and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders received 
     worse care than non-Hispanic Whites for nearly 30 percent of 
     quality measures;
       Whereas nearly 25 percent of reported COVID-19 cases are 
     among Hispanics compared to less than 55 percent comprising 
     non-Hispanic Whites;
       Whereas 3 times more American Indians and Alaska Natives, 
     2.3 times more Hispanics, and 2.4 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 2022, 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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