[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 32 (Thursday, February 16, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S448-S451]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Black History Month

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about Black History 
Month, which has its roots with Carter G. Woodson as early as 1915 and 
has been officially recognized since 1976.
  Black History Month is an opportunity for celebration and discovery. 
It is a time to share the successes and

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contributions of Black Americans that are woven deeply into the fabric 
of American history.
  Over the last year, we Marylanders made exciting history as Wes Moore 
became our State's 63rd Governor, the first person of color to hold 
that office and the only currently serving Black Governor in the 
Nation. We also elected Anthony Brown, former Member of the House of 
Representatives and a former Lt. Governor of Maryland, to be attorney 
general. He, too, is the first Black to hold this position in our 
State. They join Adrienne Jones, the first Black and first woman to 
serve as Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, who has held that 
post since 2019.
  Nationally, the Senate made history by confirming Justice Jackson as 
the first Black woman to serve as an Associate Justice on the Supreme 
Court of the United States.
  Mr. President, we are making progress. Representation matters. When 
young girls and young boys of color see women and men who look like 
them holding positions of power, it makes a real, important difference 
in the expectations and aspirations they set for themselves.
  As Bernice King, the youngest daughter of the late Reverend Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr., and Chief Executive Officer of the Martin 
Luther King, Jr. Center of Nonviolent Social Change, said:

       If you don't think representation matters, you are probably 
     well-represented.

  Representation matters in history as well. Throughout our country's 
history, we have seen blatant attacks on the teaching of African 
American history as well as gaping omissions. Today, unfortunately, we 
continue to see these tactics playing out across our Nation.
  Let me share a little of that history with you. The first Africans 
arrived in North America in the 16th and 17th centuries. A group of 
former Spanish slaves, freed by Englishman Francis Drake, arrived in 
California in 1579 during his first voyage to circumnavigate the world.
  The first recorded group of enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia in 
1619. They would be the first of hundreds of thousands brought here 
against their will and forced into servitude in North America. In 1641, 
Mathias de Sousa was elected to the colonial Maryland legislature. He 
was the first person of African descent to hold elected office in 
British North America.
  By 1776, at the time of the American Revolutionary War, estimates are 
that about 20 percent of the population of the British colonies was of 
African descent--20 percent.
  By 1788, when our Constitution was ratified, the Founding Fathers 
thought it appropriate that each of these men, women, and children were 
only counted as three-fifths of a person.
  After the Civil War, with the abolition of slavery, Reconstruction 
meant opportunities for African-Americans in the South and the North, 
including the right to vote and be elected to office, to own land, and 
to participate in business.
  In 1870, Mississippi elected the first African-American U.S. Senator, 
Hiram Rhodes Revels, a one-time minister and school principal in 
Baltimore. He was followed by Senator Blanche K. Bruce, who served in 
this body from 1875 to 1881. African Americans were regularly elected 
to Congress until 1901. From there, it would be 28 years until another 
Black man served in the Congress.
  The years between were turbulent and regressive. The summer of 1919 
was dubbed ``Red Summer'' as White-on-Black violence exploded in dozens 
of cities across the country and continued thereafter. On May 21, 1921, 
Greenwood, a prosperous Black neighborhood in Tulsa, OK, known as Black 
Wall Street, became the site of one of the most violent attacks on 
Black freedom and progress in our Nation's history: the Tulsa Race 
Massacre of 1921. A White mob killed an estimated 300 people and 
destroyed more than 1,400 homes and businesses. Thousands of people 
were left homeless.
  Despite its severity and destructiveness, however, the Tulsa Race 
Massacre was barely mentioned in the history books until the late 1990s 
when the State formed the commission to document the incident. Tulsa is 
but one example. Regrettably, there are many more instances of White 
mob violence that also never made it into the history books.
  Black history is American history, and attempts to whitewash or 
ignore the role that African Americans have played in this Nation, even 
before our founding, is an immense disservice. Slavery and segregation 
and racism are ugly and dehumanizing, but they are part of America's 
history.
  For too long, our history lessons failed to acknowledge the African-
American experience and the role that African Americans have played in 
American history. We should all learn about the inventors like George 
Washington Carver, who popularized crop rotation. Henry Blair, the 
second African-American inventor in U.S. history to be issued a patent, 
was born a free man in Glen Ross, MD, in 1807. His farm machinery 
revolutionized planting. Garrett Morgan patented the first traffic 
safety signal and developed the first gas mask. We should all learn 
about the entrepreneurs like Madam C.J. Walker, whose hair care and 
cosmetic business made her the first female self-made millionaire in 
the United States. Robert Johnson cofounded Black Entertainment 
Television on his way to becoming America's first Black billionaire.
  We should all learn about scientists like Maryland's own Benjamin 
Banneker, a largely self-taught mathematician, astronomer, and 
surveyor. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson furthered our knowledge of 
star and galaxy formation and evolution and has done as much as Carl 
Sagan to popularize science, especially astronomy. All of these 
individuals should take their place in our history books alongside 
Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Dr. King.
  Unfortunately, instead of expanding the teaching of Black history, we 
are seeing a retrenchment. In Florida, we have seen one of the most 
brazen attacks on the teaching of African-American history and culture 
with the Governor's rejection of the College Board's new Advanced 
Placement African-American studies course. For more than a year, 
Florida officials pressured the College Board to change its curriculum.
  College Board officials have since denied they capitulated, but on 
the first day of Black History Month, they released a revised 
curriculum that deleted certain topics related to Black history. It 
appears the board was eager to keep selling its program to Florida. 
This past Saturday, board officials issued a statement saying:

       We deeply regret not immediately denouncing the Florida 
     Department of Education's slander, magnified by the DeSantis 
     administration's subsequent comments that African-American 
     studies ``lacks educational value.'' Our failure to raise our 
     voice betrayed Black scholars everywhere and those who have 
     long toiled to build this remarkable field.

  Florida is not acting alone. According to the Brookings Institution, 
nearly 20 States have introduced legislation to ban any discussion 
about conscious bias, privilege, discrimination, and oppression. At 
least nine have succeeded in passing such legislation.
  These efforts are aimed at suppressing the discussion of 
uncomfortable truths about our past and even our present. They 
eliminate responsibility for the collective work that we all must do 
not only to acknowledge the centuries of harm done to Black communities 
but also remedy the lasting effects of these harms.
  The continued suppression of history happens in many more places than 
schools alone, and we are all poorer for it. So much of what we have 
learned for generations about history, music, culture, and more has 
diminished or even extinguished the role of African-American creators, 
writers, musicians, and others. We must teach our children and learn 
for ourselves the full breadth of the American story--the good, the 
bad, and the ugly--if we truly aspire to form a more perfect Union.
  Philip Graham, the former president and publisher of the Washington 
Post, is credited with saying ``Journalism is the first rough draft of 
history.'' This is especially true with regard to Black history.
  For decades, White newspapers barely acknowledged the African-
American communities in their readership, except when there were 
negative stories to tell. Brent Staples, an editorial writer at the New 
York Times recently

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described the culpability of White newspapers:

       Newspapers that championed white supremacy throughout the 
     pre-civil rights South paved the way for lynching by 
     declaring African Americans nonpersons. They embraced the 
     language once used at slave auctions by denying Black 
     citizens street courtesy titles Mr. and Mrs. and referring to 
     them in news stories as ``the negro.''

  One year ago, the Baltimore Sun declared:

       We are deeply and profoundly sorry: For decades, The 
     Baltimore Sun promoted policies that oppressed Black 
     Marylanders; we are working to make amends.

  The newspaper founder, Arunah S. Abell ``was a Southern sympathizer 
who supported slavery and segregation.'' As the Sun editorial stated:

       Instead of using its platform, which at times included both 
     a morning and evening newspaper, to question and strike down 
     racism, The Baltimore Sun frequently employed prejudice as a 
     tool of the times. It fed the fears and anxiety of white 
     readers with stereotypes and caricatures that reinforced 
     their erroneous beliefs about Black Americans. Through its 
     news coverage and editorial opinions, The Sun sharpened, 
     preserved and furthered the structural racism that still 
     subjugates Black Marylanders in our communities today.

  As White newspapers perpetrated lies and negative stories, Black 
journalism emerged to fill the void. Freedom's Journal, the first 
Black-owned and -operated newspaper, was founded on March 16, 1827, in 
New York City. The newspaper's inaugural broadsheet powerfully 
declared:

       We wish to plead our own cause. Too long others have spoken 
     for us.

  The Maryland-based Afro-American newspaper began publishing in 1892. 
As the firm that owned the paper fell into bankruptcy, John H. Murphy, 
Sr., a former slave who worked at the newspaper, borrowed $200 from his 
wife and purchased its equipment in 1897. In 1922, the Afro was the 
third largest Black-owned newspaper on the east coast, behind the 
Chicago Defender and the Negro World.
  The Afro-American, headquartered in Baltimore, now is the oldest 
Black business in Maryland and the longest running, African-American 
family-owned newspaper in the United States. John Sr.'s great-
granddaughter, Dr. Frances ``Toni'' Draper, is the current publisher.
  This Monday, I was privileged to join Dr. Draper and other leaders 
from the local community to unveil a $2.2-million earmark for the AFRO 
Charities, alongside my colleagues, Chris Van Hollen and Representative 
Kweisi Mfume. These funds will be used to preserve the archives of the 
Afro-American and develop a permanent home and research center for 
these materials, the largest collection of its kind in our country.
  The Afro-American has been published for more than 130 years. I have 
seen a small fraction of these archives, and I can tell you that there 
is so much history that needs to be preserved for the community, the 
State of Maryland, and the Nation. The project will be digitized. There 
are approximately 3 million photographs, several thousand letters, back 
issues of the AFRO, personal audio recordings of U.S. Supreme Court 
Justice Thurgood Marshall and Dr. King, and so much more.
  Since its inception, the Black press has played a critical role in 
the struggle for freedom for African-Americans by highlighting issues 
that mainstream media ignored or misrepresented. As Dr. Draper of the 
Afro-American wrote recently:

       If there were no Black press, would America draft its story 
     honestly and equitably, and in a way that bends--however 
     slowly--towards justice? We think not. The Black press in 
     America plays a crucial role shaping and preserving our 
     community's history from the perspective of our people and 
     advocating for a better, brighter day.

  Today, so many Black journalists continue to walk boldly in this 
tradition, uncovering the stories of our time with an eye towards 
justice and civil rights. At the forefront of these media professionals 
is the National Association of Black Journalists, which is 
headquartered at the University of Maryland, College Park. This 
organization was founded in 1975. It is a nonprofit association with 
more than 4,000 members in the United States and worldwide. The 
organization advocates for diversity in newsrooms, works to create 
strong ties among Black journalists, and expands job opportunities for 
Black media professionals. The organization provides scholarships and 
works with high school students to encourage Black students to pursue 
journalism careers. Black history is America's history. Black 
journalism is essential to telling the American story.
  On March 31, 1968, Dr. King gave his last Sunday sermon--this one was 
at Washington National Cathedral. He said:

       We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is 
     long but it bends toward justice.

  The obstacles we face are harmful and hurtful. But they are temporary 
stumbling blocks.
  On February 1, I was proud to join my friend Representative Mfume in 
introducing the National Council on African American History and 
Culture Act of 2023. Our legislation would create a 12-person National 
Council on African American History and Culture to advise the National 
Endowment of the Humanities in the best ways to amplify the work of 
black creators, strengthening teaching and learning in schools to 
ensure Black history and culture is recognized, and provide critical 
resources dedicated to preserving Black history.
  On February 7, I was proud to invite Governor Moore to be my guest at 
President Biden's State of the Union Address. Seated behind President 
Biden was Vice President Kamala Harris, a woman of color and the first 
female Vice President.
  Before the State of the Union Address on February 4, the Senate 
Curator removed the bust of former Chief Justice Roger B. Taney from 
the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Senate wing of the Capitol 
Building. We are making progress. The removal was in accordance with 
legislation I am proud to introduce with Representative Steny Hoyer. 
Taney, a Marylander, authored the infamous Dred Scott decision in 1857, 
ruling that African Americans could not be considered U.S. citizens and 
that Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in the U.S. 
territories. Our legislation directs the Joint Committee on the Library 
to commission a bust of Thurgood Marshall, another Marylander, for 
display in the Capitol Complex, preferably near the Old Supreme Court 
Chamber.
  One Justice sought to prolong slavery; the other--the first African-
American to sit on the Nation's highest Court--helped to advance civil 
rights in this Nation due to his successful Supreme Court argument in 
Brown v. Board of Education, which held that the doctrine of ``separate 
but equal'' has no place in American society.
  Removing the Taney bust from the Old Supreme Court Chamber is making 
the right decision about whom we choose to honor. Across the Nation, 
monuments to enslavers are coming down.
  In Requiem for a Nun, William Faulkner famously wrote:

       The past is never dead. It's not even past.

  Black history is America's history. Black History Month is so 
important because it forces us to face who we are and where we are 
going. In doing so, it helps us respect and ultimately aspire to be a 
more perfect Union.


                national children's dental health month

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize February as 
National Children's Dental Health Month. Since 1981, this month has 
afforded us the opportunity to acknowledge the importance of children's 
dental health, recognize the significant strides we have made, and 
renew our commitment to ensuring all children in our country have 
access to affordable and comprehensive dental services. To echo Former 
U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, ``There is no health without oral 
health.''
  Despite recent encouraging reductions in tooth decay, also known as 
dental caries, particularly among younger children, dental caries 
remains one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. About one 
in four preschool children experienced caries in primary teeth, and at 
least one in six children aged 6 to 11 years experienced dental caries 
in permanent teeth. Deferring routine preventive and restorative dental 
care increases the need for more advanced and expensive dental 
services, which are even less accessible, further widening the 
inequalities.
  There is a persistent pattern of disparities in which children from 
lower

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income and minority racial and ethnic groups generally experience more 
disease and have less access to treatment. Children from low-income 
households are twice as likely to have cavities, compared with children 
from higher income households. According to the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, CDC, for children aged 2 to 5 years, about 33 
percent of Mexican-American and 28 percent of non-Hispanic Black 
children have had cavities in their primary teeth, compared with 18 
percent of non-Hispanic White children. For children aged 12 to 19, 
nearly 70 percent of Mexican-American children have had cavities in 
their permanent teeth, compared with 54 percent of non-Hispanic White 
children.
  Tooth and gum pain can impede a child's healthy development, 
including the ability to learn, play, and eat nutritious foods. 
Children who have poor oral health often miss more school and get lower 
grades than children who have good oral health.
  Untreated cavities can cause pain, infections, and can lead to 
problems eating, speaking, and learning. In some cases, they can even 
be fatal. In 2007, Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old Prince George's 
County resident, tragically died. Deamonte's death was particularly 
heartbreaking because it was entirely preventable. What started out as 
a toothache turned into a severe brain infection that could have been 
prevented by an $80 extraction. After multiple surgeries and a lengthy 
hospital stay, sadly, Deamonte passed away 16 years ago this month.
  Since the tragic death of Deamonte, we have made significant progress 
in improving access to pediatric dental care in our country, 
particularly in my home State of Maryland. For example, in 2009, 
Congress reauthorized the Children's Health Insurance Program, CHIP, 
with an important addition: a guaranteed pediatric dental benefit. 
Research shows that CHIP generally offers more comprehensive benefits 
at a much lower cost to families than private coverage.
  Additionally, the Affordable Care Act, ACA, has significantly 
improved the affordability of and access to healthcare, including 
dental care, for millions of Americans. The ACA required most insurers 
to cover essential health benefits, EHB. I was particularly pleased 
that pediatric services, specifically pediatric dental care, were 
identified as part of the 10 categories of healthcare services included 
in the EHB package. As a result, pediatric dental insurance coverage is 
available for purchase on all State-based insurance marketplaces, like 
in Maryland, and the Federal marketplace. The dental coverage offered 
through ACA plans in all States covers a minimum set of benefits to 
ensure children have coverage for essential dental services.
  Expansion of dental insurance coverage has enabled early intervention 
for more children from low-income households. Today, 9 in 10 children 
in the United States have dental insurance. Dental care is also a 
mandatory benefit in Medicaid for children since it is provided through 
the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Program. 
Still, research has found that although State Medicaid Programs cover 
children's dental services, fewer than half of all publicly insured 
children get recommended care.
  Therefore, there is more work to be done to ensure that once children 
have access, they actually get the care they need. This week, I was 
proud to join Senators Lujan and Collins in introducing the Oral Health 
Literacy and Awareness Act. The legislation would create an oral health 
literacy campaign, leveraging existing healthcare programs, to ensure 
that children start off strong and develop important oral health habits 
for the rest of their lives.
  Additionally, in January, I was pleased to introduce, along with 
Senator Stabenow and Congresswoman Barragan S. 109, the Ensuring Kids 
Have Access to Medically Necessary Dental Care Act. Our legislation 
would eliminate lifetime and annual limits for dental care for children 
under CHIP. The bill would also require States to provide 
``wraparound'' CHIP dental coverage, meaning CHIP would cover dental 
services for eligible children who are not enrolled in CHIP. Currently, 
if a child is eligible for CHIP but instead has coverage under a group 
health plan or employer-sponsored insurance, States have the option of 
providing dental-only coverage to this child through CHIP. This bill 
requires that dental coverage be offered.
  In addition to dental insurance coverage for children, improving oral 
health care for the parents and communities can improve children's oral 
health outcomes. For example, a recent study found that Medicaid adult 
dental coverage was associated with a reduction in the prevalence of 
untreated tooth decay among children after parents had access to 
coverage for at least 1 year. The study found that all children saw 
improvements in oral health, and non-Hispanic Black children 
experienced larger and more persistent improvements than non-Hispanic 
White children. A Medicaid dental benefit for adults would enhance the 
progress for children and provide much needed dental care and improve 
oral health outcomes for adults.
  That is why I am proud to champion legislation, the Medicaid Dental 
Benefit Act, which would extend comprehensive dental health benefits to 
tens of millions of low-income Americans on Medicaid. The legislation 
would also provide States with a 100-percent Federal match for the 
dental benefit for 3 years. This investment of Federal funds would 
support States to set up or improve their dental benefit and includes 
funding for culturally competent and linguistically appropriate 
provider education in addition to outreach efforts to better connect 
enrollees to oral health care. I was particularly pleased that, last 
year, Maryland extended access to dental care fo adult Medicaid 
beneficiaries, providing access to over 740,000 Marylanders.
  Oral health is an integral part of overall health. It should not be a 
luxury or reserved for the most privileged. Access to affordable dental 
care is essential to preventing tragedies like the death of Deamonte 
Driver from ever happening again. So, as we celebrate, we must also 
recommit to expanding access to afford care to all children. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in this effort. Let us continue to building upon 
the progress made to date in advancing the access of oral health to 
protect individuals around the country.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.