[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 86 (Friday, May 17, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H3345-H3346]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. De La CRUZ). Under the Speaker's
announced policy of January 9, 2023, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs.
Beatty) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority
leader.
Mrs. BEATTY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to sound the alarm regarding
attempts to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion, referred to as
``DEI,'' initiatives in medical education.
Any anti-DEI efforts endanger our Nation's healthcare and threaten
our global leadership in medical science.
Many in this Chamber owe their health and lives to the groundbreaking
work of physicians of color, specifically today, Black physicians. Many
of our loved ones are living healthier and longer lives thanks to Black
physicians and medical pioneers.
Madam Speaker, let me just ask this Chamber and those watching to
listen and then you be the judge when I say to you: Let's start with
Dr. Kizzy Corbett, who led in the development of the Moderna COVID
vaccine.
Now, Madam Speaker, many in this very Chamber, Republicans,
Democrats, and those in leadership, received the vaccine, and we can
thank her for her pioneering leadership, for not contracting COVID or
being hospitalized or dying from severe COVID symptoms.
What are we afraid of for physicians of color to be in medical
schools that receive Federal funding and that the school is sensitive
to cultural needs, to DE and I?
One in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast
cancer during her lifetime. Whether you are Republican or Democrat, if
you or a loved one have benefited from early breast cancer detection,
it is thanks to Dr. Myra Logan, a Black woman. She developed early
methods for breast cancer detection and treatment, along with new
antibiotics.
Others have benefited from advancements in chemotherapy because of
Dr. Jane Wright who pioneered this vital cancer treatment in 1949 when
it was still experimental.
Madam Speaker, there are people in this Chamber who have gone through
chemotherapy. There are Members of this Chamber, Democrats and
Republicans, who have benefited from the pioneering efforts of Black
physicians.
Now, we want to say that we will remove Federal funding if a medical
school wants to have programs for the underserved, for those who are
representing the great diversity in this America in which we live?
Simply put, doctors of color, and Black medical doctors in
particular, have shaped medical science, saving countless lives
globally. Despite their essential medical contributions, systemic
barriers cause their underrepresentation in the ranks of medical
doctors.
As a result, DEI programs and practices are key to their increased
participation in our Nation's healthcare system.
Listen to this, Madam Speaker, 60 percent of physicians in the United
States are White, compared to just 5.7 percent of Black physicians, and
that is with the support of DE and I programs and practices.
The question today is: What are Republicans afraid of? DEI offices in
medical schools promote racial diversity and cultural competencies
among physicians. Both improve healthcare for all Americans--all
Americans, especially underserved communities of color.
DE and I practices and training help correct biases about racial
differences that adversely impact medical judgments, treatment
decisions, and patient interactions, regardless of socioeconomic
status.
We, therefore, need to be doing more. Let me say this again. We,
therefore, need to be doing more and not less to ensure that our
Nation's healthcare workforce is diverse and culturally competent.
Why am I doing this today? Why do I take this hour to come to this
floor in this Chamber where we will make decisions that affect the
lives of all Americans? We celebrate our rich history, the 70th
anniversary of Brown versus the Board of Education of Topeka, which is
all about the education of our children. You would think in 70 years
that we would have moved away from the systemic racism, that we would
have moved away from not wanting us to be culturally sensitive to help
us serve all Americans.
I am here today because some of my Republican colleagues supporting
this bill, the so-called education act, which would cut off Federal
funding to medical schools pursuing DE and I initiatives.
Let me say this again. I know it is hard to believe for those who are
watching me in this Chamber, this Chamber where we are elected to
represent all people--we know there is not a competitive edge. You have
already heard the facts that only 5.7 percent of the physicians are
Black Americans. This so-called education act, again, would cut off
Federal funding to medical schools pursuing DE and I initiatives.
This harmful legislation and similar DE and I threats prioritize
intolerance over innovation and stifle cultural competencies in the
medical profession.
What if I suggested and wrote legislation that would say we will
withdraw Federal funding from medical schools that fail to implement
culturally sensitive and DE and I policies and practices?
What if?
Madam Speaker, oh, let's take it a step forward this morning. What if
I were to say that legacy programs at medical schools should be
abolished and that relatives and donors who simply write a check to
have their name listed on the wing of a medical school, that their
children could not go there, that they would not be able to have a
legacy program where simply because of writing a check you could be
admitted to a medical school? Should they receive or should they not
receive preferential treatment in medical admissions?
We know that this happens.
Over 60 percent of the United States' doctors are White while White
people comprise just over 50 percent of the population. You do the
math. Who is overrepresented here? Look at the legacy admission
policies and other forms of systemic racism, and you tell me who has an
unfair advantage.
We should support and not stop initiatives that help diversity or
help to diversify our physician pipeline, such as a program called Made
for Medicine and Adtalem.
Made for Medicine supports Black middle and high school students
interested in medicine with training and mentoring to best position
them for success.
This program, Made for Medicine, is such an incredible program. Madam
Speaker, it gives me great honor today because the founder of that
program, a young, brilliant physician, who just happens to be a Black
American, just happens to be someone that I have watched grow up. I
have watched the dedication of Dr. Laura Espy-Bell who decided for all
communities that it would be good to be able to have a program that
educated our children, so they could see faces like them. The research
shows when we go into a hospital when you are Black how great it is to
see someone that looks like you, whether you are Hispanic to see
someone like you or Asian American, and the list could go on, to be
able to have that appreciation.
{time} 1130
The list could go on to be able to have that appreciation. You see,
Mr. Speaker, not only is Dr. Laura Espy-Bell the founder of Made for
Medicine, she could have just talked about herself, but she brought
other doctors along with her. Some are photographed here. I have
another photograph that we will get on the floor soon of Black male
doctors.
You see, Madam Speaker, as shown in this photograph, you have a young
physician. I call him Dr. B.J., Dr. B.J. Hicks. He is a cardiovascular
neurologist. He did his internship and his residency at the Henry Ford
Hospital. Not only is he a brilliant, brilliant neurologist, but he
gives back through the national American Heart Association. He is
revered in his field, one of the top in the Nation.
Guess what, Madam Speaker? He doesn't just serve Black Americans. He
serves White and Brown Americans, like all of these physicians. This
brilliant doctor, B.J. Hicks, comes from a line, a family line, of
physicians. His father, a dear friend and constituent in
[[Page H3346]]
my Third Congressional District, the world would put his reputation as
an oncologist among the best of White physicians and Black physicians.
Now, just think, Madam Speaker, for the young doctor, William Hicks
and B.J. Hicks, coming up that we are denying that right for someone
like Spencer, my grandson, or Leah, my granddaughter, who may want to
follow in their footsteps if they went to a medical school that had
Federal funding and said: We want to have DE and I programs.
B.J. Hicks' sister and dear friend is a doctor of dermatology. When
you walk into her downtown medical practice, Dr. Shari Hicks-Graham's
office is as diverse looking as if we looked to the left and right of
this Chamber.
Again, we would not have brilliant doctors like the Hickses if this
legislation goes forward. I could go on and on.
Madam Speaker, I could tell you about Dr. Joshua Joseph who did his
internship and residency at Yale School of Medicine. I could tell you
that he is an endocrinologist and his wife is a neurologist. They are
two young Black physicians who are saving Black, Brown, and White
lives.
Nevertheless, here we are today in this Chamber dealing with a piece
of legislation that says that medical schools shouldn't be culturally
sensitive and that medical schools should not have DE and I programs,
yet our country is built on a history, thank goodness, of pioneers in
medicine who have saved Black, Brown, and White lives, Democrat and
Republican, and a Republican would bring to this House floor a bill
that should not see the light of day.
Let me just say that these physicians and thousands more were trained
at institutions, thank goodness, that understood teaching and
practicing cultural sensitivity and having DE and I initiatives.
Adtalem is the leading healthcare educator that partners with
organizations to address their future workforce needs. Eighty percent
of their medical graduates serve low-income communities, and 44 percent
are in medically underserved areas. When you look at these two
programs, Madam Speaker, they are just a few examples of how DE and I
initiatives can enrich our Nation's physician pipeline.
Earlier this month, I proudly filed a resolution with my colleague,
Congresswoman Kathy Castor, that stands in stark contrast, Madam
Speaker, to the so-called EDUCATE Act. Rather than cutting Federal
funding to medical schools, pursuing DE and I initiatives is outlined
in the EDUCATE Act, our resolution reaffirms the importance of DE and I
efforts in medical education.
Our resolution is supported with over 25 medical and medical
education organizations, including the Association of American Medical
Colleges, the American College of Physicians, and the American
Federation of Teachers. Make no mistake, the EDUCATE Act is yet another
misguided Republican effort to diminish the quality of healthcare of
all Americans, especially communities of color.
Whether it is proposing a voucher-like system for Medicare, reducing
the Affordable Care Act protections for individuals with preexisting
conditions, or attempting to substitute the ACA coverage for Medicaid
recipients, Republicans continue to attack equitable, quality
healthcare access.
Meanwhile, my side of the aisle continues to work for accessibility
and affordable healthcare by lowering the cost of prescription drugs. I
could tell you, Madam Speaker, how many people are diabetic and went to
get their insulin and could not afford it. Madam Speaker, that is just
not Black Americans, that is Black, Brown, and White. Someone in the
gallery today is diabetic, and when we were able for our seniors to
lower that cost to $35 a month, we did not care whether they were
Democrat, Republican, Black, Brown, or White. It was about putting
people over politics. It was about serving the wonderful America that I
have the opportunity to serve.
If it seems like I am passionate today, I am. I lost my late husband
just a few years ago unexpectedly, but I am thankful that there were
doctors there in his time of need, Black and White physicians. Yes,
they went to medical schools that had Federal funding. Yes, they
understood our life and our culture because they were sensitive to
cultural and diversity issues.
All I am asking today of my colleagues is to just look at what is
right for our children and for our families. Today, we had 300-some
students in the eighth grade here in this Chamber. A week ago, I had
200-some eighth graders in this Chamber touring this wonderful
institution.
Madam Speaker, do you know how proud I was to be able to tell them
about the rich culture and the rich history? How proud I was to be able
to tell them how I am fighting for civility, how I am fighting for us
to work together, and how the days of Rosa Parks not sitting in that
seventh row in the seat for colored women and colored men without being
arrested are over?
We should be far beyond 1955, far beyond 70 years ago when we
couldn't attend the same schools because of segregation. Here in this
House is no place for us to deny Black physicians who serve Black,
White, and Brown constituents the opportunity to matriculate in a
medical school because that medical school, thank goodness, believed in
serving all people and believed in training brilliant minds, like these
physicians, to go out in the world and not, not understand the value of
taking care medically and socially people of all colors, of all
ethnicities, and of all races?
Today, in this Chamber we have Members who want to take away the
rights of medical schools to be able to teach cultural sensitivity and
to have DE and I programs.
I am so grateful to have had this opportunity and this hour to share
my views, to share my passions, and, Madam Speaker, to ask this Chamber
to not allow that bill to see the light of day.
Madam Speaker, for the people and putting people over politics, I
yield back.
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