[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17763]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                THE STATE OF HISPANIC HEALTH IN THE U.S.

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                          HON. LORETTA SANCHEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 10, 2003

  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk 
about the current state of healthcare in this nation as it relates to 
the Hispanic community.
  Figures released by the Census Bureau last Wednesday placed the 
Latino population at 38.8 million in July 2002, an increase of nearly 
10% from the 2000 census.
  Unfortunately, over half of all Hispanics in the U.S. do not have 
health insurance. This is about 20 percent higher than the national 
average of approximately 30 percent.
  I am especially concerned about the health of many of our nation's 
Hispanic seniors. Over 2.2 million Hispanics currently receive Social 
Security benefits.
  Each time that a new tax cut is passed, we put our Social Security 
trust fund in further danger, thus eliminating future benefits for all 
Social Security recipients.
  Moreover, without Social Security, over 55 percent of Hispanic 
seniors would be forced to live under the poverty rate.
  I hope that my colleagues who supported tax cuts for the wealthy can 
sleep well at night knowing that their misguided policies may force 
millions of seniors to live in poverty.

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