[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1079 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1079
Expressing support for the designation of August 9 through 15, 2020, as
National Health Center Week and encourages all Americans to take part
in this week by visiting their local health center and celebrating the
important partnership between America's community health centers and
the communities they serve.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 7, 2020
Mr. Engel (for himself, Mrs. Walorski, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Connolly,
Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Cisneros, Mrs. Davis of
California, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Carson of Indiana,
Mr. Balderson, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. McKinley,
Mr. Cox of California, Mr. Trone, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Ms. Judy Chu of
California, Mr. Cardenas, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Titus, Ms. Kaptur, Ms.
Castor of Florida, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr.
Young, Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Foster, Mr. Marshall, Ms. Roybal-
Allard, Mr. Cuellar, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Porter, Mr. Kildee, Mrs. Lee of
Nevada, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Schiff, Ms. Norton, Mr. LaHood, Mr. Higgins of
New York, Mr. Sires, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Payne, Ms. Fudge, Ms.
Barragan, Mr. Lynch, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Vela, Mr.
Crow, Ms. Finkenauer, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Langevin, Ms. Johnson
of Texas, Mr. Barr, Mr. Cunningham, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Thompson of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Woodall, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Harder of
California, Mrs. Axne, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Brownley of California, Ms.
Sewell of Alabama, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Smith
of Washington, Mr. McNerney, Mr. Evans, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Pressley, Mr.
Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. Emmer, and Mr.
Comer) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Oversight and Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for the designation of August 9 through 15, 2020, as
National Health Center Week and encourages all Americans to take part
in this week by visiting their local health center and celebrating the
important partnership between America's community health centers and
the communities they serve.
Whereas for over 50 years, community health centers have provided high-quality,
affordable, and comprehensive primary and preventive health care in our
Nation's underserved communities, delivering value to, and having a
significant impact on America's health care system;
Whereas the country's largest primary care network, community health centers are
the health care home for 30,000,000 Americans in over 14,000 communities
across the Nation;
Whereas 1 in every 12 people in the United States gets care in a community
health center;
Whereas community health centers are a critical element of the health system,
serving both rural and urban communities, and often providing the only
accessible and dependable source of primary care in their communities;
Whereas nationwide, community health centers serve 1 in every 5 residents of
rural areas;
Whereas every day, community health centers develop new approaches to
integrating a wide range of services beyond primary care, including oral
health, vision, behavioral health, and pharmacy services, to meet the
needs and challenges of their communities;
Whereas community health centers are governed by patient-majority boards,
ensuring that the patients of each health center are engaged in their
own health care decisions;
Whereas community health centers are locally owned and operated small businesses
that serve as critical economic engines, helping to power local
economies by generating $54,600,000,000 in economic activity in some of
the country's most economically deprived communities;
Whereas community health centers nationally employ more than 236,000 people,
including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and
certified nurse midwives who work as part of multi-disciplinary clinical
teams designed to treat the whole patient;
Whereas the community health center model continues to prove an effective means
of overcoming barriers to health care access, including geography,
income, and insurance status, improving health care outcomes and
reducing health care system costs;
Whereas community health centers reduce overall costs of care by helping manage
chronic conditions of patients, which keeps them out of costlier health
care settings like hospital emergency rooms;
Whereas community health centers are on the front lines of emerging health care
crises, providing access to care for our Nation's veterans, addressing
the opioid epidemic, and responding to public health threats in the wake
of natural disasters;
Whereas community health centers serve as beacons of essential resources and
support in testing and treatment in the face of the global coronavirus
pandemic, and will continue to offer reliable, affordable, and high-
quality care against COVID-19 for America's most vulnerable and
underserved communities;
Whereas during the COVID-19 pandemic, health centers served as front line
responders and were able to provide tests to 1,549,690 patients over a
4-month period;
Whereas National Health Center Week offers the opportunity to celebrate
America's over 1,400 health center organizations with over 12,000
service delivery sites, their dedicated staff, board members, patients,
and all those responsible for their continued success and growth since
the first health centers opened their doors more than 50 years ago; and
Whereas during National Health Center Week, we celebrate the legacy of America's
community health centers, and their vital role in shaping the past,
present, and future of America's health care system: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) supports the designation of National Health Center
Week; and
(2) encourages all Americans to take part in this week by
visiting their local health center and celebrating the
important partnership between America's community health
centers and the communities they serve.
<all>