May 20, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 95 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Pages S2555-S2556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 591--PROMOTING MINORITY HEALTH AWARENESS AND 
 SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF NATIONAL MINORITY HEALTH MONTH IN 
APRIL 2020, 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. Booker, Mr. 
Rubio, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Boozman, Ms. Harris, Mrs. Capito, Ms. Cortez 
Masto, Mr. Sullivan, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Van Hollen, 
Mr. Brown, Mr. Markey, Mr. Lankford, and Mr. Braun) submitted the 
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 591

       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 
     2020 is ``Active and Healthy'';
       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'', concludes 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 about 40 percent more likely to 
     die from breast cancer than non-Hispanic White women between 
     2012 and 2016;
       Whereas African American women lose their lives to cervical 
     cancer at more than twice the rate of non-Hispanic White 
     women;
       Whereas African American men are 60 percent more likely to 
     die from a stroke than non-Hispanic White men;
       Whereas Hispanics have higher rates of end-stage renal 
     disease caused by diabetes, and are 40 percent more likely to 
     die of diabetes, than non-Hispanic Whites;
       Whereas the HIV diagnosis rate among Hispanic men is more 
     than 3 times the HIV diagnosis rate among non-Hispanic White 
     men;

[[Page S2556]]

       Whereas the HIV diagnosis rate among Hispanic women is 4 
     times the HIV diagnosis rate among non-Hispanic White women;
       Whereas, in 2018, although African Americans represented 
     only 13 percent of the population of the United States, 
     African Americans accounted for 42 percent of new HIV 
     diagnoses;
       Whereas, in 2018, African American youth accounted for an 
     estimated 51 percent, and Hispanic youth accounted for an 
     estimated 27 percent, of all new HIV diagnoses among youth in 
     the United States;
       Whereas, in 2016, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders 
     were 1.6 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 Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are 30 
     percent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than non-
     Hispanic Whites;
       Whereas, although the prevalence of obesity is high among 
     all population groups in the United States, 48 percent of 
     American Indian and Alaska Natives, 51 percent of Native 
     Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, 48 percent of African 
     Americans, 45 percent of Hispanics, 37 percent of non-
     Hispanic Whites, and 12 percent of Asian Americans more than 
     18 years old were obese (not including overweight);
       Whereas, in 2015, Asian Americans were 1.7 times more 
     likely than non-Hispanic Whites to contract Hepatitis A;
       Whereas, among all ethnic groups in 2015, Asian Americans 
     and Pacific Islanders had the highest incidence of Hepatitis 
     A;
       Whereas Asian Americans accounted for 30 percent of chronic 
     Hepatitis B cases, and non-Hispanic Whites accounted for 13.5 
     percent of chronic Hepatitis B cases;
       Whereas of the children diagnosed with perinatal HIV in 
     2017, 64 percent were African American, 14 percent were 
     Hispanic, and 12 percent were non-Hispanic White;
       Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services has 
     identified heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes as 4 
     of the 10 leading causes of death among American Indians and 
     Alaska Natives;
       Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives die from 
     diabetes, alcoholism, unintentional injuries, homicide, and 
     suicide at higher rates than other people in the United 
     States;
       Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives have a life 
     expectancy that is 5.5 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 2 to 3 times 
     higher than the rate for non-Hispanic White women;
       Whereas African American infants are 3.8 times more likely 
     to die due to complications related to low birth weight than 
     non-Hispanic White infants;
       Whereas American Indian and Alaska Native infants are twice 
     as likely as non-Hispanic White infants to die from sudden 
     infant death syndrome;
       Whereas American Indian and Alaska Natives have an infant 
     mortality rate approximately 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 sickle cell disease affects approximately 100,000 
     people in the United States, occurring in approximately 1 out 
     of every 365 African American births and 1 out of every 
     16,300 Hispanic births;
       Whereas 10.9 percent of Native Hawaiian and Pacific 
     Islanders, 6.3 percent of Asian Americans, 8.8 percent of 
     Hispanics, 8.7 percent of African Americans, and 14 percent 
     of American Indians and Alaska Natives received mental health 
     treatment or counseling in the past year, compared to 18.6 
     percent of non-Hispanic Whites;
       Whereas preliminary evidence suggests that certain groups, 
     such as African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians 
     and Alaska Natives are more likely than non-Hispanic Whites 
     to develop severe COVID-19-related illnesses and life-
     threatening symptoms;
       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 2020, 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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