FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: FRANK WATKINS

Wednesday, November 1, 2000 202-225-0773

MINORITIES, UNDERSERVED GET HEALTH HELP FROM CONGRESS

Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., last night cheered passage of S. 1880,
the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act.
Title I of S. 1880 includes H.R. 2391, a bill introduced by Rep.
Jackson, elevating the Office of Research on Minority Health (ORMH) at
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to "Center\" status. For the
first time, legislation authored by Congressman Jackson has been
included in a bill that will be signed into law.

Jackson said, "African American men and women have a cancer death rate
approximately 35 percent higher than that of white men and women, but we
don\'t know why. That is just one of many health disparities that must
not remain a mystery in this nation. Elevating the Office of Research on
Minority Health to a more powerful Center is an important first step
toward not only answering those questions, but ending those health
disparities. The Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and
Education Act puts us squarely on the road toward eradicating health
disparities among racial and ethnic minorities and medically underserved
communities through several of its provisions.\"

Integral to the passage of S. 1880, former Secretary of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, now
President of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, agreed that
elevation of the ORMH to \"Center\" status will make a significant
difference in allowing the NIH to more adequately study health
disparities among minority populations. Dr. Sullivan said, "NIH will now
have the authority and capability to aggressively pursue the complex
issues surrounding poor health status among our nation's minority and
medically underserved communities. The Center will play a leadership
role in galvanizing the collective talents and resources of all of NIH
to close these critical health gaps. This is a tremendous victory and I
heartily congratulate the authors of this landmark legislation."

Dr. John Ruffin, Director of NIH\'s Office of Research on Minority
Health, said, \"We are now poised to define the scope of the problem and
begin the process of identifying and evaluating new approaches to
mitigating disparities in health. Clearly, the soundest investment we
can make for the present and immediate future is a strengthened
commitment to research \-- research that seeks to understand the
etiology of health disparities and research with a focus on developing
new diagnostics as well as new treatment and prevention strategies.
Clearly none of this could have been achieved without the insight,
support and vision of Congressman Jackson in the development of H.R.
2391, which served as a catalyst for S. 1880 at a very critical time.\"

In addition to elevating the Office of Research on Minority Health to a
Center, the bill includes ensuring culturally competent curricula at
medical schools. It authorizes the director of the National Center, in
collaboration with other NIH institutes and centers, to establish a
comprehensive plan and budget for the conduct and support of all
minority health and other health disparities research activities at NIH.

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