III 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 145 

Promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals 

of National Minority Health Month in April 2013 to bring attention 

to the health disparities faced by minority populations such as American 

Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians, Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 16, 2013 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. SCHATZ) submitted the following resolution; 

which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Promoting minority health awareness and supporting the 

goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in 

April 2013 to bring attention to the health disparities 

faced by minority populations such as American Indians 

and Alaska Natives, Asians, Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, and Native Hawaiians and 

other Pacific Islanders. 

Whereas in 2011, the Department of Health and Human 

Services released the ‘‘National Stakeholder Strategy for 

Achieving Health Equity’’ and the ‘‘Disparities action 

Plan’’ to reduce health care disparities in the United 

States; 


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•SRES 145 ATS 

Whereas a recent analysis estimates that the economy of the 

United States loses an estimated $309,000,000,000 a 

year due to the direct and indirect costs of health disparities; 

Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services has 

identified 6 main categories in which racial and ethnic 

minorities experience the most disparate access to health 

care and health outcomes, including infant mortality, 

cancer screening and management, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV and AIDS infection, and immunizations; 

Whereas African-American women are more than twice as 

likely to die of cervical cancer than White women and are 

more likely to die of breast cancer than women of any 

other racial or ethnic group; 

Whereas the rate of death from coronary heart disease is 30 

percent higher among African Americans than among 

Whites; 

Whereas the death rate from stroke is 50 percent higher 

among African Americans than among Whites; 

Whereas in 2012, as compared to non-Hispanic Whites living 

in Hawaii, Native Hawaiians had more than twice the 

rate of medically-diagnosed diabetes and were 5.7 times 

more likely to die of diabetes; 

Whereas compared to non-Hispanic White men, African 

American men are 9.5 times more likely to die of AIDS 

and Hispanic men are 2.5 times more likely to die of 

AIDS; 

Whereas in 2010, 84 percent of children born with HIV infection belonged to minority groups; 


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•SRES 145 ATS 

Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services has 

identified diseases of the heart, malignant neoplasm, unintentional injuries, diabetes, and cerebrovascular disease 

as some of the leading causes of death among American 

Indians and Alaska Natives; 

Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives die at higher 

rates than other people in the United States from tuberculosis, diabetes, unintentional injuries, and suicide; and 

Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives have a life expectancy that is 5.2 years shorter than the life expectancy of the overall population of the United States: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate supports the goals and 

2 ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2013 

3 to bring attention to the severe health disparities faced 

4 by minority populations such as American Indians and 

5 Alaska Natives, Asians, Blacks or African Americans, His6 panics or Latinos, and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific 

7 Islanders. 

Æ 


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