III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 20, 2020 

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 

RESOLUTION 

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. 

Whereas the origin of National Minority Health Month is National Negro Health Week, established in 1915 by Dr. 

Booker T. Washington; 


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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 nonHispanic White men; 

Whereas the HIV diagnosis rate among Hispanic women is 

4 times the HIV diagnosis rate among non-Hispanic 

White women; 


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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 nonHispanic 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; 


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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; 


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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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate supports the goals and 

2 ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2020, 

3 which include bringing attention to the health disparities 


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1 faced by minority populations in the United States, such 

2 as American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, 

3 African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Hawaiians or 

4 other Pacific Islanders. 

Æ 


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