IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 238 
Promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals 
of National Minority Health Month in April 2015, which includes bring-
ing attention to the health disparities faced by minority populations 
of the United States such as American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian 
Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Hawai-
ians or other Pacific Islanders. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 30, 2015 
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas (for himself, Mr. BEN RAY LUJA´N of New Mexico, 
Mr. CA´RDENAS, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. 
CLARKE of New York, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRIS-
HAM of New Mexico, and Ms. LEE) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Re-
form 
RESOLUTION 
Promoting minority health awareness and supporting the 
goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in 
April 2015, which includes bringing attention to the 
health disparities faced by minority populations of the 
United States such as American Indians, Alaska Natives, 
Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Ameri-
cans, and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders. 
Whereas through the ‘‘National Stakeholder Strategy for 
Achieving Health Equity’’ and the ‘‘HHS Action Plan to 
Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities,’’ the De-
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•HRES 238 IH 
partment of Health and Human Services has set goals 
and strategies to advance the safety, health, and well- 
being of people of the United States; 
Whereas a study by the Joint Center for Political and Eco-
nomic 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 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 dis-
ease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and immunizations; 
Whereas African-American women are twice as likely to die 
of cervical cancer than non-Hispanic White women; 
Whereas African-American women in 2009 were 10 percent 
less likely to have been diagnosed with breast cancer, 
however, they were almost 40 percent more likely to die 
from breast cancer compared to non-Hispanic White 
women; 
Whereas African Americans are 1.4 times more likely to die 
from a stroke than non-Hispanic Whites; 
Whereas in 2010, Hispanics were 1.5 times more likely than 
non-Hispanic Whites to die of diabetes; 
Whereas Hispanic males are 3 times as likely to have either 
HIV infections or AIDS as compared to non-Hispanic 
White males, and Hispanic women are 4 times as likely 
to have AIDS as compared to non-Hispanic White 
women; 
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•HRES 238 IH 
Whereas in 2010, although African Americans represented 
only 13 percent of the United States population, they ac-
counted for 44 percent of HIV infections in that year; 
Whereas Asian American women are 20 percent more likely 
to be diagnosed with HIV than non-Hispanic White 
women; 
Whereas Native Hawaiians living in Hawaii are 5.7 times 
more likely to die of diabetes than non-Hispanic Whites 
living in Hawaii; 
Whereas in 2011, Asian Americans were 2.9 times more like-
ly than Whites to contract Hepatitis A; 
Whereas among all ethnic groups in 2011, Asian Americans 
and Pacific Islanders had the highest incidence of Hepa-
titis A; 
Whereas Asian-American women are 1.5 times more likely 
than non-Hispanic Whites to die from viral hepatitis; 
Whereas Asian Americans are 5.5 times more likely than 
Whites to develop chronic Hepatitis B; 
Whereas in 2013, 80 percent of children born infected with 
HIV belonged to minority groups; 
Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services has 
identified heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes as 
some of the leading causes of death among American In-
dians and Alaska Natives; 
Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives die from dia-
betes, alcoholism, unintentional injuries, homicide, and 
suicide at higher rates than other people in the United 
States; 
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•HRES 238 IH 
Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives have a life ex-
pectancy that is 4.2 years shorter than the life expect-
ancy of the overall population of the United States; 
Whereas marked differences in the social determinants of 
health, described by the World Health Organization as 
‘‘the high burden of illness responsible for appalling pre-
mature loss of life [that] arises in large part because of 
the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, 
and age’’ lead to poor health outcomes and declines in 
longevity; and 
Whereas community-based health care initiatives, such as 
prevention-focused programs, present a unique oppor-
tunity to use innovative approaches to improve health for 
practices across the United States and sharply reduce 
disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports 
the goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month, 
which includes bringing attention to the severe health dis-
parities faced by minority populations in the United 
States, such as American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian 
Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and 
Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders. 
Æ 
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