Title: Health Equity and MENA Community Inclusion Act of 2022
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Health Equity and Middle Eastern and North African Community Inclusion Act of 2022 or the Health Equity and MENA Community Inclusion Act of 2022
This bill adds Middle Easterners and North Africans to the definition of racial and ethnic minority group for purposes of activities carried out by the Office of Minority Health and federally supported health care and public health programs.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7591 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7591

To amend the Public Health Service Act to include Middle Easterners and 
  North Africans in the statutory definition of a ``racial and ethnic 
               minority group'', and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 26, 2022

   Ms. Tlaib (for herself, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. Eshoo, and Ms. Kelly of 
  Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to include Middle Easterners and 
  North Africans in the statutory definition of a ``racial and ethnic 
               minority group'', and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Health Equity and Middle Eastern and 
North African Community Inclusion Act of 2022'' or the ``Health Equity 
and MENA Community Inclusion Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF MIDDLE EASTERNERS AND NORTH AFRICANS IN DEFINITION 
              OF RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY GROUPS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1707(g)(1) of the Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 300u-6(g)(1)) is amended by striking ``and Hispanics'' 
and inserting ``Hispanics, and Middle Easterners and North Africans''.
    (b) References.--Except as otherwise specified, any reference to 
the term ``racial and ethnic minority group'' in any Federal 
regulation, guidance, order, or document for establishment or 
implementation of any federally conducted or supported health care or 
public health program, activity, or survey shall be treated as having 
the definition given to such term in section 1707(g)(1) of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u-6(g)(1)).
    (c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that 
subsections (a) and (b) should be implemented so as to ensure that--
            (1) the definition of a ``racial and ethnic minority 
        group'' in section 1707(g)(1) of the Public Health Service Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 300u-6(g)(1)), as amended by subsection (a), is 
        applied in the implementation and execution of Federal programs 
        and activities that reference such definition;
            (2) no racial and ethnic minority group served by such 
        programs and activities is negatively impacted by subsection 
        (a) or (b); and
            (3) the level of funding authorized for such programs and 
        activities in connection with communities of Middle Easterners 
        and North Africans is commensurate with the level of funding 
        authorized for such programs and activities in connection with 
        other racial and ethnic minority groups, taking into 
        consideration the size and needs of the respective populations.
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