III 113th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 428 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 29, 2014 Mr. Cardin (for himself, Mr. Schatz , and Mr. Menendez ) 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 2014, 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, Hispanic Americans, 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 Department 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 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 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/AIDS, 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 death rate from stroke is 50 percent higher among African Americans than among Whites; 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 likely than Whites to contract Hepatitis A; Whereas among all ethnic groups in 2011, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders had the highest incidence of Hepatitis 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 2011, 82 percent of children born infected with HIV belonged to minority groups; Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services has identified diseases of the heart, malignant neoplasm, unintentional injuries, and diabetes as some of the 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 4.2 years shorter than the life expectancy 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 premature 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 opportunity to use innovative approaches to improve health care practices across the United States and sharply reduce disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate supports the goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2014, which include bringing attention to the severe health disparities 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.