John Lewis NIMHD Research Endowment Revitalization Act of 2021

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 189, the John Lewis NIMHD Research Endowment Revitalization Act of 2021, which expands eligibility for research endowments available through the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) to include former centers of excellence at health professional schools and biomedical and behavioral research institutions

that meet criteria related to the inclusion of underrepresented minority individuals in programs and activities.

NIMHD leads scientific research to improve minority health and eliminate health disparities by researching and evaluating all minority health and health disparities research at NIH.

The NIMHD's Centers of Excellence (COE)'s program fosters collaborative research in minority health and health disparities, and awards grants to institutions that have a specific unifying focus on addressing minority health and health disparities.

NIMHD Centers of Excellence program grants are awarded in order to:

Support innovative multi- and trans-disciplinary research to promote minority health and reduce health disparities;

Strengthen exemplary research training and education activities support the development of well-trained researchers from minority and health disparity populations;

Increase the number of individuals from minority and other health disparity populations participating in research activities; and

Provide support for engaging minority and other health disparity communities in effective and sustainable activities aimed at improving the health of their communities.

Racial health inequalities in the U.S. is the cumulative result of both past and present discrimination throughout U.S. culture, and the NIMHD centers of racial excellence program grants are essential to addressing these inequalities.

African Americans are not only more susceptible to disease and illness, they are also more likely to die from them.

This past year, as COVID-19 has ravaged African Americans and communities of color, we have seen firsthand the fruits of these inequalities.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), African Americans face increased risks if they are stricken with COVID- 19, including asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and pulmonary illness.

African American lives are placed at greater risk because of a health care system that denies access to the poor and work conditions that have long neglected conditions that leave them with a higher incidence of diseases that for far too long have gone under diagnosed and untreated.

There are many reasons for this but they include the refusal of several states to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act; the resistance of small business employers to provide health care to workers until required by their state government to do so, and too little access to medical doctors who are trained to provide care to this COVID-19 at-risk population.

Since 2003, I have been working on major legislation to address the problem with several of my colleagues including Representatives Elijah E. Cummings, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Delegate Donna Christensen, Chair of the CBC Health Braintrust, U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy, and the leadership of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and the Native American Caucus.

Together we produced, the ``Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act of 2003,'' a truly comprehensive bill designed to address the disparities that face our communities.

During my time in office, I have fully and eagerly supported all legislation that has given increased attention to HIV/AIDS, including the Ryan White CARE Act, which is currently slated to receive about $2.2 billion in funding for FY2007.

I have supported legislation to reauthorize funding for community health centers (H.R. 5573, Health Centers Renewal Act of 2006), including the Montrose and Fourth Ward clinics in my home city of Houston, as well as supported legislation to provide more nurses for the poor urban communities in which many of these centers are located (H.R. 1285, Nursing Relief Act for Disadvantaged Areas).

I have also supported and introduced legislation aimed to better educate our children (H.R. 2553, Responsible Education About Life Act in 2006) and eliminate health disparities (H.R. 3561, Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act and the Good Medicine Cultural Competency Act in 2003, H.R. 90).

Mr. Speaker, we need strong collaborations and research based upon asking the right questions in specific areas, and the COEs are poised to emphasize scientific inquiry that will promote health equity.

Government has an obligation to seek the best for our nation's people, especially our nation's children.

I urge all members to join me in voting to pass H.R. 189, the John Lewis NIMHD Research Endowment Revitalization Act of 2021, because improved public health benefits all Americans, no matter who they are or where they are from.

Madam Speaker, today I rise with a great sense of gratitude. Gratitude for the opportunity to serve the people's House and gratitude for passing my first standalone bill, H.R. 189, the John Lewis National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Endowment Revitalization Act. It passed the House and Senate, and on a bipartisan basis to boot. The bill is on its way to the President's desk, and on Friday, President Joe Biden will sign it in a White House ceremony that this kid from the harbor area of Los Angeles never dreamed was possible.

This is a full circle moment for me, one that made me tear up last night as I sat to reflect how I got here and how my passion on the issue of disparities in health took shape.

In 1998 as a young college student, I had an opportunity to work as an intern in the Clinton White House. I worked in the Office of Public Liaison doing African-American outreach under Ben Johnson and Minyon Moore. It was during my work there that I learned about the issue of racial health disparities. At the time, United States Surgeon General David Satcher highlighted the issue, and it became a passion of mine.

A year later I would continue my work on the issue and in the healthcare space at the NAACP with Hilary Shelton. Ben Johnson and Hilary Shelton mentored and inspired me. They encouraged me to keep up my work on the issue.

Today, as a Member of Congress, the issue of racial health disparities and the need for us to close the healthcare gap is among my top priorities. In that light, during the 116th Congress when I was in my second term, an opportunity arose to work with organizations like the Association of Minority Health Professions Schools and others on a bill to help fund research on health disparities at schools of excellence.

I remember approaching our friend, the late John Lewis, about the bill. He encouraged me to fight and to get it across the finish line, and he agreed to become an original cosponsor.

In this Congress, the 117th Congress, I renamed the bill in honor of my friend, the late John Lewis. H.R. 189 is now the John Lewis National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Endowment Revitalization Act.

I thank the gentleman from Georgia, Representative Buddy Carter, for being a co-lead on the bill. The Senate bill, S. 320, was introduced and championed by Senators Bill Cassidy and Brian Schatz. I am grateful for their work to get this across the finish line and Senator Cassidy for being gracious.

H.R. 189 will, once again, allow for current and former NIMHD or Health Resources & Services Administration Centers of Excellence to receive research endowment funding, money that is critical in the fight to reduce minority health disparities.

The research endowment program at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities provides funding to the endowments of academic institutions across the country. Schools like Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science will qualify; Morehouse School of Medicine, the University of Puerto Rico School of Dental Medicine, Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine, Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy, and many more will be eligible to receive funding under this bill.

The goals of the program include promoting minority health and health disparities research capacity and infrastructure, increasing the diversity and strength of the scientific workforce, and enhancing the recruitment and retention of individuals from health disparity populations that are underrepresented in the scientific workforce.

On Friday, 24 years after getting my start in politics at the White House, I will be back there again, this time as a Member of Congress to see H.R. 189 become law and move us one step closer to ending the disparities in public health facing communities of color.

For that I am grateful.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 189) to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide that the authority of the Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to make certain research endowments applies with respect to both current and former centers of excellence, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 189.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 189, the John Lewis National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Endowment Revitalization Act of 2021. This legislation would resume grants to minority academic institutions that fell out of eligibility for funding through the NIMHD Research Endowment Program.

By allowing those schools to resume eligibility, we will once again help these institutions conduct critical research into minority health disparities.

COVID-19, Mr. Speaker, has further exacerbated many of the inequities that minority communities experience when interacting with the healthcare system, inequities that we know existed long before the pandemic. In order to address the inequities in our healthcare system and in our society, we must confront them head-on and work together to eliminate them.

By supporting NIMHD and the academic institutions funded through it, we are helping to advance minority health disparity research and strengthen the diversity of the scientific workforce by recruiting and retaining individuals underrepresented in these fields.

This bill is a step toward progress and an equitable public health system. This bill is named after our former colleague, the late and great Congressman John Lewis from Georgia, who introduced this legislation last Congress. He was a dear friend and a longtime champion of eliminating disparities across the board, and he is certainly missed.

I want to thank my colleagues, the two sponsors, Representatives Barragan and Carter, for leading the effort on this legislation this year. This is truly bipartisan.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Barragan), a member of our committee and the lead sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 189, the John Lewis National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Endowment Revitalization Act. This is a bipartisan bill that I introduced with my colleague from Georgia, Congressman Carter.

It is fitting that this bill comes before us during National Minority Health Month because this legislation moves us closer to ending the public health disparities facing communities of color. We need to understand why people of color are more likely to get certain illnesses.

It is a tragic reality, but solutions are out there. H.R. 189 will fund the research that will help us find solutions and save lives.

This bill would, once again, allow for current and former NIMHD or Health Resources and Services Administration centers of excellence to receive research endowment funding, money that is critical in the fight to reduce minority health disparities.

The Research Endowment Program at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities provides funding to the endowments of academic institutions across the country, such as Charles R. Drew University in my district, Morehouse School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico School of Dental Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Howard University College of Pharmacy, and so many others.

The goal of the program includes promoting minority health and health disparities research capacity and infrastructure, increasing the diversity and strength of the scientific workforce, and enhancing the recruitment and retention of individuals from health disparity populations that are underrepresented in the scientific workforce.

This is critical legislation that is going to play a huge role in addressing and researching disparities.

During the COVID-19 health emergency, communities of color were once again disproportionately affected. Research into health disparities is more crucial than ever.

I want to thank my cosponsors, and I want to thank Chairman Pallone for working to help me get this important bill to the floor. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Let's get this done and across the finish line.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 189, the John Lewis NIMHD Research Endowment Revitalization Act, which was introduced by my colleagues, Representatives Barragan, Carter, and Taylor.

This bill will authorize the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to award research grants to current and former centers of excellence that conduct research on minority health disparities.

Health inequities are disproportionately experienced by minority populations, and these disparities can have adverse impacts on health outcomes, economic opportunities, and overall quality of life. The current COVID-19 pandemic has only underscored these disparities, which is why this bill is so important.

Continued support of these centers of excellence is critical in advancing minority health, addressing health inequities, and expanding educational and training opportunities for those interested in further advancing research in this space.

I would like to thank my colleagues and especially my colleague on the Energy and Commerce Committee on the

Republican side, Representative Buddy Carter, for leading this initiative.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), an important leader on this legislation as well as on the committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.