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Minority Health Month

Floor Speech

Date: May 1, 2019
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Health and Health Care

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Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I rise as we mark National Minority Health Month, and I urge my colleagues to stand with one voice as we demand universal healthcare coverage for every American, not as a privilege, but as a human right.

Your healthcare should not depend on your ZIP Code. But for far too many Americans, healthcare disparities mean higher rates of chronic illness, less access to quality care, and shorter life spans.

In the U.S. in 2019, African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans still suffer from much higher rates of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke, substance abuse, infant mortality, low birth weight, HIV, and AIDS.

These deadly disparities are rooted in economic injustice, racism, and our failure, as a nation, to value and protect the health and well- being of every American equally.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support full funding for lifesaving research, federally qualified health centers, and public health programs that promote prevention and healthy lifestyles.

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