And we look forward to working with the Federal Government and its agencies in order to ensure that distribution of our vaccine is equitable.

We know that seniors and seniors in nursing homes are at highest risk of dying, those with underlying conditions.

We should be able to foresee what's coming and develop a distribution plan that's based on public health principles.

As we stand here right now, our brave men and women overseas and our returning veterans continue to suffer the horrific health effects of their exposure to toxic burn pits. Burn pits are fields where tons of waste like jet fuel, plastics…

I am cautiously optimistic after hearing the progress you all are making in your efforts to develop an effective and safe vaccine.

We know that African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans are at the highest risk of getting infected, and also dying from coronavirus.

In 2017, my constituent, Jennifer Kepner, passed away due to pancreatic cancer connected to her exposure to burn pits during her military service in Balad, Iraq. In her honor and the countless veterans who are sick, permanently disabled…

That is why Chairman Pallone and I introduced a package of bills that included H.R. 4534, The Native Health and Wellness Act which would create a grant program for Tribes to recruit and mentor Native youth for medical professions.

We have been working on these Tribal issues together for years now, including on the Indian Health Service Task Force.

Lower rates of pay make it harder for his facilities to compete for medical school graduates.

Without adequate providers, including doctors, nurses, and specialists, Native Americans are unable to access the care they deserve.

This is a good day. It is a good day to finally have an Energy and Commerce hearing solely on Tribal policy issues.

Many his facilities are rural, surrounded by insufficient housing and have other infrastructure deficiencies that make it challenging for providers and their families to relocate.

There is a shockingly low number of American Indian and Alaskan Native students who pursue medical careers.

If we could make more funding available for both of those things, to Native youth, but to any doctors that are coming to Indian country, I think that would be a great, great help.

As an emergency physician, I have seen the faces of failed healthcare policies. I have looked into the eyes of the suffering when they couldn't afford care. I have cried with families who have lost a loved one, knowing it could have been…

The recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks by police officers have highlighted the anguish and injustices that Black communities have experienced for generations; have shook our Nation to its core; and made…

It is what motivated me to become a doctor in the first place and what eventually motivated me to run for Congress.

COVID-19 has shined a spotlight on the inequity that we already knew existed in our healthcare system.

COVID-19 has exacerbated what we have known all along, that low-income rural communities and minority communities have greater disparities in health.

I also introduced the comprehensive H.R. 3923, the Environmental Justice Act of 2019, which requires agencies to consider the environmental justice implications of their programs.

That is why I introduced H.R. 6692, the Environmental Justice COVID-19 Act, which would authorize $50 million for EPA EJ grant programs.

Riverside County, the county in which my district resides, like so many others have seen, that the impacts of this pandemic have disproportionately and adversely affected vulnerable communities.

This is an unprecedented crisis that requires an unprecedented, bold response. The HEROES Act will support workers, families, hospitals, and cities in my district struggling to get by with: direct payments for families; extended…

this is unacceptable. This is the United States of America, and our frontline health workers don't even have access to these basic supplies.