Madam President, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing April as National Minority Health Month. For over 35 years, commemorating National Minority Health Month every April has provided us the opportunity to celebrate the progress we have made in addressing health disparities and recommit to achieving health equity. I thank my colleagues, especially Senator Scott of South Carolina, for working with me to recognize this occasion formally through a Senate resolution. Minority groups now make up more the 40 percent of the American population, and that number will continue to rise. Health disparities persist among racial and ethnic minorities. These disparities are plainly visible if we examine the mental health crisis or diseases such as diabetes and asthma. Adults and children across all groups continue to experience increased behavioral health issues, but the burden on minority populations is heaviest. For instance, for American Indian and Alaska Native adults the death rate from suicide is about 20 percent higher than non-Hispanic White population. In 2019, suicide was the leading and second leading cause of death for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and African-Americans aged 15 to 24 respectively. High school-aged Asian American males were 30 percent more likely to consider attempting suicide than non-Hispanic White male students were.…
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