Political Quotes

“First, let me join my other colleagues in thanking my freshman class members, Mr. Horsford and Mr. Jeffries, for leading the Congressional Black Caucus' important discussion tonight on eliminating health disparities in America. Tonight, you are hearing a lot of statistics because it is so important for us to let America know that low-income Americans, racial and ethnic minorities and other underserved populations often have a higher rate of disease and fewer treatment options and reduced access to health care. So you will hear facts tonight. The facts are that African Americans have the highest rate of high blood pressure of all population groups and tend to develop it earlier in life; African Americans are twice as likely to have diabetes than Whites; African Americans are twice as likely to die from stroke than Whites; African Americans are more than twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than White men; and African American women younger than 40 years of age are more likely to develop breast cancer than White women; infants born to Black women are 1.5 to 3 times more likely to die than those born to women of other races or ethnicities; African Americans are estimated to be 44 percent of all new HIV infections despite representing only 13 percent of the U.S. population. These disparities are shocking, and the Congressional Black Caucus will not let us ignore them. In 2009, health disparities cost the United States economy $82.2 billion.…”