The Congressional Black Caucus Hour

Floor Speech

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Mr. ELLISON. I want to thank the gentlelady from the great State of Ohio for doing such a wonderful job talking about health care, our seniors, talking about all these critically important issues facing our Nation right now.

As the gentlelady is very well aware, we are at the very edge, at the very moment where we can have real health care reform for all, or maybe not. The reality is that we are optimistic. We are closer than we have been in 60 years, closer than we were in 1994, closer than we were when Roosevelt first said all Americans should have health care and have health and wellness, closer than we were when Truman said we need universal health care coverage.

We are close. We have five bills reported out, three bills through the House, two bills through the Senate. And right now, Americans all around the country are saying, will the Congress finally do it?

Do you know that upwards of 77 percent of Americans want real health care reform? They want health care reform with a public option. They want real change, and it's time that they get it.

But I wanted to mention to my friend from Ohio, the great Congresswoman Fudge, we all need health care reform. The fact is that when health care reform arrives, it will benefit communities of color more than it will other communities. It will benefit everybody. Everybody who will never be turned down for a preexisting condition will benefit. Everybody who has seen their premiums double over the last 10 years and will probably see them double in the next 10 years will benefit. But when you look at the startling disparities people of color are facing every day, I think that they will benefit more.

Just to let everybody know, the fact is that, yes, it's true, life expectancy for the average American has gone up. But for average African Americans, it still lags behind about 5 to 6 years. For African American men, it's not even 70 years old yet. African American

men, on average, can expect to live to be about 69. Their counterparts can expect to live to be about 75. Now, imagine a child being born at the age when their grandpa is 69 years old. That means that if that child is African American and their grandfather is, they may never know grandpa.

But if we really address health care disparities, maybe we can get African American men up to 75 years old. That means that they will get a chance to bounce on his knee, get to know him, get to talk to him, get to learn something from him, maybe learn how to go fishing. It's a quality of life issue, more years. Addressing that cervical cancer earlier means grandma will be around longer.

Most of us, if you grew up like I did, know that mom and dad had to be tough on you because they had to raise you right. But there is one person who you knew thought you were absolutely terrific no matter what you did, and that's grandma, right?

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Mr. ELLISON. Well, I accept the gentlelady's yielding because it's important that when we talk about health care--you know, Mr. Speaker, we talk about statistics. And we drop stats, and we're talking about statistics and numbers and all of this stuff that we talk about. But we can never forget we are talking about human beings' lives. We're talking about human beings having more time with each other. We're talking about, as we said, your grandmother being there; and yet because of health disparities, inequality in the area of health, she is not being there. And how enriched a human being is by having that generational exchange.

These are just little examples of what we're talking about. And that's why Democrats are pushing forward on health care. That's why the Black Caucus is pushing forward on health care. That's why we need all Americans who care about a better quality of life to be pushing forward on health care. We can't survive with the status quo. Literally, we cannot survive with the status quo.

I yield to the gentlelady.

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Mr. ELLISON. I thank the gentlelady for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I mean, the point is that part of this bill says, if it's enacted into law, that, you know what? You will not have to pay a copayment for preventative services. We want you to engage in preventative medicine.

Get your sugar checked. Get your blood pressure checked. Come on in here and let's make sure that you get a prostate or a mammogram. The fact is these are the things that are going to keep you around here longer and will save the system money in the long run. These things are so important.

And I just want to give folks an example. In the year 2004, just a few years ago, African Americans had the highest age-adjusted causes of death rates for all races and ethnicities. In addition, African Americans have the highest age-adjusted death rate for heart disease, cancer, diabetes, HIV and AIDS. All of these things would be addressed if we can pass this bill and keep those things in the bill that address health disparities. That's why we need people to step forward and do the right thing and support this bill.

You know, the American people have called for change, but I just want to let folks know that the change that we're calling for will help all Americans. And while it might not help some executive insurance companies, it will everybody else. And when everybody else gets helped, this rising tide will lift people at the bottom higher, and it will help extend their lives and improve the quality of their life.

At this point, I am going to have to turn it back over to the gentlelady. She has been doing such an excellent job, but I just want to say thank you for doing what you can do to raise the consciousness of the American people because the American people want change, they want optimism, they want people who will fight for change. They don't want folks who are going to give us the same old thing, because we can't survive with the status quo; but with change, we can.

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