Raising awareness of the racial disparities in the impact of colorectal cancer on the Black community.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 242 Raising awareness of the racial disparities in the impact of colorectal cancer on the Black community. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 16, 2021 Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN (for herself, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. ALLRED, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mrs. HAYES, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. COHEN, Mr. THOMPSON of Mis- sissippi, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. NOR- TON, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. BASS, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SOTO, Mr. POCAN, and Mr. CARSON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Raising awareness of the racial disparities in the impact of colorectal cancer on the Black community. Whereas colorectal cancer, or CRC, is the third-most common cancer in the United States for men and women com- bined, and the second leading cause of cancer death; Whereas this disease takes the lives of more than 50,000 peo- ple each year; Whereas the rate of CRC is 24 percent higher among Black men and is 19 percent higher among Black women than compared to non-Hispanic Whites; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR242.IH HR242 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 242 IH Whereas the rate of CRC death is 47 percent higher among Black men and is 34 percent higher among Black women than compared to non-Hispanic Whites; Whereas CRC is the third-leading cause of cancer death in both Black men and women in the United States; Whereas deaths from colorectal cancer among people younger than 55 have increased one percent per year from 2008 to 2017; Whereas the tragic death of 43-year-old actor Chadwick Boseman from colorectal cancer has catalyzed more con- versation about CRC’s impact on the Black community; Whereas getting screened for CRC is highly recommended at age 50, and currently the United States Preventive Serv- ices Task Force is considering a recommendation to lower the age at which people should first get screened to 45; and Whereas CRC has a 90-percent survival rate when caught at the earliest stage and there are many screening methods available: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) recognizes the deadly impact colorectal can- 2 cer has to the American people; 3 (2) acknowledges the racial disparity that the 4 Black community faces when dealing with colorectal 5 cancer; 6 (3) encourages the Centers for Disease Control 7 and Prevention to continue and expand their work to 8 identify those factors that result in the colorectal ra- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR242.IH HR242 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 242 IH cial screening disparity and develop effective strate- 1 gies to reduce and ultimately eliminate racial dis- 2 parities in colorectal screening; 3 (4) encourages everyone get colorectal cancer 4 screening when recommended by the United States 5 Preventive Services Task Force; 6 (5) encourages the United States Preventive 7 Services Task Force to finalize its recommendation 8 that screening begin at 45 years of age and provide 9 special recommendations that highlight the impact 10 colorectal cancer has on the Black community; and 11 (6) urges State health plans to quickly adopt 12 new measures to cover colorectal screenings for indi- 13 viduals at a lower age, with special consideration for 14 the Black community and all those at higher risk for 15 colorectal cancer. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR242.IH HR242 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS