U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings to Deliver Weekly CBC "Message To America"

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Alcee Hastings (D-FL) will deliver the weekly CBC "Message to America" radio address this Saturday, July 9, 2005. Representative Hastings' remarks will address the continuing disparities facing the African American community, particularly access to affordable and quality health care.

The CBC "Message to America" is distributed nationwide to the American Urban Radio Network's (AURN) affiliate stations. Rep. Hastings is expected to deliver the following remarks:

"Good morning. This is Congressman Alcee Hastings from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to speak to you all today. I am pleased to speak on behalf of the House of Representatives' Congressional Black Caucus, which I have been a member of for over 12 years.

"Equal access to affordable and quality health care is a high priority of mine in Washington, and I would like to talk about some of the health care issues the Congressional Black Caucus and I are currently working on.

"Dr. Ben Carson, the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University, says that birthplace is not a permanent address. Being born on the wrong side of the tracks is not where we are going but rather where we have come from.

"Indeed, while the African-American community is today faced with very serious disparities in our access to health care, this does not have to be a permanent fixture of our society.

"Many of us and our family members have relatives and close friends afflicted with diabetes, heart disease, sickle cell anemia, HIV and AIDS, cancer, and many other diseases which are often preventable, treatable, and manageable.

"Studies have shown that, had equal health care been available to African-Americans throughout the 1990s, almost 900,000 more African-Americans would be alive today.

"In fact, African-Americans are twice as likely as whites to have diabetes, 11 times more likely to get diagnosed with AIDS, and die twice as often from prostate cancer.

"And although African-Americans comprise about 12% of the population, they represent almost 20% of the uninsured.

"The sad truth is that the African-American community as a whole does not often emphasize our community's health care needs as an essential tool for achieving equality.

"This goal requires not only participation from our own community, but also a commitment by our nation's elected officials to ensure universal access and affordability for all Americans.

"But to do that also mandates that we take it upon ourselves to learn about our own personal health care needs and the needs of our community.

"Indeed, just because we did not grow up in households in which access to health education was readily available, does not mean that we have to continue a cycle in which we do not inform ourselves about our health needs and proactively pursue them.

"Our community has agitated for civil rights, social rights, and employment rights, for access to education and to serve in our nation's military, to elect members of our communities to political office and to participate in every sport.

"We must also pursue with equal vigor access to health care that is affordable and excellent, health care that meets the unique needs of the African-American community and that is available regardless of geography.

"In a time when people are living longer and better, ensuring our access to those same health technologies is essential in realizing the goal of fair and equal treatment for all Americans.

"Again, this is Congressman Alcee Hastings of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I thank you for taking the time to listen to me, and I hope that you will continue to be engaged with the important national issues facing all of us today."