81R22559 BPG-D
By: Guillen H.C.R. No. 171
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The United States-Mexico border is the busiest
international border in the world, with more than a million legal
northbound crossings each day; this continual movement and a rapid
expansion in population are placing unique pressures on the public
health care system in the border region; and
WHEREAS, In Texas, local public health entities in small
border communities confront a disproportionate number of serious
issues; the American Medical Association has characterized the
border area as a fertile ground for the development of infectious
diseases such as hepatitis; rates of hepatitis A there are three
times higher than in the rest of the United States, and in some
2,300 colonias, the rates of salmonella and shigella infection are
four times higher than elsewhere in the nation; and
WHEREAS, The fluidity of the large and diverse migrant
population increases the incidence of such communicable diseases as
HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis; moreover, approximately nine percent of
TB cases in border areas involve strains resistant to at least one
of the initial treatments; local public health care providers must
function as the nation's first line of defense against infectious
diseases, which also include multidrug-resistant infections and
such vector-borne diseases as dengue fever and West Nile virus; and
WHEREAS, Environmental hazards related to air and water
pollution and the use of pesticides are likewise of great concern,
as is inadequate protection of the food supply; more than a third of
families in the border region have incomes below the federal
poverty level, and the border counties struggle with a high
incidence of such serious chronic illnesses as diabetes and
hypertension, as well as respiratory and gastrointestinal
ailments; a large percentage of the population lacks health
insurance, and access to health care is further limited by the
dearth of facilities and shortage of medical professionals; most
border communities have been designated as Health Professions
Shortage Areas and Medically Underserved Areas; and
WHEREAS, Public health initiatives and agencies in the border
region suffer from chronic underfunding due to federal formulas
based on raw population numbers rather than need or strategic
importance in such realms as emerging disease control; although
area public health professionals have responded quickly to recent
threats, the continued effectiveness of the public health care
system requires greater financial support for detection,
laboratory testing, isolation, quarantine, and infection control;
because biological and medical hazards do not respect political
boundaries, it is also essential to upgrade communications
equipment and services for the rapid exchange of information
between communities in the United States and Mexico; and
WHEREAS, The disparity between public health needs and
resources has reached a critical stage along the Texas-Mexico
border; in order to address severe deficiencies in a comprehensive
and targeted manner, a United States Department of Health and Human
Services region should be established for the border counties,
ensuring an appropriate level of dedicated funding; the sustained
and efficient allocation of federal resources would support local
entities in their efforts to improve the health of the community and
allow area professionals to perform effectively in roles that are
vital to protecting the public and preventing the spread of disease
not just along the border, but throughout Texas and the rest of the
nation; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to direct the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish a public
health region for the counties along the Texas-Mexico border and to
dedicate an appropriate level of funding to meet the public health
challenges particular to border communities; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the
senate of the United States Congress, to the secretary of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, and to all the members of
the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this
resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.