IV
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. RES. 239
Raising awareness of the racial disparities in the impact of colorectal cancer
on the Black community.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH21, 2025
Mrs. W
ATSONCOLEMAN(for herself, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr.
C
OHEN, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms.
P
RESSLEY, Ms. CLARKEof New York, Mr. THOMPSONof Mississippi, and
Mr. M
EEKS) 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 20 percent higher among Black
men and is 14 percent higher among Black women than
compared to non-Hispanic Whites;
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•HRES 239 IH
Whereas the rate of CRC death is 40 percent higher among
Black men and is 25 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 Black Americans have the lowest 5-year survival
rate for CRC of any racial group in the United States;
Whereas deaths from colorectal cancer among people younger
than 55 have increased 1.9 percent per year from 2011
to 2019;
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, by 2030, it is expected that CRC will be the leading
cause of death among people ages 20 to 49;
Whereas it is estimated that 19 percent of racial disparity in
CRC death rates between White and Black Americans is
due to lower screening rates alone; 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
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(3) encourages the Centers for Disease Control 1
and Prevention to continue and expand their work to 2
identify those factors that result in the colorectal ra-3
cial screening disparity and develop effective strate-4
gies to reduce and ultimately eliminate racial dis-5
parities in colorectal screening; 6
(4) encourages everyone get colorectal cancer 7
screening when recommended by the United States 8
Preventive Services Task Force; 9
(5) encourages the Centers for Disease Control 10
and Prevention to conduct research to determine any 11
environmental factors, and the National Institutes of 12
Health to conduct research into any physiological 13
factors that cause an elevated risk for colorectal can-14
cer in young adults; and 15
(6) urges State health plans to quickly adopt 16
new measures to cover colorectal screenings for indi-17
viduals at a lower age, with special consideration for 18
the Black community and all those at higher risk for 19
colorectal cancer. 20
Æ
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