Washington today, we are holding this hearing virtually in compliance with the regulations for Remote Committee proceedings pursuant to House Resolution 965. Remote hearings certainly are not the same as sitting together in our Committee Room and you should know. The new authority has allowed us to continue to do our work a behalf of the American People, while keeping our staff, families and broader communities this is the First OfficialVirtual Committee hearing in the United States house of representatives. As we begin this historic proceeding, i want to underscore that i plan to continue this committees long tradition of collegia collegiality and substantive debate even as we conduct our business from afar. I will continue to work with Ranking Member and his staff to make sure that all Ranking Members are respected in the knew virtual format. Before we turn to todays important topic, i want to remind members of a few procedures to help us all navigate this new platform. First, consistent with regulations, the committee will keep microphones muted, will limit background noise. Members are responsible for unmuting themselves when seeking recognition or when recognized for their five minutes. Second, members and witnesses must have their cameras on at all times. If you need to step away from the proceeding, please leave your camera on, rather than logging out. Finally, i understand that there will be votes today as early as 1 30 p. M. However, it is my intention to continue with our proceedings and avoid recessing. If your time for questioning occurs while you have left to vote, we will come back to you when you return. Thank all of you for your patience as we navigate the technology as we serve our country in this time of need. With that, i will turn to the important topic of todays hearing, the disproportionate impact of covid19 on communities of color. It became a National PublicHealth Emergency like none we have seen in modern history. Our lives have been turned up side down by a virus that we are still trying to understand. Tragically, 100,000 americans have now died of this disease and millions more have lost their jobs. From sanitation workers in cities to teachers in suburbs to ranchers and farmers in rural areas, everywhere are experiencing the pain of uncertainty that is associated with this virus. The Health Consequences of the violence are not felt evenly throughout the society. Covid19 has shown a light on the centuries old legacy in this country of inequality. While the factors driving the inequities are complex and multifacetted as we will hear shortly from the witnesses. The impact on Health Outcomes has been clearly documented. For example, black pregnant women and indginous die at a higher rate. Latinex populations have lower rates of Health Insurance coverage than other ethnic groups. Even though my state has the highest rate of on Health Insurance in the country, the predominantly black community of rock bury has of the back bay which has a average life expect answery of 92 years. Now, existing inequities are placing communities at greater risk of contracting and dying from covid19. For example, less than 22 of u. S. Counties are disproportionately black, and account for 52 of covid diagnosis. Los angeles county, the death rate for Pacific Islanders is 12 times higher than it is for whites. And the infection rate among Navajo Nation has now surpassed the state of new york, the center of the pandemic in the u. S. , reaching 2680 cases for per 100,000 people. That is why we have convened this hearing today to unpack the circumstances and begin to unravel the roots of history that have brought us to this point. These conversations can be difficult. We are at a crucial stage in our countrys response to the virus, and as communities begin to loosen social distancing guidelines these days paisparit will worsen if Contact Tracing approaches are not accessible to and trusted by people of color. That is an outcome im not prepared to accept. Many of these communities are in desperate need of resources for testing and Contact Tracing support and managing the daytoday response. And looking ahead, Demographic Data needs to be used effectively so resources reach the communities to help them recover and rebuild. Although these groups have the highest rate of positive tests and mortality, they have less access to testing and treatment. This is unacceptable. We can save lives by understanding what these communities of color need and then take appropriate action. Part of our efforts must include minimizing some of the information that surrounds the virus. These untruths can compound disparities and outcomes and lead to further distrust of vital interventions. For example, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are facing increasing rates of hate and racism as misinformation circulated about the coronavirus. These are difficult and unprecedented times and im proud to that our committee again is play ago central role in responding to the crisis that we currently face. We must remain focused on the massive Public Health challenges and the resulting economic turmoil that millions americans are currently experiencing. Over the past few months, congress has successfully come together to pass substantial Bipartisan Legislation responding to the covid19 crisis. I have confidence that we can work across the aisle and with our Senate Counterparts to do this again, in coming weeks. The heroes act includes many good ideas and Proven Solutions that we can all get behind. I want our nation to reopen, i want americans to get back to work and for our economy to come back to life. And i believe that all of my colleagues share these goals. Discussions like the one we are having today will help had us better protect the health of all communities as we begin the reopening process and it will improve the odds that all communities can participate in and benefit from a return to work. For the americans who can choose whether or not to go back to work, that choice should not be between life and death. And we cannot forget that many in our country dont have that choice at all. Front line work ers named essential have been risking their lives on the job this whole time, and too often earning barely enough to survive. So many of the people are people of color and women and are carrying a tremendous burden through the crisis and deserve better. Theres so many issues that demand our attention and we will continue to work relentlessly to support all americans through the crisis. Today is the first of many discussions to come. So thank you to our esteemed panel of witnesses for joining us and this important discussion. And now let me recognize mr. Brady for the purposes of an opening statement. Thank you, chairman neal, let me begin by urging our democratic colleagues on to reopen the house, theres so much work to be done, the senate is in session and the Trump Administration has continued to work throughout this crisis. Establishing an unconstitutional proxy Voting System like the one congress banned in 1990s, due to blatant corruption in place of phased gradual reopening of the operations of the u. S. House is a disservice to our skconstitues and our country, if truckers, nurses and supermarket employees are considered essential, how does Speaker Pelosi think we are not. This has required an unprecedented response and who knows how many lives and livelihoods would have been saved if china had not covered up and misled the world, to the deadly characteristics of covid19. America has struggled with Health Disparities for people of color. In Booker T Washington in 1915 convened the conference on the improvement of Health Conditions of africanamericans in alabama, this committee today shines a bright light on this continuing, unacceptable disparity. This is no time to be planning politics. You cannot ignore the Racial Disparities that predate this virus of more than a century. People of color in this nation deserve serious solutions, not sound bites, especially from those in washington who simply hate this president , who by the way was taking action to fight the virus and limit travel from china while democrats were still focused on impeachment. This virus seeks vulnerable, the immune compromised. Yet people of color are impacted more, reveals what we know for too long, the Health System does not serve all and meet the unique characteristics of all americans. We know this challenge is both health and economic related, although all minorities in the lowest unemployment on record thanks to president trumps tax reform, we know these groups are hardest hit as state and local leaders lock down the economy and some continue to. In applying pressure on the covid crisis, our job is to make sure that the 39 million americans that are temporarily unemployed are not permanently unemployed. We have to make sure that the economy reopens safely and local businesses can reopen build their workforce and make workplace safe for employees and customers. If we fail, people of color will bare the brunt of the economic delay, and all americans will face the consequences of longterm unemployment. More dprug and alcohol abuse and shorter live stans. Today, we have to Work Together to identify strategies and improve the health of minorities in america, fiscal and economic health. Knowing these groups have gotten the short end of both for more than a century. I worry that our important Medicaid Program does not follow the poor around their wealthy states. Medicare dollars are supposed to help. It rewards shifting the focus away from those that need it the most. It does not make sense to pay 50 more for a healthy working adult, rather than the poor disabled elderly who works next door. Im frustrated that the days parts have been made worse by the 32 states who today are refusing to share the cares act emergency aid with their small and Rural Communities as congress intended. The highest rates of concentrated low income americans reside in Rural Communities. They are ones that are harmed by the refusal of too many state capitols to pass these relief dollars on to small and Rural Communities. Im proud chairman neal established a task force to address Health Care Challenges for rural and under served communities is important. Its unacceptable for states to hoard the cares emergency aid that was sent to small, rural cities and counties. Im splupporting legislation revoking the aid to states that did not use as it was intended. To help all americans over come the virus and eliminate disparities in our communities, Congress Must continue to ensure accesses to care for all. To keep Health Providers doors open. We have to continue investing in testing and Community Banks to health care facilities. We have to continue to support Small Businesses. Including those owned by americans of color and help the jobless return to work. Those are Things Congress can do immediately. In the longterm, we need to focus on increasing access to health care and prosperity in these communities, that is where i hope we focus our conversation on today. With that, thank you chairman, neal. Thank you, to our distinguished witnesses for taking time to appear before us today. To discuss these very important issues. First, i have the honor of welcoming dr. Ebrom x. Kennedy. Of the research and policy center, American University in washington, d. C. Next, we have dr. Rano samoa, at city of hope in los angeles and a former covid patient. And dr. Thomas dean seaquest, from mass general brigham hospital as well as a professor at harvard medical school. And a professor of medicine at the university of california, san francisco, and an internist at the Zuckerberg San Francisco general. And we have dr. James hildreth, the 12th president and ceo of maharry Medical College, the nations largest private independent historically black health and science center. And finally, we have douglas president of the American Action forum. Each of your statements will be made part of the record in its entirety and i would ask that you summarize your testimony in 5 minutes or less and to help you with that time, please keep an eye on the clock that should already be pinned to your screen. If you go over your time, i will notify you with a tab of my gavel, dr. Kendy, will you please proceed. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member and members of the committee, my name is dr. Ibram kennedy, im a National Awardwinning had historian of racism and antiracism and a best selling author of four books. As a historian, i must take you back in time to 1896, to a major racial text issued that year. Im not talking about the legislation that legalized jim crow, im talking about frederick hoffman, race traits and tendancies of the american negro, a book that helped to legitimatize he showed higher black death rates and that black americans were more infected with syphillis, and tuberculosis, and other diseases with death like we are seeing in covid19. I was one of those to call on the release of covid data. We worked with the covid tracking project to build racial data tracker. The nations most comprehensive resource for covid, race and ethnicity data. As of monday, black americans are dying at nearly two times the National Population share. In 5 out of the 6 counties with the highest death rates, black americans are the largest racial group. In alaska the Asian American case rate is doubled their population. In hawaii, native hawaiians and Pacific Islanders make up 10 of the population but 17 of the cases. In arizona, native american case and death rates are five times their population. In d. C. , and 41 States Latino americans are disproportionately testing positive for the coronavirus according to the covid racial data tracker. This is the racial pandemic within the viral pandemic. Older than 1896, as new as covid19. But why such a pandemic of Racial Disparities . The pages of this work give but one answer. Hoffman concluded in 1896, it is not in the conditions of life, but in race and hereditary that we find the explanation of the fact to be observed in all parts of the globe, in all times and among all peoples he said, namely the superiority of one race over another. Of the arian race overall. The two explanations available to hoffman remain for explaining Racial Disparities, either that theres something superior or inferior about the races, the racist explanation, or theres something wrong with society. The antiracist explanation. In april, Many Americans were choosing the racist explanations. Saying people of color were not taking the virus as seriously as white people. Until challenged by survey data and majority white demonstrations to reopen states. Then the racist explanation zeroed in on black underlying illnesses due to unhealthy behavior. As if all races do not engage in unhealthy behavior. But according to the foundation for aids research, employment, access to Health Insurance and medical care as well as neighborhood pollution are more predictive of black infection and deaths than underlying illnesses like heart disease, and diabetes, we should be asking why are black and latino people less likely to be working from home . Less likely to be insured. Less likely to live in unpolluted neighborhoods. The answer is, racist policy. With the frederick hoffmans of today refusing to believe, will policy makers turn away as people of color suffer in their bedrooms, suffer on their hospital beds, suffer watching their loved ones lowered in to their graves all the while blaming them for their own suffering all the while adding to the racist history of their suffering . Or will policy makers be antiracist. Meaning, no longer blaming people of color for disparities and focused on pushing policy that leads to equity and justice for all. People of color want freedom. Im not talking about the freedom to get a haircut. Im talking about the most fundamental freedoms that have been denied for far too long. The freedom from infection, the freedom from death. Thank you. Dr. Samal, will you please proceed. Chairman neal, and Ranking Member brady and members of the committee. Im a Clinical Research endocrinologist at the city of hope. I help people in their fight to beat cancer. Please note this testimony reflects my own views alone and not the views of organizations that im curre