ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: HOW SOCIAL DETERMINANTS AFFECT HEALTH DISPARITIES.

PLACE MATTERS: ZEROING IN ON POVERTY

Congresswoman Donna M. Christensen April 4, 2013

THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS

WHERE POVERTY DEFINES THE PLACE

COUNTLESS SCIENTIFIC STUDIES HAVE CONSISTENTY SHOWED A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POVERTY AND POOR HEALTH AND PREMATURE DEATH INDEPENDENT OF ANY OTHER FACTORS OR INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIORS; AND POOR SCHOOLS, POLLUTING INDUSTRIES, SUBSTANDARD HOUSING, HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT AND OTHER DISPARITIES

U.S. POVERTY RATE BY RACE

Percent

Overall U.S. Poverty Rate

Data: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2011

As Poverty Rates Increase, Health Access Decreases:

During 2009, 3.7 additional people fell into poverty.
The number of people without health insurance rose by 4.3 million in 2009, to a total of 50.7 million, while the percentage of people who are uninsured rose from 15.4 percent to 16.7 percent. NOTE: These are the largest single-year increases on record in data going back to 1987.

In dollars per year

GAPS AND CHANGES IN HOUSEHOLD WEALTH BY RACE

PLACE MATTERS: ENSURING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GOOD HEALTH FOR ALL JCPEC, SEPTEMBER 1012 San Joaquin Valley, California: Focusing on ramifications of environmental degradation Lowest life expectancy in zip codes with lowest income and largest percentage of Hispanic residents. Premature deaths 2X that of highest income zip codes

PLACE MATTERS: ENSURING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GOOD HEALTH FOR ALL JCPEC, SEPTEMBER 1012 New Orleans:

Life expectancy in the poorest zip code is 25.5 years lower than life expectancy in zip code with the lowest amount of poverty. African Americans live disproportionately in those areas

PLACE MATTERS: ENSURING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GOOD HEALTH FOR ALL JCPEC, SEPTEMBER 1012
Cook County, Illinois: Looking at access to healthy foods

At least 20% of residents living in poverty for 5 decades Income over 53,000 life expectancy 14 years longer than those with under 25,000 With least access to chain supermarkets have average life expectancy 11 years shorter than those who do. Premature death for African Americans nearly 2.5X that of White residents

CBC ANTI-POVERTY INITIATIVES

111th and 112th Congress Themed: Creating Pathways Out Of Poverty H. Con. Res.198 - Expressing the sense of Congress that poverty should be cut in half in 10 years. 112th Congress H.R. 3300 Half in Ten Act of 2011 (Lee) Establishment of the Out Of Poverty Caucus Lee/McDermott)

CBC ANTI-POVERTY INITIATIVES

CBC Poverty and the Economy Task Force Spurred formation of a Dem Caucus Anti-Poverty Task Force The 10/20/30 initiative (Clyburn)

First applied in ARRA remains a priority for all funds and programs

10/20/30

474 counties where 20 percent or more of the population has been living below the poverty line for the last 30 years. They lack access to quality schools, affordable quality health care and adequate job opportunities. In 2009, these counties were represented by 43 Democrats and 84 Republicans in the Congress. Democrats represented 149 of them, with a total population of 8.8 million; Republicans 311, with a total population of 8.3 million; and 14, with a total population of 5. 3 million, were split between Republicans and Democrats.

CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS ALTERNATIVE BUDGET FY 2014

PRO-GROWTH. PRO-PEOPLE. PRO-AMERICA.

CBC 2014 BUDGET WOULD HAVE:

Ended the Sequester Protected and strengthened Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, all safety net programs Invested in health, education, housing, economic development, job creation, and applied the 10/20/30 formula Created public health option AND reduced the deficit

IMPACT
OF THE SEQUESTER

CDC PROGRAMS PROMOTING HEALTH, PREVENTING DISEASE

SEQUESTRATION WOULD RESULT IN 25,000 FEWER BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER SCREENINGS FOR LOW - INCOME, HIGH - RISK WOMEN

COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS

424,000 FEWER HIV TESTS WILL BE CONDUCTED BY HEALTH DEPARTMENTS

EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION

UNDER SEQUESTRATION, ROUGHLY 70,000 CHILDREN NATIONWIDE WOULD LOSE ACCESS TO HEAD START, THEREBY LOSING COMPREHENSIVE EARLY CHILDHOOD SERVICES

SEQUESTRATION WOULD REDUCE WIC FUNDING BY $353 MILLION, RESULTING IN OVER 600,000 LOW INCOME, NUTRITIONALLY AT RISK, PREGNANT, POSTPARTUM AND BREASTFEEDING WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN LOSING SERVICES

SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAMS FOR WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Sequestration would delay environmental clean up efforts and hamper enforcement of environmental laws.

More than nine million people are estimated to live in neighborhoods with commercial hazardous waste facilities, including more than 5.1 million people of color. Over half of residents (56%) of communities with commercial hazardous waste facilities are people of color. African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos and Asians/Pacific Islanders 1.7, 2.3, and 1.8 times more likely than whites to live in these neighborhoods, respectively. More than two - thirds of residents of neighborhoods with clustered facilities are people of color.

EJ RELATED IMPACTS OF SEQUESTRATION:

Eliminate or significantly reduce air quality data systems. Americans that have or care for individuals with respiratory and cardiac health issues rely on AIRNow for information about when to take action to avoid health impacts from air pollution. EPA would eliminate upgrades for the Emissions Inventory and Air Quality Systemsthe Agency would only fund operations for these systems. Without this monitoring data, future improvements in air quality would be hampered or delayed. (SA)

EJ IMPACTS OF SEQUESTRATION

Limit EPAs capacity to identify toxic air emissions, water discharges, and other sources of pollution that directly affect public health and the environment. (SA) Hinder tribal governments ability to ensure clean air and clean and safe water by cutting EPA tribal funding. This funding supports environmental protection for 566 tribes on 70 million acres of tribal lands. (SA) Reducing funding to understand the effect of nanomaterials on human health and dispose of rare earth minerals used in electronic, thereby limiting innovation and manufacturing opportunities with these materials in the US. (SA)

EJ RELATED IMPACTS OF SEQUESTRATION

Sequestration cuts to State Revolving Funds (SRFs) would deprive communities from access to funding to build or repair decaying water and wastewater infrastructure that provides safe drinking water and treats sewage.[1] (SA) Eliminate more than 100 water quality projects and restoration projects through cuts to the Water Program State Implementation Grants. Examples of projects include: [1] See http://water.epa.gov/grants_funding/cwsrf/uploa d/CWSRF-FY12allot.pdf for state-by-state impacts.

EJ RELATED IMPACTS OF SEQUESTRATION

Discontinue funding for two joint EPA/NIH Centers of Excellence for Childrens Health Research. These centers are providing a greater understanding of how the environment impacts todays most pressing childrens health challenges, including asthma, autism, attention deficit disorder, neurodevelopmental deficits, childhood leukemia, diabetes, and obesity. Eliminating funding would negatively impact graduate students and faculty who would have to look for new funding to keep their research going and ultimately slow down the pace of scientific research in these important public health areas. (SA)

FROM E&C COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT PLAN:

The Committee will continue to monitor international negotiations on efforts to control greenhouse gas emissions in connection with concerns about global climate change. In addition, the Committee will examine the EPAs efforts to regulate domestic greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act based on its endangerment finding. The Committee will consider whether such agreements and regulatory efforts are scientifically well grounded.

FROM E&C COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT PLAN

The Committee will continue to review significant rulemakings under the Clean Air Act and the potential economic and job impacts of those rulemakings on the energy, manufacturing and construction industries and other critical sectors of the U.S. economy, as well as any public health and environmental benefits of the regulations. The Committees review will include oversight of the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) decisions, strategies and actions

2014 BUDGET BATTLES

Sequester Affordable Care Act Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid SNAP, WIC, other safety net programs Education Infrastructure Jobs Innovation/research Regulation pollution, banks, corporations

Its the people of color who are disproportionately affected by bad food, bad air, and bad water. People of color are also disproportionately unable to escape the negative consequences of global warming. Look at Hurricane Katrina. People of color need equal protection from the worst environmental disasters and equal access to the best environmental technologies. We should be speaking out ourselves on these issues, because we are going to be hit first and hardest by everything negative, and we will benefit last and least from everything positive unless everybody works to solve this problem.
-- Van Jones

THIS IS OUR MOMENT

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

President Barack Obama

30

PLEASE JOIN US

SPRING HEALTH BRAINTRUST HEALTH EQUITY, HEALTH CARE QUALITY AND THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT: THE NEXT CHAPTER
April 22, 23, 2013 RITZ CARLTON, DC
www.nmqf.org

AND

THE SEVENTH NATIONAL HEALTH DISPARITIES CONFERENCE

SUGAR BAY HOTEL ST. THOMAS US VIRGIN ISLANDS November 13-16, 2013 www.buildinghealthycommunties2013.com

THANK YOU
CONGRESSWOMAN DONNA M. CHRISTENSEN
www.donnachristensen.house.gov