Congressional Black Caucus

White House Misses Another Deadline to Finalize Rule Prohibiting Menthol Cigarettes - Delays Cost Lives, Especially Black Lives

Retrieved on: 
Monday, April 1, 2024
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WASHINGTON, April 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- It is profoundly disappointing and harmful to public health that the Biden Administration has missed yet another deadline to issue a final FDA rule eliminating menthol cigarettes. The Administration delayed issuing the final rule in December and now has missed the new deadline it set to issue the rule by March 2024.

Key Points: 
  • Make no mistake: Delays cost lives, especially Black lives.
  • Delays allow the tobacco industry to continue its predatory targeting of Black and other communities with menthol cigarettes, resulting in 45,000 Black lives lost to smoking-related diseases every year.
  • If Black lives truly matter, it's time to get rid of menthol cigarettes, the only flavored cigarettes still on the market.
  • Research shows that eliminating menthol cigarettes will save up to 654,000 lives within 40 years, including 255,000 Black lives.

TMCF President and CEO Dr. Harry L. Williams has released the following statement on President Biden’s FY ‘25 Budget proposal

Retrieved on: 
Monday, March 11, 2024
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Washington, D.C., March 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Through his FY 2025 (FY’25) budget proposal, President Biden and his administration have once again shown their commitment to investing in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and their students.

Key Points: 
  • Washington, D.C., March 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Through his FY 2025 (FY’25) budget proposal, President Biden and his administration have once again shown their commitment to investing in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and their students.
  • The President’s FY’25 recommended budget proposes a $750 increase in the maximum Pell award over FY’23 levels to $8,145 and maintains the strength of student aid programs such as Federal Work-Study and the Federal Supplemental Equal Opportunity Grants program (FSEOG).
  • Increasing research capacity and opportunity at our schools is of critical importance to the long-term sustainability and growth of our institutions, and to our nation’s global competitiveness.
  • We strongly encourage the Administration to consider an upward adjustment in its proposed investment in FIPSE as it begins its negotiations with Congress on the FY’25 budget.

Historically Black Community Colleges will attend Thurgood Marshall College Fund annual Congressional HBCU Fly-In March 6-7

Retrieved on: 
Monday, March 4, 2024
HBCU, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Education, Business Roundtable, Transtheoretical model, Institute of technology, Government, School, Tim Scott, Joe Biden, Business, Policy, Legislation, Congress, Congressional Black Caucus, Capitol, Student

The annual event brings presidents and chancellors of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Historically Black Community Colleges (HBCCs) and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs) together with members of Congress and key government and corporate officials to discuss issues of law and policy impacting TMCF member schools.

Key Points: 
  • The annual event brings presidents and chancellors of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Historically Black Community Colleges (HBCCs) and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs) together with members of Congress and key government and corporate officials to discuss issues of law and policy impacting TMCF member schools.
  • Dr. Patricia Sims, president of Drake State Community and Technical College, left last year’s Fly-In inspired by policy conversations, occurring at the highest legislative level.
  • The Thurgood Marshall College Fund and its partners recognize that all jobs do not require a bachelor’s degree,” Williams said.
  • Topics include the TMCF value proposition, HBCU sustainability, capacity-building opportunities and the advocacy agenda for HBCUs, HBCCs, PBIs and their students.

Thurgood Marshall College Fund to host annual Congressional HBCU Fly-In March 6-7

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 29, 2024
HBCU, Student, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Business, Business Roundtable, Transtheoretical model, Growth, Government, School, Tim Scott, Joe Biden, Policy, Legislation, Congress, Congressional Black Caucus, UARC, Capitol, Partnership, Management

WASHINGTON, DC, Feb. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) will host the 2024 Presidents & Chancellors HBCU Fly-In March 6-7 in Washington, D.C.

Key Points: 
  • WASHINGTON, DC, Feb. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) will host the 2024 Presidents & Chancellors HBCU Fly-In March 6-7 in Washington, D.C.
  • “When you bring HBCU presidents together in one room, that energy is electrifying; things can happen, and things can move.
  • TMCF and Business Roundtable began a partnership in 2021 to invest in HBCU students and develop a diverse talent pipeline.
  • Topics include the TMCF value proposition, HBCU sustainability, capacity-building opportunities and the advocacy agenda for HBCUs, PBIs and their students.

Congressman Horsford Applauds Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco’s Initiatives to Close Racial Wealth Gap Through Innovative Mortgage Finance Solutions

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
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SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco commends Congressman Steven Horsford's (NV-04) unwavering commitment to closing the racial wealth gap and promoting homeownership opportunities for all communities.

Key Points: 
  • SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco commends Congressman Steven Horsford's (NV-04) unwavering commitment to closing the racial wealth gap and promoting homeownership opportunities for all communities.
  • Horsford, the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, spoke at the Bank’s Innovations in Mortgage Finance Symposium and celebrated the Bank’s announcement to accept VantageScore 4.0 for mortgage collateral originated by its lenders.
  • “At FHLBank San Francisco, we are dedicated to narrowing the black homeownership gap and breaking down systemic barriers to financial inclusion.”
    In recent public comments , Congressman Horsford, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, emphasized the significance of homeownership in building intergenerational wealth.
  • “Homeownership is one of the most meaningful and substantive ways that families build intergenerational wealth in America,” said Congressman Horsford.

HEiTC'S AL B. SURE! AND REV. AL SHARPTON TO CMS: RESTORE MEDICARE COVERAGE FOR LIFE-SAVING BLOOD TESTS FOR ORGAN TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS WITHOUT TIES TO INVASIVE BIOPSIES

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Human services, Coalition, CMS, Biopsy, Transplant, Confusion, Letter, Risk, House, Medicare, Black, Patient, Uncertainty, Survival, Representative, Kidney, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Health equity, Congressional Black Caucus

NEW YORK, March 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Health Equity in Transplantation Coalition (HEiTC) – representing Black, Brown, and minority transplant patients nationwide – is calling on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to restore Medicare coverage for critical diagnostic blood tests without any ties to biopsies. Last week, CMS issued a revised Billing Article and public statement highlighting a revision to its March 2023 coverage policy, which linked the administration of blood tests to a biopsy. In a statement from HEiTC Executive Chairman Al B. Sure! and Senior Advisor Rev. Al Sharpton, the Coalition noted the change does not clarify the level of access that Medicare recipients have to life-saving care.

Key Points: 
  • Al Sharpton, the Coalition noted the change does not clarify the level of access that Medicare recipients have to life-saving care.
  • But the CMS revision and statement last week does not clarify whether access to these tests for organ transplant recipients on Medicare is tied to a biopsy.
  • Biopsies are painful, risky, and are often prescribed too late – by that point, organ rejection may have already begun.
  • One year ago, Palmetto GBA, a private Medicare Administrative Contractor that runs the MolDX program scaled back coverage of these non-invasive diagnostic tests.

New report published by AAKP exposes alarming Medicare paradox: CMS private contractor limits Medicare, as BlueCross BlueShield expands coverage for transplant patients

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 12, 2024
Human services, Second Continental Congress, Anna Eshoo, CMS, Transplant, Kidney, Gift, Letter, Risk, House, Private sector, The Wall Street Journal, Medicare, Palmetto, Patient, Congress, Representative, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Congressional Black Caucus, Health insurance

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Equity in Transplantation Coalition (HEiTC) Executive Chairman Al B. Sure! issued the following statement on the findings of a new report issued this week by the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP). 

Key Points: 
  • issued the following statement on the findings of a new report issued this week by the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP).
  • Yet incredibly, only months later, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, which owns MolDX contractor Palmetto GBA, issued a favorable medical coverage decision that allows their BCBS South Carolina private insurance patients – but not Medicare patients – to have robust coverage and access to these transplant rejection tests.
  • "HEiTC is alarmed by the findings of AAKP's report, which highlights a clear divide and double standard between public healthcare and the private sector.
  • The AAKP report only underscores why the entire transplant community and the U.S. Congress must hear a thorough, honest explanation from CMS — immediately."

Kidney Patients Target Medicare Transplant Double Standard

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024
Kidney failure, Family, Congress, Callous, Kidney transplantation, Form 1095, Society, The Wall Street Journal, LCD, ASTS, HHS, Kidney disease, Anxiety, Bleeding, Life, Infection, Biopsy, Congressional Black Caucus, Health equity, Insurance, Social media, History, Diagnosis, Health, Patient, House, Policy, Language, CMS, Kidney, RealClearPolitics, FMLA, Organ transplantation, Editorial, Pelvic floor dysfunction, Empathy, Death, Pharmaceutical industry

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP), the largest and oldest kidney patient organization in the nation, issued an Official Statement (appears below) and an AAKP Closer Look report highlighting a new, double standard and unequal access for Medicare kidney transplant recipients who rely upon molecular blood tests for organ health surveillance and the identification of early organ rejection. Kidney disease and kidney failure disproportionately impact minority Americans. Federal data consistently demonstrates that, among historically disadvantaged communities, there are tremendous barriers and lack of opportunity to receive a kidney transplant and furthermore, re-transplantation when a donor organ fails.

Key Points: 
  • The new restrictions severely limit Medicare patients and transplant professionals from accessing molecular blood tests, covered by Medicare and utilized since 2017.
  • It is absolutely clear this is a new double standard for Medicare transplant recipients.
  • Today, Medicare patients with a kidney transplant in South Carolina and across the nation face the new reality of unequal treatment to protect their precious gifts of life.
  • Their failed leadership has empowered unelected, unaccountable, and faceless for-profit contractors to make life and death decisions that negatively impact kidney transplant patients on Medicare.

CHC CEO Dr. Jean Accius Honored with 2024 President's Lifetime Achievement Award

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
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ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On Saturday, January 20, the White House recognized Dr. Jean Accius, president and CEO of CHC: Creating Healthier Communities, with the President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Accius accepted a lifetime achievement pin, gold medallion, lapel pin, and letter signed by President Joseph R. Biden at a ceremony in Washington DC. Award recipients will also be recognized during the Congressional Black Caucus weekend.

Key Points: 
  • Accius recognized for lifetime of volunteer service and community impact with President's Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest U.S. civil volunteerism award, and letter signed by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
    ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On Saturday, January 20, the White House recognized Dr. Jean Accius, president and CEO of CHC: Creating Healthier Communities, with the President's Lifetime Achievement Award.
  • Jean Accius, CHC president and CEO
    "I'm deeply honored and humbled to receive this award," said Dr. Jean Accius, CHC president and CEO.
  • The President's Lifetime Achievement Award is a civil award bestowed by the current President of the United States.
  • The President's Lifetime Achievement Award is the most prestigious, highest civil volunteerism award presented by the President of the United States.

Health Equity in Transplantation Coalition Applauds Congressional Black Caucus Chair Horsford for Asking HHS to Reverse Medicare Cuts Disproportionately Impacting Thousands of Black and Brown Transplant Patients

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, January 4, 2024
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Health Equity in Transplantation Coalition (HEiTC), led by Al B. Sure! and Rev. Al Sharpton, today applauded Congressional Black Caucus Chair Steven Horsford (D-NV) for urging the Biden Administration to reverse the Medicare cuts that have left thousands of Black, Brown, and other transplant recipients without a life-saving blood test that non-invasively detects early signs of organ transplant rejection.

Key Points: 
  • Al Sharpton, today applauded Congressional Black Caucus Chair Steven Horsford (D-NV) for urging the Biden Administration to reverse the Medicare cuts that have left thousands of Black, Brown, and other transplant recipients without a life-saving blood test that non-invasively detects early signs of organ transplant rejection.
  • Noting he was "deeply troubled" about the disproportionately adverse impact of the decision, Horsford urged Sec.
  • "We share the Biden Administration's commitment to closing racial disparities in our health system," the CBC Chair wrote in the missive .
  • – the songwriter, podcast host, health and wellness ambassador who received a life-saving liver transplant in the summer of 2022.