Summary of HRES 119: Declaring Racism a Public Health Crisis

Overview

• Bill type: House Resolution (HRES 119)
  
• Introduced: February 6, 2025
  
• Status: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of provisions within each committee’s jurisdiction.
  
• Classification: Resolution (non-binding, non-spending measure)
  
• Major aim: Formal declaration that racism is a public health crisis in the United States and a commitment to pursue a nationwide strategy to address health disparities and systemic racism.

Key Provisions and Provisions’ Intent

1. Local leadership acknowledgment: The House "supports the resolutions drafted, introduced, and adopted by cities and localities across the United States declaring racism a public health crisis."
   
2. National declaration: The House "declares racism a public health crisis in the United States."
   
3. Strategic commitments: The resolution commits to:
   • (A) Establishing a nationwide strategy to address health disparities and inequities across all sectors of society.
   • (B) Dismantling systemic practices and policies that perpetuate racism.
   • (C) Advancing reforms to address years of neglectful and apathetic policies that have led to poor health outcomes for members of racial and ethnic minority groups.
   • (D) Promoting efforts to address the social determinants of health for all racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States.
4. Moral imperative: It places a charge on the American people to move forward urgently to honor the nation’s foundational ideals of equality, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Legislative Actions and Timeline

• Committee referrals: The resolution is referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and to the Committee on the Judiciary, with the assignment period to be determined by the Speaker. This determines which provisions the committees may consider and when they may act.
• Related Senate measure: Companion bill is S.RES 67 (Senate Resolution).

Sponsors

• Primary sponsor: Jahana Hayes
  
• Cosponsors include: Delia C. Ramirez, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Pramila Jayapal, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Jill N. Tokuda, Nydia M. Velázquez, Dwight Evans, Rashida Tlaib, André Carson, Shontel M. Brown, Jonathan L. Jackson, LaMonica McIver.

Who is Affected

• While non-binding, the resolution expresses the sense of Congress regarding racism as a public health crisis and calls for nationwide strategy development. It signals potential future policy attention and actions to improve health equity, social determinants of health, and dismantling discriminatory practices that affect health outcomes among racial and ethnic minority groups across the United States.

Context and Implications

• As a resolution, HRES 119 does not by itself mandate funding or create new statutory requirements. Instead, it frames racism as a public health priority and outlines a policy direction for future legislation and administrative action. The referenced committees will consider provisions within their jurisdiction as the bill progresses, and the companion Senate resolution (S.RES 67) indicates parallel action in the Senate.