http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/H020905A.shtml Black Health Statistics Made Bush Groan
By James Wright
Afro American Newspapers
Tuesday 08 February 2005
Voting rights and health disparities took center stage at a meeting between the Congressional Black Caucus and President George Bush at the White House Cabinet Room. Individual CBC members raised issues such as homeland security, education, employment and social security, but it was voting rights and health care concerns that drew the greatest reaction from the president.
According to AFRO sources, Bush seemed genuinely taken aback by data presented from the CBC Health Braintrust, chaired by Rep. Donna M. Christensen (D-VI), documenting the poor state of African Americans' health relative to their White counterparts. One congressman said President Bush "audibly groaned" as each statistic revealed the stark portrait of African American's health deficit.
The Jan. 26 meeting, only one week before the State of the Union address, had a distinct purpose, noted Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.), chairman of the 35-year-old organization.
"We told the president that he will have three opportunities in the next few days and weeks
to signal to us his willingness to work with us to achieve closing and eliminating disparities," Watt said. "First, the president can make a public statement regarding our meeting that he embraces our agenda. Second, in his State of the Union address he will have an opportunity to speak about the disparities that exist in our Union. Finally, when the president presents his fiscal year 2006 budget, we will know whether there is a real commitment to addressing our priorities based on whether he commits resources."
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