U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) commended President Joe Biden for signing into law his bipartisan bill that will invest in America’s universities conducting research into minority health disparities.
Biden on March 18 signed into law the John Lewis National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Research Endowment Revitalization Act of 2021, H.R. 189, introduced in January 2021 by U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA) and Nanette Diaz Barragan (D-CA). Sen. Cassidy in February 2021 sponsored the identical S. 320 with original cosponsor U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI).
“As a doctor who worked in Louisiana’s charity hospital system, providing quality health care to underserved communities is a priority,” Sen. Cassidy said on March 21. “This law will expand our research efforts at institutions, like Xavier University, to help close the health gap among minorities.”
The late-Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) introduced the original bill during the 116th Congress to ensure NIMHD continues to provide grants for such research to the endowments of academic institutions across the country, according to information provided by Sen. Cassidy’s staff.
The goals of NIMHD’s Research Endowment Program include promoting minority health and health disparities research capacity and infrastructure; increasing the diversity and strength of the nation’s scientific workforce; and improving the recruitment and retention of individuals from health disparity populations who are underrepresented in the scientific workforce, the information says.
The new law expands eligibility for research endowments available through the NIMHD to include former centers of excellence at health professional schools and biomedical and behavioral research institutions that meet criteria related to the inclusion of underrepresented minority individuals in programs and activities, according to the congressional record bill summary.
