Stacey Plaskett

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. You have rural in your area as well.

Ms. PLASKETT. The other area is that those even who receive treatment, one of the things that we have noted is that African Americans are negatively affected by prejudice and discrimination when they are in the healthcare system. Missed diagnoses, inadequate treatment, improper bedside manner, and lack of cultural competence all lead to an exacerbation of health issues that cause distrust and prevent many African Americans from seeking help in the healthcare area. I yield to the gentlewoman.

Ms. PLASKETT. I know that there have been studies, which you were just discussing, where Black women are historically mistreated by doctors because they do not believe African American women when they say that they are not feeling well or when they are complaining about an ache or a pain, that a diagnosis on a larger scale is not done on them once they say that.

Ms. PLASKETT. This cuts across all economics of African Americans. This is not just about poor Black women.

Ms. PLASKETT. This happens at the highest economic levels of Black women dying in great numbers after giving birth to children.

Ms. PLASKETT. I thank Ms. Kelly for her leadership and continued support on this subject. For those who need a voice here in Washington, I know she is at the forefront, not just on mental health issues but all health issues, including the fact that she has considered gun violence a health issue. She is fighting for additional funding at NIH in this area. The totality of the health of the American people, I think, is so important, and I am grateful for Ms. Kelly's leadership in that and her continuing to bring up these topics.

Ms. PLASKETT. One of the things, Mr. Speaker, that we wanted to talk about was Blacks being overrepresented in prison: 1 million of the total 2.3 million people incarcerated in the United States. One million of those 2.3 million are, in fact, African American. That is another area for mental health that Black Americans face. A current major national concern: People of color account for 60 percent of the prison population. While only 14 percent of Black people are drug users, we account for 37 percent of drug arrests. This incarceration could contribute to mental health issues of Black people and raises questions surrounding the delivery of mental health services in prison. The reverse is also true. The lack of access to mental health testing and treatment may, in fact, lead to incarceration. This reality leads to real issues in healthcare regarding access, mental health, and quality care treatment. Treatment issues that must be addressed include the fact that the Black community is overrepresented in inpatient treatment and underrepresented in outpatient treatment, highlighting the need for more early education and intervention. Regarding misdiagnosis and access to care, access is a central point of contention when thinking about the care of Black psychiatric patients. Often, communities such as my district are not equipped with adequate facilities and services. In the Virgin Islands, there is not just a lack of inpatient care for mental health but outpatient as well. At this point, we have almost no separate mental health facility. Either individuals have to be sent off-island or, unfortunately, many people are sent to correctional facilities for nonviolent crimes who are experiencing, in fact, a mental health issue. Unfortunately, over a year ago, we lost a young man who obviously had very severe mental health issues that his family had been treating him for. He had been sent to prison because we don't have that mental health facility. He, in fact, lost his life in the correctional facility, knowing that this poor young man had mental health services that he needed and that our island does not have the resources, the funding, to be able to provide. Research has shown that a lack of cultural competency in mental healthcare, as I discussed earlier and as you heard from Congresswoman Kelly, results in misdiagnosis and inadequate treatment. While Black patients may prefer Black physicians, only about 2 to 4 percent of mental health providers identify as Black--2 to 4 percent-- in this country, meaning that Black patients are likely to be seen by a provider from a different cultural and ethnic background than their own. Similarly, in research, there is a paucity of Black researchers and Black patients participating in research, which is problematic as research is the basis for evidence-based clinical care. These are all issues that are affecting the Black community. Some may think that we also have the stigma of what do we as African Americans think. African Americans are reluctant to discuss mental health issues and seek treatment because of the shame and the stigma associated with such conditions. Many African Americans also have trouble recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental health conditions, leading to underestimating the effects and the impacts of mental health conditions. That affects all of us, at all levels. I know, as a parent, as an African American parent, I have been one individual who has done this also, not recognizing when a son is feeling depressed and just thinking that he needs to suck it up and go on with his work and do what he needs to do and thinking that, ``You already know that you are a Black man in America. You don't have time to feel sorry for yourself. You have to push through,'' and realizing that that son was really depressed and needed to get some mental health treatment. These are things that are affecting our community, and we need to be upfront about what we are facing. Some may think of depression as the blues or something that needs to be snapped out of. ADHD in a child is often regarded as a child being bad. Too often, young Black men are put in suspension or, even at the age of kindergarten, separated from school, taken out of the classroom because of bad behavior that a teacher recognized. That same behavior in a White student is not seen that way. Those signs, that lack of sensitivity begins at the youngest age in Black America, and those are the things that we must be careful about. Oftentimes, people assume that their emotional mental state is normal, not realizing that they are suffering from disordered thinking or a clinical symptom. Approximately 30 percent of African American adults with mental illness receive treatment each year, compared to the U.S. average of 43 percent. Here are some the reasons why. Socioeconomic factors play a part, too, and can make treatment options less available. In 2017, 11 percent of African Americans had no form of health insurance. For the Virgin Islands, we have this issue as well. We have only one full-time and one part-time psychiatrist for our islands. Today, the traumas of the storms that rocked the territory have become apparent, and, as a result, mental health is being talked about more frequently. I am grateful that our Governor, Governor Bryan, is declaring a mental health state of emergency for our islands, being clear-eyed and noticing that this is such an issue that we must face. However, access to mental health treatment is still in dire need of improvement. For many years, the lack of a facility and mental health providers have led to the Virgin Islands' government spending millions of dollars to send mental health patients off-island due to an inability to treat them within the territory. The cost of sending children off-island for mental health treatment totals $13 million a year, a significant amount for a jurisdiction with a small annual budget. The territory currently has no inpatient facilities. Outpatient facilities are unsuited to meet the needs of the Virgin Islands. A 2019 study conducted by the Caribbean Exploratory Research Center found that 6 out of 10 Virgin Islanders showed depressive symptoms. The same study revealed the symptoms of PTSD in 57 percent of adults. These extraordinary numbers display a mental health crisis within the Virgin Islands that does not have the fiscal, occupational, or infrastructural capacity to handle. The lack of mental health professionals and mental health education and awareness creates a barrier for many obtaining care. But I know that the Virgin Islands is not the only place that faces this. Places like inner cities within the United States, Detroit and elsewhere, also experience these mental health issues. Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge my colleague, one of my close friends here, a classmate of mine coming into Congress in the same class, Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence, who has made extraordinary strides in supporting not just the people of her district, but also being one of the co-chairs of the Women's Caucus here in Washington, continually bringing to light the issues that face women. Just earlier this evening, she had a dinner, women who had been incarcerated and the mental stress that they were dealing with being incarcerated. One woman, I know, Congresswoman, she discussed having her sentence with a 6-month old child that she had to stop breastfeeding because she had to go to prison, a woman, 2 weeks after giving birth, having been sent to prison for being a girlfriend of a drug dealer. These are the kinds of things that women in America have been dealing with. Mr. Speaker, I am so grateful to Congresswoman Lawrence for taking the lead on supporting women in this country, for talking about inequities and always dealing with issues that affect those Americans who cannot speak here in these Halls. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Lawrence) to discuss these issues with us.

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to also acknowledge the work that another Member of Congress, Max Rose, does in mental health related to veterans. We know so many of those veterans are, in fact, African American, coming back home after having served this country, facing already racial disparities, facing issues of race in America, as well as the trauma of what they have been through in serving us. We are grateful for that support to those veterans so that they can sustain themselves, get back to being productive in this country. I want to thank the gentleman for that work that he has done. But I just want to close with letting people know about some statistics and then giving them a charge. According to the American Psychiatric Association, African Americans are less likely to receive guideline-consistent care, less frequently included in research, and more likely to use emergency rooms or primary care rather than mental health specialists. Only one in three African Americans who need mental healthcare receive it. Plaguing issues of poverty, mass incarceration, and financial hardship have increased mental illness and suicide in the African American community. I just want to give people a charge: Start the conversation about mental health with your peers. Show compassion. Do not be judgmental. Your language matters. Advocate, if not for yourself, for your family, for your community. Write down all the things that make you upset, for example, media, police brutality, poor perception/narrative of African Americans. Write it down and embrace your voice. In the Black community, more people promoting solidarity are talking about their struggles publicly, but we need more people to share their experiences. We are at our best when human connection and connectivity happen. Share your story. I thank the men and women who, across the Nation, are fighting to end the stigma, do the research, and make mental health treatment more accessible in the Black community, including our own, in the Virgin Islands, Dr. Janis Valmond, deputy commissioner for health promotion and disease prevention, who has provided a lot of the information I had tonight. The Congressional Black Caucus uses this Special Order hour to let America know what is happening in our community. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I recently spent time visiting schools throughout the Virgin Islands. While it is always exciting to spend time with our young people, it was sad to see that the school libraries across the territory are in dire need of books and librarians to provide students and teachers with educational resources, including territory-specific material that will enlighten our young people about their rich heritage. We all have to do better. My office also hosted two townhalls with officials from the VA and the U.S. Postal Service to discuss issues facing our veterans and the community at large. Within the next few months, it is my hope that both the Postal Service and the VA will make measurable progress. I thank members of my community for coming out, particularly our veterans, because, on Monday, we commemorated Veterans Day, paying tribute to men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Elmer Davis once said it ``will remain the land of the free only for so long as it is the home of the brave.'' I am proud that the Virgin Islands has one of the highest rates of military service in our country, including my father. I thank every veteran across the Nation for your service to America and to freedom.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, this week, the Virgin Islands celebrates Liberty Day and honors David Hamilton Jackson and his relentless pursuit of free press for the people of the Virgin Islands. From the 1700s until the 1950s, the Virgin Islands was owned by Denmark, which maintained censorship over the press. D. Hamilton Jackson knew that in order for a people to truly have freedom, the press must also be free. Traveling to Denmark to advocate on behalf of the workers of the Virgin Islands, he took it upon himself to also fight for the emancipation of the press. His passionate advocacy was fruitful, and upon his return to the territory, he published the first newspaper in the Virgin Islands not controlled by the government. This act empowered the people of the Virgin Islands and opened the door for generations of Virgin Islanders to allow their voices to be heard in the formal medium of press. D. Hamilton Jackson challenged the status quo and the prevailing laws of his time to secure a future for the islands he loved. D. Hamilton Jackson used his newfound right for the free press to create The Herald. As editor, he used that publication to uncover corruption and educate the working class. Frustrated with neglect from the Danish Government, Jackson used The Herald to build support for the transfer of the Virgin Islands from Denmark to the United States. The American flag that flies over the Virgin Islands today is a fruit of the seed that D. Hamilton Jackson sowed on his quest for liberty and greater opportunity for Virgin Islanders. The Virgin Islands continue to embody the spirit of D. Hamilton Jackson and his work. Rena Brodhurst has spent her life walking the path of Jackson as a champion of Virgin Islands Free Press as the owner and editor of the St. Croix Avis. Educated on St. Croix and then attending college, she followed her family's tradition of fighting to defend a free press. Her father, Mr. Brodhurst, was once convicted of contempt of court after publishing an unsigned letter critical of a court decision and social conditions of his time. However, the right to free press prevailed with the U.S. Third Circuit making clear that the constitutional right to freedom of speech in the press was not one that would be infringed upon in the United States. Rena, herself, has sued the government to protect the right to publish freely without retribution. A strong woman, mother, and friend, she acts as a true Virgin Islands queen, unbroken and a fierce defender of free press. Today, a new generation steps up to carry the torch of D. Hamilton Jackson. State of the Territory founder Amaziah George, a Marine Corps veteran, brings Virgin Islands press to the world through his online social media paper. His passion for making the voice and concerns of millennial Virgin Islanders heard make him a trailblazer of his generation. With his willingness to speak truth, the secret stories that others are unwilling to discuss, this veteran is really a fighter and a soldier of truth. These individuals have dedicated themselves to truthfully informing the people of the Virgin Islands about their community and the world outside of our small corner of it. They are truly legacies of D. Hamilton Jackson. We must continue this work, as Virgin Islanders still have limited constitutional rights as determined by the Insular Cases of the early 1900s. Those Supreme Court decisions relegate people living within the territories to a separate and unequal status. The cases posture that people living in territories are inferior races that cannot understand Anglo-Saxon principles of law. It keeps American citizens living in places like the Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico as disenfranchised from the full American experience. As a young constituent of mine recently wrote in an essay outlining the importance of free press, ``only a free press can ensure the people's access to information and build a well-informed, transparent, and accountable society,'' and that ``we, the people, owe it to our country to demand and defend the freedom of such a priceless heritage.'' What a wonderful sentiment from a young person. Free press, we must cherish and protect it as a most American of values and as one of the most fragile pillars of democracy here and around the world. In the words of D. Hamilton Jackson, I challenge us to walk in his spirit and challenge the status quo for the betterment of our people and our Nation. Let us all embody the motto of his newspaper, The Herald: ``Liberty, equality, fraternity.''

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, during this difficult time, the House will continue our strong legislative agenda for the people: lowering healthcare costs, creating bigger paychecks, building the physical and human infrastructure of America. My friends on the other side of the aisle want to belittle our work here by focusing solely on the impeachment process. The American people want the truth. The House will proceed with our impeachment inquiry to find the facts and expose the truth, guided by our Constitution and the facts. This is about patriotism, not politics or partisanship. I am pleased that, despite the Senate's refusal to move on legislation passed in the House, my office continues to work hard on behalf of the people of America. My office was successful in convincing HUD to release CDBG funding for mitigation activities. $774 million in HUD CDBG mitigation funds have been released to the Virgin Islands. The House doubled the funding on the Violence Against Women Act for my people. The House has averted the Medicaid cliff, increasing the Federal Government's share of spending to the Territories. We wait on the Senate to act.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford), my colleague, for his support of the Congressional Black Caucus, and working with me in ensuring that the voices of Black America are heard here in the Congress. At this time, I yield to the great gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson) for his reflections of our colleague, Elijah Cummings.

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for his reflections on our colleague, Elijah Cummings. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Richmond), former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, a good friend and colleague.

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those words. Mr. Richmond, that happens to be my life scripture--Micah 6:8. That, I believe, was the scripture that the Lord gave me when I was in law school. I recognize that I had the honor of being a member of the committee in which Elijah Cummings sat, was the chair, and I was on that committee for 5 years now. Mr. Cummings was a mentor to me. And to those who had a chance to interact with him and knew him more than just as a Member of Congress, he was a man of God. He lived and worked in Congress on Christian values. I think that scripture, Micah 6:8 exemplifies how he lived his life. It really exemplifies his Christian walk. He was a man of great wisdom. And although he needed little protection, when I was on that committee, I viewed my role as not only being a consummate prosecutor and counselor but being on the front line. I remember I called and told him, I was almost gleeful, that I was going to be sitting in front of him, not because I thought that the camera would be there, but that I could watch his back from many of those coming at him from the front. He always shook his head at my colorful language. Although, mind you, he did chuckle quietly at a lot of the things that I had to say. And he always counseled me to take care of my children first before any of this. ``Take care of your family,'' he always said, ``because at the end of the day, that is who you are going to have, even when you leave this job.'' But he also counseled me to go slow and steady, to ``walk humbly,'' as Micah 6:8 says. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne), who sits with me on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. He represents his home of Newark, New Jersey, and I would ask him to reflect on the life and his times with Congressman Elijah Cummings.

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne). Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty).

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her words. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams), who, like Elijah Cummings, came to Congress first in a special election. I am happy to call her my classmate.

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Lawrence), my very close classmate from the State of Michigan who is herself a tireless fighter for the rights of not only the people of Michigan but of women and people who are oppressed and who also sat and sit on the Committee on Oversight and Reform under the tutelage of Elijah Cummings.

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for those words. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans), representing Philadelphia.

Ms. PLASKETT. I thank Mr. Evans, as one gentleman from a great American city paying tribute to another man from a great American city, as native sons. I thank him for those kind words and for the fight that we are all continuing to undertake on behalf of the people whom we represent in this great Nation. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Demings), who had the honor of being on the Oversight and Reform Committee with Mr. Cummings, for her remarks about that great American.

Ms. PLASKETT. I thank the gentlewoman for those powerful words. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. McBath) for her tribute and words about Congressman Elijah Cummings.

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley), who also sat on the Oversight and Reform Committee under Mr. Cummings.

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I just want to close my portion of this by stating that, when it came to a notion of democracy, Chairman Cummings, in his speeches, insistently invoked it, and not in the inert way that elected officials tend to do. He spoke of democracy as something vital and fragile and valuable, an inheritance that had to be safeguarded for future generations. He said that to all of us who sat under him in his chairmanship and ensured that we brought that passion and that desire to do the best for this democracy that our bodies could do. So I thank him for that. I thank him for everything that he has been to all of us. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. PLASKETT

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, last week, we lost the earthly man Elijah Cummings. Most of the country and many around the world knew him as a member of Congress from the city of Baltimore. He was a fierce fighter for the forgotten, a sworn opponent of hunger, poverty, abuse and addiction and a relentless advocate for civil rights. Chairman Cummings was a driven man, a person who pushed for what was right because he believed in the supreme responsibility of elected officials to advocate for those we represent. I have the honor of being a member of the Committee he chaired for 5 years. Congressman Cummings was a mentor to me. I and those who had a chance to interact with him knew him as more than a Member of Congress. More importantly, he was a man of God. He lived and worked in Congress on Christian values. He was a man of great wisdom and, although he needed little protection, I viewed my role on the Committee as not only being the consummate prosecutor and counselor but as a frontline and protector to this gentleman. With a booming voice and speaking cadence that hinted of the pulpit--his parents were preachers--Chairman Cummings was a compelling figure on Capitol Hill for more than two decades, repeatedly re-elected by voters in Maryland's Seventh Congressional District, which covers much of Baltimore, including a section of the city with more than its share of social problems. He campaigned tirelessly for stricter gun control laws and was a consummate voice for those addicted to drugs. He was at times gruff, but always respected. But, it was as Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform--the panel charged with maintaining integrity in government--that Chairman Cummings may have left his most legacy. When it came to the notion of democracy, Chairman Cummings, in his speeches--particularly those he gave in the past few years--insistently invoked it, and not in the inert way that elected officials tend to. He spoke of democracy as something vital and fragile and valuable--an inheritance that had to be safeguarded for future generations. When he spoke of HR-1, the exhaustive election-protection bill that the Democrats introduced in January as their first piece of legislation of this Congress, he mentioned his ninety-two-year-old mother, who had died a year earlier. She was a former sharecropper, who implored him, ``Do not let them take our votes away from us.'' He viewed his Chairmanship of the House Oversight and Reform Committee as part of the battle to protect voting rights. What remains clear is the void that Chairman Cummings's absence leaves in his district and his country. This would have been the case at nearly any point in his quarter century in Congress. But it's even more acute in this one. In a fiery bit of oration delivered at the introduction of HR-1, he pledged to ``fight to the death'' in defense of voting and, thereby, democracy. It was a promise that he made good on.