119-hres639

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 639 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 639

Expressing support for the designation of the week beginning August 3, 
2025, as ``National Health Center Week'', and encouraging all Americans 
 to take part in the week by visiting their local health center and 
 celebrating the important partnership between America's community 
 health centers and the communities they serve.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 August 5, 2025

Mr. Valadao (for himself, Mr. Balderson, Mr. Davis of Illinois, and Mr. 
Auchincloss) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
 the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

Expressing support for the designation of the week beginning August 3, 
2025, as ``National Health Center Week'', and encouraging all Americans 
 to take part in the week by visiting their local health center and 
 celebrating the important partnership between America's community 
 health centers and the communities they serve.

Whereas, for nearly 60 years, community health centers have provided high-
 quality, affordable, comprehensive primary and preventive health care in 
 the Nation's medically underserved communities, delivering value to, and 
 having a significant impact on, America's health care system;
Whereas, as the Nation's largest primary care network, community health centers 
 are the health care home for over 32,500,000 Americans in over 16,000 
 communities across the Nation, and more than 1 in every 10 people in the 
 United States get their care at a community health center;
Whereas community health centers are a critical element of the Nation's health 
 system, serving rural, suburban, island, frontier, and urban 
 populations, often providing the only accessible and dependable source 
 of primary care in their communities, and nationwide, community health 
 centers serve 1 in every 5 residents of rural areas;
Whereas community health centers are responding to the chronic disease epidemic 
 by expanding access to primary care, which keeps Americans healthy and 
 out of expensive health care settings like hospital emergency rooms;
Whereas community health centers develop new approaches to integrating a wide 
 range of services beyond primary care, including oral health, vision, 
 behavioral health, nutrition, and pharmacy services, to provide 
 comprehensive care, allowing each patient to thrive, and health centers 
 have more than doubled their behavioral health workforce in the last 
 decade to meet Americans' growing need for behavioral health services;
Whereas community health centers are governed by patient-majority boards, 
 ensuring patients are engaged in their health care decisions;
Whereas community health centers are locally owned and operated small businesses 
 that serve as critical economic engines, helping to power local 
 economies by generating $118,000,000,000 in economic activity;
Whereas community health centers nationally support more than 650,000 direct and 
 indirect jobs, including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician 
 assistants, licensed family therapists, and certified nurse-midwives who 
 work as part of multidisciplinary clinical teams designed to treat the 
 whole patient;
Whereas the community health center model continues to prove an effective means 
 of overcoming barriers to health care access, including geography, 
 income, and insurance status, improving health outcomes and reducing 
 health care system costs;
Whereas community health centers provided more than 3,600,000 cancer screenings 
 in 2023 and helped 65 percent of patients control their hypertension and 
 71 percent of their patients control their diabetes;
Whereas community health centers are on the front lines of emerging health care 
 crises, providing access to care for the Nation's veterans, addressing 
 the opioid epidemic, and responding to public health threats in the wake 
 of natural disasters, and community health centers operate over 1,000 
 mobile units, providing accessible health services in hundreds of rural 
 and urban communities;
Whereas National Health Center Week offers the opportunity to celebrate 
 America's nearly 1,500 community health center organizations with over 
 16,000 service delivery sites, including more than 4,100 school-based 
 sites, and the House of Representatives honors their dedicated staff, 
 board members, patients, and all those responsible for their continued 
 success and growth since the first health centers opened their doors 
 nearly 60 years ago; and
Whereas, during National Health Center Week, the House of Representatives 
 celebrates the legacy of America's community health centers and their 
 vital role in shaping the past, present, and future of America's health 
 care system: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

    (1) supports the designation of ``National Health Center 
 Week''; and

    (2) encourages all Americans to take part in the week by 
 visiting their local health center and celebrating the 
 important partnership between America's community health 
 centers and the communities they serve.
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