On May 27, the House Committee on Ways and Means (W&M) held its first virtual hearing. The hearing, titled “The Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on Communities of Color,” is available for viewing on W&M’s website here, along with a witness list and submitted witness testimony. The hearing featured health experts with knowledge of existing health disparities in the African American, Latino, Native American, and Pacific Islander communities, as well as a health expert on the economic impact of the virus. Members agreed that the disparities among communities of color were the result of preexisting cracks in the health system, now being widened by the coronavirus pandemic.
