observing asian american and pacific islanders contributions highlights their importance of building our america. for example, chinese immigrants played a significant role in construction of the first transcontinental railroad which was completed on may 10, 1869. asian americans and pacific islanders have contributed to this country through the arts, commerce and every other aspect of american culture since they first arrived in the 19th century. whether it is in the arse or government or science or -- arts or government or the science they have played a fundamental role in our nation's technological and economic expansion. as well as the every other fabric of life we can think of. their accomplishments are too numerous to count. their influence is felt throughout our country. the month of may once again gives us the opportunity to thank and honor asian americans and pacific islanders and recognize them for their many contributions. now, in the past and certainly in the future. thank you, madam speaker. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves

, in addition to being one of our country's fastest growing minority groups, the asian american and pacific islander community is also responsible for generating an estimated $326 billion annually for our economy as entrepreneurs and business owners of over 1.1 million businesses. while asian pacific american heritage is certainly worth recognizing and celebrating year-round, the country and the asian pacific american community have traditionally come together in the month of may to celebrate and commemorate asian and pacific american heritage. that all began back in 1977 when representative frank -- representatives frank

look at specific populations, so we face the challenges in collecting data on native american and specific pacific islanders and the populations as well as some specific hispanic populations across the board, but from the data that we have seen and have seen over the past two or three decades, we have seen a continued confirmation in the existence of health disparities in minority populations. what is the cause of these disparities? it is certainly multi factorial. there is the need -- disease diagnosis and diagnosing specific diseases with the minority communities, but looking at this and the population, as well, it is related to socio-economic and environmental come individual, and personal factors, as well as other social determinants of health. you will hear more from this panel, but as we look in terms of the etymology, it is important to recognize that this is definitely a multi-factorial process, for the disease processes in minority communities. individual risks include poverty, low help the literacy, behavior, as well as lack of insurance or underinsurance as well as a lack of a regular source of c