Congressmembers Judy Chu (CA-32) and Mike Honda (CA-15) were on NPR’s Tell

Congressmembers Judy Chu (CA-32) and Mike Honda (CA-15) were on NPR’s Tell Me More this morning to discuss healthcare reform and how their constituents are in favor of it.

Read the entire transcript below:


LINDA WERTHEIMER, host:

I’m Linda Wertheimer, and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Michel Martin is away.

Coming up, American businesses behaving badly. A new study paints a dark picture of life for low-wage workers in America. But first, in the course of the health care debate, TELL ME MORE has brought you a range of voices. Today, Asian-Americans. Joining us now to discuss the concerns of this community is Congressman Mike Honda, who is chair of the congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. And also joining us is Congresswoman Judy Chu. Both are California Democrats. He’s from the north. She’s from the south. Welcome to the program, both of you.

Representative JUDY CHU (Democrat, California): Thank you.

Representative MIKE HONDA (Democrat, California): Thank you very much. Good to be back again.

WERTHEIMER: Congressman Honda is joining us by cell phone, and we have high hopes that he’ll stay with us this whole conversation, but we may have some difficulties. Congressman Honda, you chair the congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Now, do caucus members have a special concern with the health care debates special to the Asian community?

Rep. HONDA: Yes, can you hear me?

WERTHEIMER: I can.

Rep. HONDA: Okay, great. We do, there are a few basic concerns that we have. One is the ability to deliver health care in linguistically and culturally sensitive and appropriate ways. And we know that there are many – been many miscommunications because of that, and there’s also some other gaps and discrepancies that we would like to see filled and addressed during this work towards reforming this health care issue that we have in this country.

WERTHEIMER: So, you would put some language into the proposal that would provide adequate translators or refer people to doctors who will understand them when they describe what’s wrong?

Rep. HONDA: Yeah, almost in the area that you can think of in terms of communication that would be required. In the past, historically, families would use their children to help translate, and we know that that’s inappropriate. And in the bill that aspect is addressed, they’re not – prohibiting the use of children in translations. And so using technology and other means, we’re hoping that the issue of language will be addressed.

WERTHEIMER: Did I understand you correctly to say prohibiting the use of children?

Rep. HONDA: Yes.

WERTHEIMER: Now, why do that?

Rep. HONDA: Because they’re (unintelligible). Number one, you cannot place that responsibility on children to make accurate translations in terms of health care issues. There’s subtleties in languages that should be handled by adults who are able to translate subtleties and direct kinds of instructions. And so, you know, we’re trying to make sure that that doesn’t occur. That kind of responsibility is not…

WERTHEIMER: Right, I understand.

Rep. HONDA: …we recognize that we want to make sure that we take that responsibility, and that is placed in our way of doing business.

WERTHEIMER: So you’re not talking about the children or the family. You’re talking about the young children of the family. Mr. Honda, I understand that you spent part of your childhood with your family in an internment camp for Japanese-Americans during the Second World War, and after the war I understand you all moved back to San Jose, where you still are. You were sharecroppers.

Rep. HONDA: Yes. You know, my parents tried to find different ways to make a living when they returned back to California, and there wasn’t a lot of opportunities for folks like my parents. Even though my father was pretty well educated, it was difficult for him to find employment. So, you know, he tried different things. And a lot of families had used the route of share cropping, agriculture. And if it was good, people hit good money. But when it was bad, it was really bad. And when we were there and we were attempting to make a living, it was bad.

WERTHEIMER: When you were growing up, if somebody in the family was sick, what did your family do?

Rep. HONDA: Well, we just tried – if, you know, it’s cold or anything else like that, you know, we would stick it up. We’d just bundle up and make sure that, you know, we ate certain kinds of soups and food like rice gruel and sweat it out. If we had a broken bone they would take us into…

WERTHEIMER: Yeah.

Rep. HONDA: …a doctor, but, you know, it would be a kind of a bill that would be a big burden for my parents…

WERTHEIMER: So…

Rep. HONDA: …we did not see a dentist, for example, till my father was in -worked for the Post Office where they had health benefits. And it was probably the first time that we had been able to see some sort of dental care…

WERTHEIMER: Right, right.

Rep. HONDA: …program.

WERTHEIMER: Congresswoman Chu, I want to bring you in. Your district is both Latino and Asian. It’s an area that is east of Los Angeles. Let me ask you the same question: Do you have special concerns for your constituents?

Rep. CHU: Yes, with regard to the API population, the Asian Pacific Islander population, there is greater risk for certain diseases, like for instance for hepatitis B, where one out of 10 Asian Pacific islanders have the disease, putting them at a one-in-four risk from liver failure or liver cancer, and more than half the estimated 1.5 million carriers in the United States are Asian Pacific Islanders. So here you have a population with a high risk for a particular disease that would constitute a preexisting condition.

WERTHEIMER: Mm-hmm.

Rep. CHU: And they would be denied health care insurance in our system, as it is now. In addition, many APIs don’t even know that they’re carriers, but there’s no preventive screening for them. And with health care reform, they would be able to access that.

WERTHEIMER: If you are just joining us, I’m Linda Wertheimer and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. We’re talking about how health care reform affects the Asian-American community with members of Congress Mike Honda and Judy Chu. Congresswoman Chu, you’re a psychologist by training. Are you – do you have any concerns about how the health care overhaul might treat issues of mental health?

Rep. CHU: I think the health care reform bill promises some better treatment of mental health because in the health care exchange, one of the basic requirements would be access to mental health care. This, in fact, would be a refreshing change from the way things are right now.

WERTHEIMER: So, you think there’s some good stuff in the bill in terms of mental health care for you?

Rep. CHU: Yes, it would provide greater access to mental health care.

WERTHEIMER: The Pew Research Center, if I could just switch to politics for a moment, for the people in the press, yesterday, released the results of the survey conducted in late August, which showed that 37 percent of those questioned gave Congress a favorable rating. Now, obviously, that means a big fat majority gave the Congress an unfavorable rating – in fact, a 13-point decline. Do you think it’s because of the health care debate? Congressman Honda?

Rep. HONDA: I think that back-to-back kind of statistics just – are historically borne out on a – every time they take a poll of Congress, the general public would say I have a very low esteem of Congress. But if you asked them about their own Congressperson, they get high marks.

WERTHEIMER: Well, I take your point. And you’re absolutely right. That does happen.

Rep. HONDA: I don’t think that that has that much effect on that kind of a…

WERTHEIMER: But…

Rep. HONDA: …polling. But if you asked us, or you asked the folks do they want to have health care reform, I’d say more than 63 percent would say yes. We would like to see some sort of health care reform.

WERTHEIMER: Congresswoman Chu…

Rep. HONDA: Most people in my district will say that, you know, we need to have, in order to have good reform, we need to have a public option. If can’t have universal health care, at least have a robust public health option among the choices that we can have.

WERTHEIMER: Mm-hmm.

Rep. HONDA: That way it’ll address the 47 million folks that are not insured.

WERTHEIMER: Congresswoman Chu, you are a first-term member, isn’t that right?

Rep. CHU: Yes.

WERTHEIMER: Obviously, the notion that this whole issue is becoming very contentious and very difficult, I wonder, do you think this could cost Democrats some seats in Congress? Do you detect any nervousness among your fellow freshmen?

Rep. CHU: I detect some concern amongst some of the freshmen. However, I’m of the belief that once we do have health care reform, that the public will see its value and will look beyond the kinds of myths that have been created by the nay-sayers. The nay-sayers have pushed forward things that are entirely not true – for instance, the death panels – and it scared some people in America.

WERTHEIMER: So – but do you think it’s going to be possible for Democrats to get over that first hurdle and pass a bill that takes care of your concerns after the very contentious August that we’ve all been watching?

Rep. CHU: I think that people are eager to reach some sort of compromise, and I think there are many people that that do believe that our system is upside down the way it is right now and the American people aren’t being served.

WERTHEIMER: Let me ask you a question that has been very contentious in some of these health care meetings that we’ve seen, and that is that immigrants being -legal and illegal – being covered by the overhauled health care plans. Where do you stand on that, Congresswoman Chu? Down in your district, you have a lot of people who fall into that category.

Rep. CHU: Well, the bill explicitly says that undocumented immigrants are not being addressed in this particular bill.

WERTHEIMER: And do you think that’s right? Should that happen?

Rep. CHU: I see so much need in my district in California. Twenty percent of the people don’t have health insurance, but in my district, 33 percent don’t have health insurance. I do think that we have to have more funding for our community clinics, which take many of those who are lacking insurance at all. So that is one good thing, that this bill also makes sure that our community clinics are functioning at the highest degree possible.

WERTHEIMER: Congresswoman Judy Chu. She represents California’s 32nd district, and she joined us from her home in Monterey Park. That’s near Los Angeles. Also, California Representative Mike Honda from California’s 15th district. He joined us by telephone from his home in San Jose. Thank you both very much.

Rep. CHU: Thank you.

Rep. HONDA: Thank you very much.