Samish Indian Nation — Support for H.R. 5549, the Indian Health Service Advance Appropriations Act

Summary

A letter from Samish Indian Nation to Chair Teresa Leger Fernandez and Acting Ranking Member Jay Obernolte of the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States, Committee on Natural Resources, with the subject line Support for H.R. 5549, the Indian Health Service Advance Appropriations Act. The letter expresses support for the bill and states that the list of bi-partisan cosponsors has grown to fifteen. It argues that advance appropriations are a budget-neutral solution and that H.R. 5549 improves on the exception for Indian Health Service accounts in the FY 2022 Budget Resolution because it includes all of the accounts. The letter closes with the name of Thomas D. Wooten, Chairman, Samish Indian Nation.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

                             saOta
qb                                                    OF WASHINGTON




 The Honorable Teresa Leger Fernandez                              The Honorable Jay Obernolte
 Chair                                                             Acting Ranking Member
 Subcommittee     for Indigenous     Peoples    of                 Subcommittee         for Indigenous Peoples of
  the United States                                                 the United States
 Committee on Natural Resources                                    Committee on Natural Resources
 U. S. House   of Representatives                                  U. S. House    of Representatives
 1324 Longworth     House Office Building                          1329 Longworth House Office Building
 Washington,    DC 20515                                           Washington, DC 20515




RE: Support for H.R. 5549, the Indian Health Service Advance Appropriations Act


Dear Chair Fernandez and Acting Ranking Member Obernolte:

On behalf of Samish Indian Nation, I write to express support for H.R. 5549, the Indian Health
Service Advance Appropriations Act. Introduced by the late Representative Don Young and
originally co- sponsored by Representatives McCollum, Kilmer, Kind, Mullin, Cole, Johnson,
and Strickland, the list of bi-partisan cosponsors for H.R. 5549 has grown to fifteen. I urge
Congress to pass this bipartisan policy solution to end the undue suffering of our people and
unnecessary drain on taxpayer resources.

Advance appropriations      for the Indian Health Service ( IHS) are a bi- partisan and bi- cameral

policy initiative that increases tribal and federal government efficiency, reduces federal taxpayer
waste, and, most importantly, saves American Indian/ Alaska Native ( AVAN) lives by providing
more effective funding for health care service in Indian Country. Since advance appropriations
are merely advance agreements to provide funding at a later date, they are a budget- neutral and
flexible solution to the outsized impacts of funding disruptions on Indian Country, allowing
Congress to respond to changing real- world circumstances and challenges. The result is
continuity of services that reduce bureaucratic inefficiencies and uncertainty for IHS and for
Tribal Nations.


The Biden- Harris Administration supports advance appropriations and mandatory funding for
IHS—a historic shift in the paradigm of Nation- to- Nation relations that seeks to restore the
promises made between our ancestors and the United States. Advance appropriations                        and
mandatory funding are not mutually exclusive requests. However, once IHS obligations are
provided through mandatory direct appropriations, there is no need for advance appropriations
through the annual regular appropriations process. Until such time that mandatory appropriations
are provided, advance appropriations are a fiscally responsible solution to the outsized impacts of
disruptions and uncertainty in funding on the Indian health care system.




                           MAILING ADDRESS   P. O. Box 217•   Anacortes,   Washington    98221

                       LOCATION   2918 Commercial    Avenue•     Anacortes,   Washington   98221

                      PHONE 360- 293- 6404    FAx 360- 299- 0790    WEB www. samishtribe. nsn. us
H.R. 5549 is an improvement on the exception for IHS accounts provided in the FY 2022 Budget
Resolution because it includes all of the accounts for the Indian Health Service and not just
certain accounts. This is an important improvement because of the nature of inherently federal
functions. Advance appropriations are not about more money in a single accounting period, they
are about advance agreements by Congress that provide certainty and continuity of services,
promote efficiencies, and reduce taxpayer waste on costly duplicative tribal and federal
budgetary functions. If only certain funded accounts are provided continuity of services while
necessary and inherently federal HIS functions remain subject to the stops and starts of the
annual appropriations process, then Congress is not utilizing the policy of advance
appropriations to maximize its best fiscal features.


The coronavirus pandemic is not over, and funding certainty and stability are critical to saving
AUAN lives as we continue to combat the ongoing effects of COVID- 19. The total number of
Coronavirus cases per week reported by IHS has been on the rise since April 2022, and experts
believe the actual infection numbers for the United States in the first week of July were about
seven times higher than the number of reported cases. Further, the seasonal cycle is a consistent

feature of respiratory viral infections, lending to the widely held prediction that the virus will
exhibit some form of seasonality. This means that advance appropriations for IHS will provide
funding certainty and continuity of services for the fall and winter months when surges in
patients' needs due to respiratory illness and disruptions in federal funding are most probable.
Simply, advance appropriations will provide increased efficiency during times of increased need.

Advance appropriations for HIS are a simple promise: a promise that the United States honors
and upholds its treaty and trust obligations; a promise that Congress will enact solutions that
cease the generational trauma and undue and unnecessary suffering of AUAN people; and a
promise of certainty and security for AUAN communities and our most vulnerable populations.
As Congress works to restore the promises made, all options must be on the table. AUAN lives
cannot   wait.




Sincerely,




Thomas D. Wooten
Chairman, Samish Indian Nation




                                                                                              page   2 of 2


File and source

File

hhrg-117-ii24-20220728-sd019-2b336f88e725.pdf

Size

843,612 bytes

SHA-256

2b336f88e725a7c496338e62c4ece7e2cb9d87a7356cfa53788cab2cf217ddc4

Our copy

hhrg-117-ii24-20220728-sd019-2b336f88e725.pdf

Original

docs.house.gov