Wichita and Affiliated Tribes Letter on H.R. 5549, Indian Health Service Advance Appropriations Act (July 28, 2022)

Summary

Terri Parton, President of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, writes on July 28, 2022 in support of H.R. 5549, the Indian Health Service Advance Appropriations Act, and asks Congress to pass it. The letter says advance appropriations are a budget-neutral way to provide continuity of services and to cut duplicative tribal and federal budget work. It also points to the seasonal pattern of respiratory viruses as a reason for funding certainty through the fall and winter months. Contact details are omitted.

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

The Wichita and Affiliated Tribes

Terri Parton Gage Boardingham
President Committee Member

Jarrod Prince
Vice President

Shirley Davilla
Committee Member

Myles Stephenson Jr. Tiffany Lonewolf
Secretary Committee Member
Claudia Spybuck Tribal Administration
247.2430
www.wichitatribe.com
July 28, 2022
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 the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, 1 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. The Wichita and
Affiliated Tribes 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 Native 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.

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 ina 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 IHS 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 Native
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 IHS 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 Native people; and a promise of certainty
and security for Native communities and our most vulnerable populations. As Congress works to restore
the promises made, all options must be on the table. Native lives cannot wait.

Please contact me at (405) 247-2425 ext. 101 or at terri.parton@wichitatribe.com if you have any
questions regarding this letter.

erri Parton, President
he Wichita and Affiliated Tribes

File and source

File

hhrg-117-ii24-20220728-sd036-0e91d7cccd65.pdf

Size

1,650,427 bytes

SHA-256

0e91d7cccd65091b7948b3022ce818444330489e850a997a663b6fa41a39bdb5

Our copy

hhrg-117-ii24-20220728-sd036-0e91d7cccd65.pdf

Original

docs.house.gov