Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
Now is the time to make one more urgent push with Congress to include advance appropriations for the Indian Health Service (IHS) in the final funding package for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. Congress is currently negotiating an omnibus appropriations package to fund the government for the remainder of FY 2023, which is expected to be voted on next week. With the current Continuing Resolution (CR) set to expire on Friday, December 16, 2022, an additional short-term CR will be necessary to provide additional time for negotiations. Yesterday, House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) released text for a week-long CR to fund the government through December 23, 2022. At this time, a government shutdown is not expected.
The latest information from Congress indicates that IHS advance appropriations may not be included in the final negotiated agreement.
We encourage USET SPF member Tribal Nations to directly contact their Congressional delegations and urge support for the inclusion of IHS advance appropriations.
To find the contact information for your Congressional representatives:
- Visit Congress.gov’s “Find Your Members” Tool
- Type in your address or zip code
- After accessing the contact information for each relevant Congressional member, call their office, introduce yourself and urge support for IHS advance appropriations
- You could consider telling them “Advance appropriations for the IHS is critical and overdue. A simple fix is already on the table to give the IHS the same advance budget certainty that Veterans healthcare has benefited from for over ten years. It's time to stop putting American Indian and Alaska Native lives at stake. It is time for the US to live up to its trust and treaty obligations to Native peoples and provide, at minimum, budget certainty for the IHS.”
USET SPF will continue to advocate for IHS advance appropriations. We know the impact of budget uncertainty on the IHS. Cash flow uncertainty and lingering threats of government shutdowns year after year leave both the agency and Tribal Nations unable to make critical investments in their already chronically underfunded programs and services. Please consider contacting your Congressional delegations to reiterate the vital importance of this provision.
For more information, please contact Ashton Martin, USET SPF Health Policy Analyst, at amartin@usetinc.org.
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