Reznet

Financial Crisis Imperils Indian Health Bill

By Kevin Abourezk

An unforeseen casualty of the financial crisis facing America could be a congressional bill many Native leaders see as critical to address a growing health crisis in Indian Country.

Native leaders had hoped the U.S. House of Representatives would take up consideration of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) this week. But as Wall Street stumbled then fell, federal lawmakers focused all their attention on a proposed $700 billion bailout of investors.

Federal legislation that would have funded federal government operations included the IHCIA, but the House removed the IHCIA legislation attached to that continuing resolution on Tuesday.

Congress isn't likely to take up consideration of the Indian health legislation before it goes into recess Friday.

While the House may reconvene after the November elections to deal with the financial crisis, some Native leaders worry lawmakers won't use that time for anything besides economic stimulus efforts.

"We are very disappointed," said Jackie Johnson, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians. "We worked every angle we possibly could to get it passed."

She said tribal leaders across the country worked to educate lawmakers about the need for reauthorization of the legislation that provides health care to all Native Americans. And they seemed on track to gain passage of the IHCIA in the House after winning broad support for similar legislation in the Senate, which passed the act Feb. 26 by a vote of 83-10.

Indian leaders even succeeded in getting three House committees with jurisdiction over the legislation – the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources committees – to discharge the bill.

It simply never made it to the House floor.

If the House doesn't pass the legislation this year, Native leaders will have to completely start over next year, including reintroducing the IHCIA in both houses of Congress.

"That's distressing because we were so close," said Rachel Joseph, co-chair of the National Steering Committee for the Reauthorization of the IHCIA and a member of the Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone tribes.

She said some House lawmakers were concerned because those who supported the IHCIA couldn't find $53 million in budget offsets to pay for programs provided by the legislation. Joseph said it's been frustrating to see how effective lawmakers are in finding billions of dollars for similar programs for non-Indians.

She stressed the importance of the legislation, which would bring bring more health care professionals to reservations, improve Indian health care infrastructure and expand Indian health services.

"We really need to get it done," she said.

Kevin Abourezk's "Red Clout" columns are available for syndication. Please contact reznet to purchase republishing rights.

Kevin Abourezk, Oglala Lakota, is a reporter and editor at the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star. He writes reznet's "Red Clout" political blog and teaches reporting at the Freedom Forum's American Indian Journalism Institute. Abourezk was awarded a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism in 2006.

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