This morning, the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee convened a hearing on the President’s budget request for Indian Health Service for FY2016. The budget would spend $6.3 billion on the Indian Health Service. Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) attended, in her first hearing as the ranking Democratic member, and released the following statement.
“I am encouraged by President Obama’s ambitious proposal for addressing the health care needs in Indian Country. This request aligns with our subcommittee’s ongoing efforts to provide long-overdue funding increases for IHS. The request addresses both the rising cost of current medical services and makes targeted investments in the areas of greatest need. Additional funding for mental health care and substance abuse prevention and treatment is necessary as each of these diseases disproportionally affects Indian Country.
“Meeting our trust and treaty obligations to tribal nations has been an area where this committee has found bipartisan agreement in the past, and I am hopeful that will continue as we work to address the health care needs of all Native Americans. However, that bipartisan agreement will only lead to better health care services for Native American families if we find a way to eliminate sequestration and fully fund the valuable increases for health care in tribal communities that the President has proposed."
Source: U.S. Department of HCA
