NCAI
head pushes for Native healthcare
WASHINGTON,
DC— National Congress of American Indians President
Joe Garcia on January 11, 2008, called on the U.S. Congress
to pass the long-overdue Indian Health Care Improvement
Act. During the sixth annual State of Indian Nation Address,
Garcia said the bill has been delayed for more than a
decade.
"Indian
health care services have not been updated in 16 years,"
Garcia said at the National Press Club in Washington,
D.C.
"Almost
two decades of health modernization has left Indian Country
behind," he added.
The
bill, S. 1200, finally made it to the floor of the Senate
the last week of January. But it was shelved after two
days of debate in order to move onto other legislative
priorities.
"We
applied our many Congressional supporters in this effort,
but we need more champions to step up and demand a vote
to stop the health care despair engulfing Native communities,"
said Garcia.
This
particular bill includes an amendment as an apology to
Native America for the way they have been treated. Senator
Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) first introduced the apology
back in 2004.
Senator
Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the vice chair of the Senate
Indian Affairs Committee, has been one of the main proponents
of the bill. She said she was "frustrated" by
the delays that have prevented reauthorization of the
IHCIA.
"We
will keep pushing in the Senate," she told attendees
of the speech, as she questioned why more of her colleagues
haven't made the bill a priority.
S.
1200 has 31 sponsors. Members of both parties have signed
onto the bill.
But
during debate, a statement by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky)
highlighted the challenges the bill faces in an election
year, when the economy and the war in Iraq dominate the
agenda. "American lives will not depend on the passage
of Indian health care by the end of this month,"
the Senate minority leader said on January 22.
Besides
scheduling issues, the bill faces a potential veto from
President Bush. The White House issued a statement of
administration policy that objects to numerous provisions,
including those affecting urban Indians and fair wages.
Sen.
Harry Reid (D-Nevada), the senate majority leader, has
said he will bring the bill back to the floor. More than
a dozen amendments have been proposed but no agreements
have been made on how the debate will proceed.
The
last time the Senate considered the bill, it was derailed
by last-minute objections from the Department of Justice.
A "white paper" that outlined constitutional
issues was used by Republicans to delay passage in September
2006.
©2008
Indianz.com
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