“I want the House to pass this bill. It makes the head of the Indian Health Service an assistant secretary. This will give Native American health care a stronger voice and help fix shortages in staff and services.”

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 741, the Stronger Engagement for Indian Health Needs Act, introduced by my friend and colleague from Arizona (Mr. Stanton). The Indian Health Service, or IHS, is the primary Federal agency responsible for providing healthcare to American Indians and Alaska Natives. Yet, for decades, the agency has fallen short of meeting our trust and treaty obligations as we have left IHS underfunded and underprioritized. Tribal leaders have long called for greater Federal attention to Indian health in IHS. H.R. 741 responds to their advocacy by elevating the Director of IHS to an Assistant Secretary within the Department of Health and Human Services. This simple but meaningful change would give IHS a stronger voice within the Department, ensure the healthcare needs of Tribal patients are properly represented, and elevate health disparities, including inadequate infrastructure, limited services, and staffing shortages, facing Tribal communities. It is the Federal Government’s responsibility to ensure that Indian Country has the culturally competent, robust, and accessible healthcare they deserve, and H.R. 741 will help us uphold this premise. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge support for the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.”

“I want Congress to pass this bill. It promotes the head of the Indian Health Service to an Assistant Secretary role. The government has failed to provide good healthcare to Native communities, leading to lower life expectancies and worker shortages. This change will give Native healthcare a louder voice in the government and help clinics hire more staff.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bipartisan bill, H.R. 741, the Stronger Engagement for Indian Health Needs Act. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Ohio (Mr. Joyce) for co- leading on this important effort. The Federal Government has a sacred trust obligation to provide healthcare to our Native communities. For far too long, we have fallen short of that obligation. Deep disparities exist between the health of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities and the broader American population. American Indians and Alaska Natives have lower life expectancies and some of the highest rates of poor health across racial groups. Access and quality of care are impacted by high vacancies at Indian Health Service facilities. When it comes to equality in healthcare, our Nation has a long way to go. Mr. Speaker, 20 years ago, the late Senator John McCain first tried to pass a similar measure to raise the Director of the IHS to an Assistant Secretary role within the Department of Health and Human Services. Senator McCain, who advanced this measure through the Senate time and time again, never saw it pass the House and signed into law. Today, this bill honors his legacy. This is a commonsense, bipartisan policy, and Congress should have gotten it done many years ago. H.R. 741 would finally get this across the finish line. It creates the position of Assistant Secretary for Indian Health at HHS, giving Native communities a voice at the highest levels of Department leadership. This matters. As an Assistant Secretary, the head of IHS would finally have the pay and hiring authorities needed to tackle chronic workforce shortages and disparities in access to care. It means faster hiring, better retention, and a direct line to the Secretary on every matter affecting Indian health. Congress must ensure our health systems better honor our trust obligations to Native communities. This is a meaningful step forward, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.”