Congress Needs to Hear from Tribes on FY 2020 Appropriations Negotiations between House and Senate will Determine IHS's Budget Contact your member of Congress Today!

October 11, 2019 Congress Needs to Hear from Tribes on FY 2020 Appropriations Negotiations around funding levels for federal agencies and departments are continuing in Congress. The House and Senate must agree on funding levels for the remainder of Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 by November 21. If that does not happen, Congress would have to enact another Continuing Resolution to fund the government at current levels or the government would shut down. It is crucial that Tribes engage with Congress to ensure adequate funding for Tribal health! The House has already passed its Interior Appropriations bill, which provides funding for the Indian Health Service (IHS). For more information about the House's legislation, click here . The Senate, however, has not yet scheduled a vote on its Interior appropriations bill. Click here for NIHB's analysis of the Senate's legislation. Its bill included an overall lower funding amount for IHS, $6.04 billion compared to the House's $6.3 billion. The Senate's bill also contains lower funding in several key line items:

HOUSE IHS............................... $6.3 billion Hospitals & Clinics.......... $2.42 billion Mental Health.............. $125.3 million Alcohol & Subs. Abuse....... $280 million Purchased/Ref Care....... $969.5 million Facilities..................... $964.1 million Community Health Reps... $62.9 million Urban Indian Health.......... $81 million SENATE IHS............................. $6.04 billion Hospitals & Clinics........... $2.34 billion Mental Health.............. $108.5 million Alcohol & Subs. Abuse.... $247.8 million Purchased/Ref Care....... $967.4 million Facilities..................... $902.9 million Community Health Reps... $62.8 million Urban Indian Health........... $53 million

As Congress continues work on this legislation, it is vital that lawmakers hear from you! Contact your member of Congress today and tell them to prioritize IHS funding to provide health care to our people! Click here for a sample letter to send to your member of Congress, and here for one to send to your senators . Click here for your member of Congress's contact information, and here for your senators' information. For any questions on FY 2020 appropriations, please contact NIHB Deputy Director of Congressional Relations, Shervin Aazami, at [email protected]

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