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Week of January 27, 2025

Committee Announces American Indian and Alaska Native Public Witness Hearing Dates and Testimony Instructions

The House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee announced the Fiscal Year 2026 American Indian and Alaska Native public witness hearing dates will be held Tuesday, February 25, and Wednesday, February 26, 2025. The deadline to submit requests to testify is Monday, February 3, 2025. Please find instructions for submitting a request to testify at the American Indian and Alaska Native Public Witness Hearings by clicking here.

  • The deadline to submit written public testimony for all groups is Friday, April 4, 2025.
  • Examples of previously written testimonies can be found here and here.
  • For all groups, please find instructions for providing written public testimony by clicking here.

Five Notices of Funding Opportunities from the Health Resources and Services Administration for Rural Communities

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. The following HRSA Funding Opportunity Announcements are now open and applications can be submitted through Grants.gov. Tribal entities are eligible to apply. HRSA Grants Web Page: https://www.hrsa.gov/grants/index.html

  • The purpose of the Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) program is to improve and expand access to health care in rural areas by developing new sustainable rural residency programs, including rural track programs (RTPs).
  • The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program – Pathways aims to support rural youth with behavioral health care challenges while also bolstering the behavioral health care workforce in rural communities.
  • The purpose of the Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project is to help small rural hospitals and rural health clinics (RHCs) strengthen their foundation in key elements of value-based care.
  • Regional TRCs provide expert technical assistance in the development of telehealth services and leverage the experience of mature telehealth programs.
  • These telehealth resource centers will support healthcare organizations, networks, and providers with telehealth implementation and training for rural areas, frontier communities, and medically underserved areas, as well as for medically underserved populations.

The Senate is the only chamber in session this week, while the House is on recess for the GOP retreat in Miami with President Trump. Speaker Johnson shared that during the retreat, the GOP will be prioritizing a finalized government budget overview plan that will likely include specific border security, energy, and tax policy proposals. The GOP aims to settle on a framework for the budget resolution they want to mark up next week to start unlocking the filibuster-proof reconciliation process in “one big, beautiful bill.” The Senate committees will reconvene nomination hearings beginning Tuesday, January 28, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hearings. RFK Jr. will testify before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, January 29, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Thursday, January 30.

 

Please contact NIHB’s Congressional Relations team for more information at wdavis@nihb.org and tbarrett@nihb.org 

Hearings

 

Topic: Protecting Veteran Choice: Examining VA’s Community Care Program

Committee: Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affair

Date: January 28, 2025, at 10:30 AM

Hearing Website Link

 

Topic: The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing on the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. To be HHS Secretary.

Committee: Senate Finance Committee

Date: January 29, 2025, at 10:00 AM

Hearing Website Link

 

Topic: Making Washington Work for Seniors: Fighting to End Inflation and Achieve Fiscal Sanity.

Committee:  Special Committee on Aging

Date: January 29, 2025, at 3:30 PM

Hearing Website Link

 

Topic: Nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services

Committee: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

Date: January 30, 2025, at 10:00 AM

Hearing Website Link

IHS January 17 Letter: The IHS Director writes to Tribal Leaders and Urban Indian Organization Leaders to express deep appreciation for the opportunity to serve as the Indian Health Service Director

 

IHS January 16 Letter: The IHS Director writes to Tribal Leaders and Urban Indian Organization Leaders to share a vital resource developed by the IHS to help our patients overcome barriers when accessing cancer care services in our communities. We are building an interactive web map that provides our patients with a search tool to locate cancer services near home, and health care providers can use the map to plan appointments and referrals

 

IHS January 16 Letter: The IHS Director writes to Tribal Leaders to express sincere gratitude to the Community Health Aide Program Tribal Advisory Group members for the continued support and valuable advisement in expanding the Community Health Aide Program in the lower 48 states

 

IHS January 16 Letter: The IHS Director writes to Tribal Leaders to share resources in follow-up to the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women Government-to-Government Tribal Consultation, which was convened on November 19-21, 2024, in Santa Fe, New Mexico (Pueblo of Pojoaque)


IHS January 16 Letter: The IHS Director writes to Tribal Leaders and Urban Indian Organization Leaders to announce the appointment of Dr. Beverly Cotton as the Deputy Director for Field Operations at the Indian Health Service


IHS January 15 Letter: The IHS Director writes to Tribal Leaders and Urban Indian Organization Leaders in follow-up to Tribal Consultation and Urban Confer on the IHS Headquarters reorganization of the offices that comprise the Deputy Director for Intergovernmental Affairs

 

IHS January 13 Letter: The IHS Director writes to announce four upcoming information sessions in Calendar Year 2025 regarding the IHS Health Information Technology Modernization Program. In conjunction with ongoing Agency outreach, we will also be seeking your recommendations and feedback via Tribal Consultation and Urban Confer on these topics

 

IHS January 10 Letter: The IHS Director writes to announce that the Federal Register Notice for the calendar year 2025 All-Inclusive Rates was published on December 16, 2024. This year's rates reflect measurable increases compared to CY 2024

 

IHS DTLLs for Year 2024

View NIHB's Full Dear Tribal Leader Letter Tracker

Consultations

HHS Tribal Consultation on Proposed Modifications to the HIPAA Security Rule to Strengthen Cybersecurity for Electronic Protected Health Information

Proposed Rule, RIN number 0945-AA22

Contact: Devin Delrow, Principal Advisor for Tribal Affairs, at (202) 868-0013 or at consultation@hhs.gov

Date: February 6, 2025, from 2:00- 3:30 PM ET

Register for the Tribal Consultation

Comments Due: March 7, 2025

Comment Submission: Docket ID number HHS-OCR-0945-AA22, using any of the following methods:

  • Federal Rulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
  • Mail or hand delivery: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, Attention: HIPAA Security Rule NPRM, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Room 509F, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20201.


27th Annual HHS Tribal Budget Consultation

The Director of the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs, sent out a DTLL, inviting Tribal Leaders to the 27th U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Annual Tribal Budget Consultation (ATBC), which will take place on April 22-23, 2025, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Building at 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC. Official comments are due April 12, 2025, at 5:00pm ET to consultation@hhs.gov.

  • Register to attend the virtual ATBC Planning Sessions on March 5 and 19, 2025, here.
  • Register to attend the ATBC in-person on April 22-23, 2025, here.
  • Request a 30-minute one-on-one meeting with HHS Divisions, during the ATBC, before April 11, 2025, here.

Tribal Advisory Committee Meetings

POSTPONED: FY 2027 Sub-Workgroup on Mandatory Funding Appropriations for IHS - First Meeting FY 2027


FY 2027 National Tribal Budget Formulation Work Session

Date: February 11-12, 2025

Meeting Website

 

Direct Service Tribes Advisory Committee (DSTAC) 2nd Quarterly Meeting

Date: February 13, 2025

Meeting Website

View NIHB's Full Regulations Tracker

Tribal Health Data Symposium

Date: March 4-5, 2025

For more information and registration, please click here.

 

National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH) 2025 Urban Indian Health Policy Preview

Date: January 29, 2025, 2:00-3:00 PM ET

Event Webpage


Social Security Administration Webinar: Getting to know the Social Security Income (SSI) Program

January 29, 2025, at 2:30 PM EST Registration Link  

 

National Congress of American Indians Executive Council Winter Session 

Date: February 10-13, 2025

Location: Washington, DC

Event Webpage

 

NCUIH 2025 Annual Conference

Date: April 22 – 25, 2025

Event Webpage

Pediatric Pulmonary Centers Program | Click Here to Learn More

Application Deadline: February 18, 2025

Award Amount: Up to $340,000

Description: The purpose of the PPC program is to provide interdisciplinary training to improve the health of infants, children, and adolescents with chronic respiratory conditions, sleep issues, and other related special health care needs.


FY25 IHS Tribal Self-Gov Planning & Negotiation Cooperative Agreements | Click Here to Learn More

Application Deadline: February 19, 2025

Description: The awards support tribes and tribal organizations with the planning and preparation necessary to assume responsibility for providing health care to their tribal members through the Tribal Self-Governance Program. For more information, contact Jessaka Nakai at Jessaka.Nakai@ihs.gov or 301-526-6624. 

 

Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students | Click Here to Learn More

Application Deadline: February 19, 2025

Description: The Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS) program increases diversity in the health professions and nursing workforce by providing awards to eligible health professions schools for use in awarding scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have financial need, including students who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups.


Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program Grants | Click Here to Learn More

Application Deadline: March 17, 2025

Award Amount: Up to $1,000,000

Description: The grant will support 5-year cooperative agreements between ACF and federally recognized Indian tribes (or a consortium of Indian tribes), tribal organizations, or urban Indian organizations interested in developing, implementing, sustaining, or expanding an evidence-based home visiting program serving expectant families and families with young children aged birth to kindergarten. Additionally, awards will support the implementation of high-quality, culturally grounded, evidence-based home visiting services to American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) families and children; implementation of performance measurement and continuous quality improvement systems; development of early childhood systems; and participation in research and evaluation activities to build evidence around home visiting, particularly in Tribal communities


Long-term Care Joint Venture Construction Program | Click Here to Learn More

Application Deadline: Phase I Application due on close of business, April 10, 2025

Description: Under the LTC JVCP, federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes construct a Tribal-owned Long Term Care, Skilled Nursing Facility, or Long-term Home facility using non-IHS funds that meets IHS design criteria and approval. In exchange, IHS will enter into a 20-year nominal lease for the facility and request annual appropriations for the operation and maintenance of the facility during the lease period. Additional priority is to be given to Tribes who agree to fund the initial equipment portion of the project.

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