The National Congress of American Indians

NCAI 2011 Winter SessionResolution -11-xxx

The National Congress of American Indians

Resolution #-11-xxx

TITLE:"Support to Exempt Indian Health Service (IHS) and Tribal Health Programs from Mandatory Discretionary Budget Reductions"

WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States, to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the health, safety and welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and

WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and

WHEREAS, the Administration, Bipartisan Fiscal Commission, Republican Study Committee and others are discussing drastic budget reductions in discretionary spending; and

WHEREAS, some of these budget proposals propose to cut discretionary funded programs back to the FY 2008 levels, eliminate inflationary increases for discretionary funded programs, or freeze discretionary budget allocation caps until FY 2021; and

WHEREAS, even the President’s budget proposal discussed during the State of the Union proposed to freeze discretionary funding for five years in order to achieve $400 billion in cost savings; and

WHEREAS, the proposed budget proposals are very draconian and would have a detrimental effect on the Indian Health Service (IHS) and tribal health programs; and

WHEREAS, the IHS and Tribal health programs are only funded at approximately 60 percent of their level of need and provide health care services to Indian people who suffer the highest health disparities than any other population group in the United States; and

WHEREAS, cutting the IHS program back to the FY 2008 levels would result in a loss of over $706 million in funding and result in a drastic reduction in the level of health care services that are already rationed due to chronic under funding; and

WHEREAS, the United States obligation to provide health care services is in recognition of the federal trust relationship that has long been recognized by past Presidents and the Congress and appropriations provided thereto must be protected in fulfillment of this special trust obligation; now

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that NCAI does hereby urge the Congress and President to exempt the Indian Health Service appropriation from any mandatory budget reductions in discretionary funded programs.

CERTIFICATION

The foregoing resolution was adopted by the Executive Committee at the 2011 Executive Council Winter Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Westin Washington, DC, February 28, 2011, with a quorum present.

President

ATTEST:

Recording Secretary

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