WASHINGTON D.C. –
On Wednesday, June 12 at 2:30 PM, Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-WA) will hold a
U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing on President Obama’s nomination of Dr. Yvette Roubideaux to serve a second four-year term as Director of the Indian Health Service.
The hearing – entitled “To Consider the President’s Nomination of Yvette Roubideaux to be Director of the Indian Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services” – comes after Roubideaux was re-nominated by President Obama to serve as Indian Health Service Director.On May 7, 2013, with her first term expired, Roubideaux was designated by the President to serve as Acting Director while her re-nomination is being considered by the Senate.
Wednesday’s hearing will examine Roubideaux’s past tenure at the Indian Health Service and address the agency’s progress on its priorities and goals. Current challenges for the Indian Health Service include recruitment and retention of health care providers, planning for maintenance and replacement of facilities, and providing health care to American Indian and Alaska Native patients.
If approved by the Committee and confirmed by the full Senate as Director of the Indian Health Service, Roubideaux would head the primary agency charged with ensuring the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of American Indians and Alaska Natives throughout the United States. Roubideaux would be responsible for the overall direction and leadership of the agency, including developing health care policy and ensuring delivery of quality comprehensive health services.
The Indian Health Service provides basic health care to more than two million American Indians and Alaska Natives from 566 federally-recognized Tribes in 36 states. Communities across Indian Country face severe water and sanitation needs, and many Tribes’ rural locations limit access to health care facilities.
The hearing will take place in Room 628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, and will be available online at indian.senate.gov.
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