WASHINGTON — Tomorrow, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), will lead a day of action highlighting the devastating impacts of the Republican health care legislation on Indian Country.
The senators, all members of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, have heard from many Tribal leaders and Native Americans throughout Indian Country who are concerned about efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act — which has insured nearly 287,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives from 492 tribes and has filled badly needed funding gaps for the Indian Health Service. The Republican health care legislation currently being considered in the Senate would make drastic cuts to Medicaid and eliminate the Medicaid expansion of the ACA, yet there has been no Tribal consultation.
At 9:30 a.m. ET, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee members will host the roundtable listening session, “Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) Impacts to Tribal Communities” to hear from a panel of Tribal leaders and Tribal health experts on how the Republican health care bill would affect their communities. The senators will highlight the importance of Tribal consultation on national legislation that would have a direct impact on Indian Country. The roundtable will be livestreamed on Udall’s YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1PwytkX8E8.
Panelists will include key tribal organizations, including the National Congress of American Indians, the National Indian Health Board, the United South and Eastern Tribes, the National Council on Urban Indian Health, and will represent tribes in Washington, North Dakota, Massachusetts, Alaska, Michigan, New Mexico, and Minnesota.
Then, starting at approximately 3:25 p.m. ET, Udall and Senate Indian Affairs Committee Democrats will speak on the Senate floor to highlight the ways Indian Country has benefitted from the ACA — which has greatly expanded access to quality, affordable care for families and has created jobs and boosted the economy in Native communities.
Tomorrow, July 18, 2017
WHAT: Udall, Heitkamp, Cantwell, Franken, and Cortez Masto will lead a roundtable titled, “Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) Impacts to Tribal Communities,” to hear from Tribal leaders and Tribal health experts about the impacts of the Republican health care bill on Indian Country
TIME: 9:30 a.m. ET
WHERE: 628 Dirksen Senate Office Building. Watch LIVE on Udall’s YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1PwytkX8E8
WHAT: Senate Indian Affairs Committee Democrats to speak on Senate floor about the lack of Tribal consultation and the devastating impacts of TrumpCare on Indian Country
TIME: Approximately 3:25 p.m. ET (as always, times on the Senate floor are difficult to predict. We will update if the time changes.)
WHERE: U.S. Senate Floor. Watch LIVE on CSPAN2.
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