Call to Action Toolkit: Senate Appropriations Bill

Category: Policy Blog
written by Meredith Raimondi | June 11, 2019

The National Council of Urban Indian Health is calling for the Senate to match the House mark of $81 million for the urban Indian health line item.

We ask that members of our community do the same by sending letters or calling their Senators to advocate for this important increase. Presently, the Indian Health Service (IHS) budget for urban Indian programs is less than 1% creating serious budget constraints for us to still provide culturally-competent and quality healthcare. An increase would provide 41 Urban Indian Organizations with critical funding that is long overdue.

Currently, the House bill that is moving to the floor for a vote has the $81 million line item for urban Indian health. The Senate has not published any of their funding bills for FY2020.

We have put together several ways you can advocate for this important funding.

NCUIH Outreach

  • Read our press release.
  • Read our letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee requesting to match the funding for the urban Indian health line item in the House Appropriations bill that recently passed out of the full Appropriations Committee.

Contact Your Senators with this Example E-mail/Letter

  • Find your senators here.
  • Write to your Senators using this sample letter.
  • Dear Senators [Senators from your state]:Last month the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2020 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill that included an approximately $30 million increase – bringing funding to $81 million for Urban Indian programs. This needed increase would allow the 41 Urban Indian Organizations (UIOs) to hire more staff, expand vital services from behavioral health to substance misuse programs, and improve health outcomes for the growing demand of health care for urban Indians.Sincerely,
  • [First and Last Name, Address, City, State, Zip]
  • I hope you will urge the Senate Appropriations Committee to include the line item of $81 million for Urban Indian programs and show your support for the health of urban American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) people.
  • As a constituent of [State] and a supporter of the National Council of Urban Indian Health, I humbly request that you honor the United States’ trust responsibility to urban Indians and support funding in the amount of $81 million for the urban Indian health line item.

Graphic

  • Download the graphic for your Facebook post or tweet.

Tweet

  • Write to your Senators on Twitter.
  • Find your Senators’ handles here.
  • Example tweet: “As a constituent, I urge [@ Senator’s handle] to please support the $81 million line item for urban Indian health in the Senate Appropriations Bill. #urbanIndianhealth @ncuih_official”

Facebook Post

  • Post your support on your Facebook.
  • Example post: “I just wrote to my Senators to include $81 million for urban Indian health. Show your support for this important increase by joining me! Find out how here: https://www.ncuih.org/policy_blog?article_id=259”