Toolkit: Urban Indian Health Appropriations Letter

Dear Urban Indian Health Advocates,

We need your help contacting Congress to support Urban Indian Organizations!

Representatives Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) are leading a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.

The letter calls for an increase in funding of a minimum of $106 million for the Indian Health Services (IHS) urban Indian healthcare line item. In FY 2020, UIOs received a $6 million increase, and to build on this progress, we are requesting a line item appropriation of $106 million in FY 2021, which reflects the recommendation made by the Tribal Budget Formulation Working Group (TBFWG). To ensure that the urban Indian health line item receives as much support as possible, we encourage you to contact your Member of Congress and request that they sign on to the Gallego-Grijalva Urban Indian Health letter by the deadline of March 16.

Please use the following text below as a template to call or email to your Member of Congress. If you can please, call and email your representative. You can find your representative here.

Thank you for your leadership. Your outreach on this is invaluable to providing greater access to health care for American Indians and Alaska Natives in urban areas.

Sincerely,

NCUIH

Background

In testimony before Congress, NCUIH advocated for an increase in funding to $106 million for the Indian Health Services (IHS) urban Indian healthcare line item. $106 million, is what the IHS Tribal Budget Formulation Workgroup requested minimum is for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. The House included $81 million in FY 2020 for urban Indian health and the final bill included $57 million, a $6 million increase.

Steps to Contact Congress

Step 1: Copy the email below.
Step 2: Find your representative here.
Step 3: Paste the email into the form and send. Please contact Carla Lott (cmlott@NCUIH.org) with questions.

Email to Your Member of Congress

As an urban Indian health advocate, I respectfully request you on sign on to the Gallego-Grijalva letter to the House Committee on Appropriations in support of increasing the urban Indian health line item.

As an integral part of the AI/AN health care delivery system, UIOs depend on funding from IHS to provide care to urban AI/AN people. UIOs depend on scarce federal resources to provide services to our AI/AN patients. UIOs primarily receive funding from the urban Indian health line item. The letter requests increasing the urban Indian health to at least $106 million, which reflects the recommendation made by the Tribal Budget Formulation Working Group (TBFWG) for FY 2021. With increased funding many UIOs would be able to expand existing services, offer new services, hire additional staff, and procure updated equipment.

For the sake of the U.S. trust responsibility, the health of American Indians and Alaska Natives we request you support increasing the urban Indian health line item.

To sign on please complete this form or contact Ms. Mariel Jorgensen (Mariel.Jorgensen@mail.house.gov) from Gallego’s office by March 16.

Thank you for your leadership and your commitment to upholding the United States trust responsibility.

Social Media

Facebook

Post your support on your Facebook.

Example post:
Call your Member of Congress to sign on the Gallego Grijalva Urban Indian Health Funding letter by March 16. Learn More: https://www.ncuih.org/policy_blog?article_id=363

Twitter

From your Twitter account, tweet to your Member of Congress.

Find your Member of Congress here.
Example tweet:
Dear [@ Member’s handle], please sign on to Gallego Grijalva letter for $106 million for #urbanIndianhealth in FY21 cc:@ncuih_official.