Increasing Opportunity and Success for Children and Parents Through Evidence-Based Home Visiting Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chairman, my amendment would eliminate the dangerous cuts to Tribes who don't meet the bill's match requirement. I urge all of my colleagues to support it.
I am proud to represent a number of Tribal communities in the Puget Sound region that each have a rich history, identity, and culture. But they face unique challenges.
The need for home visiting services is particularly high among American Indians and Alaska Natives. Young people who live on reservations are twice as likely to become teen parents. Nearly three- fourths of the parents served by Tribal home visiting services live below the Federal poverty level. And the majority of Tribal beneficiaries have less than a high school diploma.
The good news is that Tribes are already using home visiting resources to implement evidence-based models that have decreased depression, substance abuse, and stress among parents, while improving health among children.
Seventy-seven percent of Tribal home visiting programs have improved family outcomes in at least four different areas, such as improving maternal and newborn health, increasing school readiness, reducing domestic violence, and strengthening parents' economic self- sufficiency.
The bad news is the need for help in Indian Country has far exceeded the limited funding available through the home visiting program. In fact, less than half of qualified applications for Tribal home visiting can be granted under the current funding levels.
Some States have tried to address these shortages with State resources, like my home State of Washington, which has voluntarily used State funding to meet the needs of Tribal families. But it is not enough.
The underlying bill provides no new resources to address the nationwide shortfall in Tribal funding. Instead, it adds a match requirement that could be the end of home visiting on reservations altogether.
Most Indian Tribes struggle economically and already face challenges providing help to families. I understand that Tribal administrators have said almost none of them could meet the match requirement in this legislation.
Indian Tribes have also generally considered Federal match requirements to be a violation of Tribal sovereignty. As such, they may have to refuse the funds and shut down home visiting programs if the bill is enacted with the match requirement.
I appreciate that the chairman has delayed the implementation of the Tribal match and reduced it to 30 percent. But, realistically, the effect will be simply to give Tribes more time to shut down their home visiting programs. The match requirement will still be completely unworkable for them in 2022.
The Federal Government has a responsibility to our Tribal communities
to do everything we can to support their people, strengthen their families, and expand economic opportunity.
Mr. Chairman, the underlying bill takes a dangerous step in the wrong
direction for our Tribes, but we still have the opportunity to stop it.
Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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