Native American Health

NATIVE AMERICAN HEALTH -- (House of Representatives - July 22, 2004)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to talk about the health care crisis that continues to affect Native Americans
in this country. For far too long, Native Americans have suffered from a lack of access to quality health services,
resulting in increasing amounts of Native Americans that suffer from a wide range of diseases and illnesses.

Mr. Speaker, language from a report commissioned by the Federal Government in 1928, 75 years ago, to study the
health status of Native Americans is just as true today as it was then. And the language states, "The health of the
Indians as compared with that of the general population is bad. The existing evidence warrants the statement that both
the general death rates and the infant mortality rates are high. The prevailing living conditions among the great majority
of the Indians are conducive to the development and spread of disease. With comparatively few exceptions, the diet of
the Indians is bad. The housing conditions are likewise conducive to bad health. The inadequacy of appropriations has
prevented the development of an adequate system of public health administration and medical relief work for the
Indians."

Mr. Speaker, this excerpt is from a report commissioned by the Federal Government in 1928, over 75 years ago; but to
my disbelief and to the disbelief of millions of Native Americans, not much has changed. Indeed, the U.S. Commission
on Civil Rights just came out with a draft report studying the current status of the Native American health care system
that cites similar trends from a 1928 report. The main reason why there has been such limited success in improving the
health status of Native Americans is that the Federal Government has failed miserably to live up to its trust obligation
to provide quality health services to American Indians.

Mr. Speaker, the United States Government has a moral and legal obligation to provide for the health of Native
Americans. This Federal obligation is the result of Native Americans ceding over 400 million acres of tribal land to
the United States. In return, the Federal Government entered into a number of agreements that promised to provide health care services among many other benefits to Native Americans.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report notes that specifically Native Americans are 770 percent more likely to
die from alcoholism, 650 percent more likely to die from tuberculosis, 427 percent more likely to die from diabetes,
280 percent more likely to die from accidents, and 52 percent more likely to die from pneumonia or influenza than the
rest of the United States, including white and other minority populations. These statistics are appalling, and I think they
are just plain heart breaking.

There are many reasons why this health status of Native Americans continues to be poor, such as social and cultural
and structural barriers, but the number one reason why American Indians and Alaska natives suffer disproportionately
from a poor health status is because the United States Government refuses to invest the funding needed to improve the
health status for Native Americans.

Mr. Speaker, the Federal Government is willing to expend nearly twice the amount of Federal dollars to fund health
care services for Federal criminals than it spends on health care services for Native Americans. How does that seem
fair?

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Government can and must do better by American Indians and Alaska natives. The first step
towards achieving that goal is reauthorizing the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. This legislation is designed to
provide parity between Native American health care and the rest of America. The bill enjoys the support of Indian
country and bipartisan support in the House and Senate. Yet it languishes in this Congress, awaiting the administration
to submit its views.

Accordingly, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to press upon the Bush administration to send its statement
of administration policy to the Congress so we can pass this important piece of legislation. The longer we take, the
longer Native Americans will continue to suffer.