Murkowski Assures Native Care Funding, Alaska Native Care Jobs, Rural Justice Through Interior Spending Bill

Press Release

Senator Lisa Murkowski today utilized her position as Chairman on the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee to ensure that Alaska's Native health care providers will have fully funded contract support costs for the second year in a row. The forward-looking bill also separates the resources relied upon for contract support costs (CSCs) from other programs to avoid the prospect of funds being redistributed to other agencies.

Murkowski also redesigned how funding is allocated towards CSCs -- after years of fighting the Obama administration's chronic underfunding of these vital programs -- by programming the funds at the initial budget request, but adding that there can be "more funds as needed" if budget underestimates occur. Short-changing these programs at the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Indian Health Service (IHS) leads to Alaska Native health facilities frequently sitting partially empty, unable to hire technicians or assistants to deliver health care.

"If last year was a promise delivered, this year is a promise fulfilled. While it was a tremendous success last year to fully fund Alaska Native hospital operations -- and other tribal health centers nationwide -- after years of fighting the administration to fulfill its federal trust obligation, changing the design of how these programs are funded ensures that other departments and agencies cannot touch these priorities," said Senator Murkowski. "This does two important things in Alaska: it allows the health centers to be run as they were designed to be without worrying about next year's budget, but it also provides hiring certainty and creates jobs for trained professionals to deliver first class care for our First People."

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