Tom Udall: “thank you for your recognition. Let me just say, at the beginning, I thank the Chair for the bipartisanship with which…”

“thank you for your recognition. Let me just say, at the beginning, I thank the Chair for the bipartisanship with which we both work on the Indian Affairs Committee. I very much appreciate that. We are here with a few Members. I rise with my colleagues from the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. I think Senator Heitkamp, Senator Franken, and, maybe, others will join us. I join them in reminding the Congress of its duty to Tribes and in its standing up for the healthcare of American Indians and Alaska Natives across Indian Country. Most of us are aware of the health disparities facing Native communities. We have seen the news about the failings of the Indian Health Service, and many of us have heard directly from Tribal leaders and Native constituents about the barriers to healthcare access on reservations, pueblos, and in villages, but the Members of the Senate on the Indian Affairs Committee are uniquely aware of the complex ways that the Tribal healthcare system works and how those systems will be catastrophically disrupted by TrumpCare and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. The U.S. Government has a trust responsibility to provide American Indians and Alaska Natives with comprehensive, quality healthcare. The U.S. Constitution, treaties, and long-settled legal precedents are the basis for this responsibility. The Indian Health Service is the primary agency for fulfilling this obligation, but our trust responsibilities do not end there.…”