Political Quotes

“I thank Senator Udall, the ranking member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. I am honored to be working with him on that committee in a bipartisan way, as he talked about. I am also very honored to represent the great State of Nevada, a State that is home to civically active Tribes. Nevada's Tribal communities deal with many of the same challenges that plague Native communities throughout the United States. Indigenous people suffer from higher rates of poverty, illness, and substance abuse than the general population. I recently received this communication from the Walker River Paiute chairman, Amber Torres, about the importance of the Medicaid expansion for her community. Chairman Torres wrote: I feel that the impacts on cutting Medicaid expansion for Nevada would be detrimental to the people. With this coverage we have been able to obtain services for our male and childless adult population. Our people have been able to obtain services that have not been approved or do not qualify through Indian Health Services. She then goes on to say: A large portion of our reservation is covered by the expansion and have seen their health ailments being addressed in a timely manner due to alternative means of coverage. She said: We have seen our covered recipients percentage go from 20 percent to 45 percent, with our numbers continuing to rise daily. If Medicaid expansion is repealed, what is the alternative for these people . . . ?…”