Russ Feingold: “I am pleased to support final passage of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2007. This bill is long…”

“I am pleased to support final passage of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2007. This bill is long overdue, and I hope that House works expediently to move this bill forward so that we can get this bill to the President and signed into law. Throughout the Senate's work on this bill, I have been impressed with the bipartisan work that Senator Dorgan and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee have put into moving this bill forward. It was not any easy process, but I commend the committee for its ongoing dedication to significant consultation with Indian Country in drafting this bill and seeing it through to completion. There are significant unmet needs in Indian Country throughout this Nation, and addressing the unmet health care needs ranks as one of the most significant problems that we must address. The Federal Government has a longstanding and well-established trust responsibility with regard to American Indian affairs, and this trust responsibility extends to providing good health care to communities throughout Indian Country.”