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HRG. 115–89 S. 1250, S. 1275, AND S. 1333 HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JUNE 13, 2017 Printed for the use of the Committee on Indian Affairs ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 27–650 PDF WASHINGTON : 2017 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:50 Nov 30, 2017 Jkt 027650 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\DOCS\27650.TXT JACK COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota, Chairman TOM UDALL, New Mexico, Vice Chairman JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming MARIA CANTWELL, Washington JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona JON TESTER, Montana, LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska AL FRANKEN, Minnesota JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii STEVE DAINES, Montana HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota MIKE CRAPO, Idaho CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada JERRY MORAN, Kansas T. MICHAEL ANDREWS, Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel JENNIFER ROMERO, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel (II) VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:50 Nov 30, 2017 Jkt 027650 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\DOCS\27650.TXT JACK C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held on June 13, 2017 ............................................................................... 1 Statement of Senator Barrasso ............................................................................... 11 Statement of Senator Cortez Masto ....................................................................... 10 Statement of Senator Daines .................................................................................. 44 Statement of Senator Franken ............................................................................... 7 Statement of Senator Heitkamp ............................................................................. 9 Statement of Senator Hirono .................................................................................. 7 Statement of Senator Hoeven ................................................................................. 1 Statement of Senator Murkowski ........................................................................... 5 Statement of Senator Schatz .................................................................................. 4 Statement of Senator Tester ................................................................................... 49 Statement of Senator Thune ................................................................................... 51 Statement of Senator Udall .................................................................................... 3 WITNESSES Buchanan, Rear Admiral Chris, Acting Director, Indian Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ...................................................... 12 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 14 Charlie, Mark, President/CEO, Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP) Regional Housing ................................................................................... 67 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 69 Crowley, Dr. Joseph P., President-Elect, American Dental Association ............. 22 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 23 Difuntorum, Sami Jo, Chairwoman, National American Indian Housing Coun- cil ........................................................................................................................... 75 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 78 Frechette, Heidi, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Native American Pro- grams, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ........................ 54 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 56 Harris, Dr. Keith, Director of Clinical Operations, Homeless Programs Office, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ................................................................. 59 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 61 Kitcheyan, Hon. Victoria, Treasurer, Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Tribal Council .................................................................................................................. 16 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 18 Onnen, Hon. Liana, Vice President, Southern Plains Region, National Con- gress of American Indians (NCAI) ...................................................................... 63 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 65 Stier, Max, President/CEO, Partnership for Public Service ................................. 27 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 30 APPENDIX Allen, Hon. W. Ron, Chairman, Self-Governance Communication & Education Tribal Consortium; Tribal Chairman/CEO, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, pre- pared statement ................................................................................................... 96 American Academy of PAs, prepared statement ................................................... 89 Begaye, Hon. Russell, President, Navajo Nation and Jonathan Hale, Chair- man, Health, Education & Human Services, Navajo Nation Council, joint prepared statement .............................................................................................. 102 Cladoosby, Hon. Brian, Chairman, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, pre- pared statement ................................................................................................... 123 Danner, Robin Puanani, Chairman, Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homeland Assembly (SCHHA), prepared statement ........................................ 116 (III) VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:50 Nov 30, 2017 Jkt 027650 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\DOCS\27650.TXT JACK IV Page Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, prepared statement ............................... 107 Gundersen Health System, prepared statement ................................................... 124 Hawaii Congressional Delegation, prepared statement ....................................... 89 Hodson, Mike, Chairman, Board of Commissioners, Homestead Housing Au- thority, prepared statement ................................................................................ 111 Navajo Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, prepared statement ......... 99 Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), prepared statement ....................................... 112 Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Jon Tester to: Heidi Frechette ................................................................................................. 130 Dr. Keith Harris ............................................................................................... 125 United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund, prepared statement .............................................................................................................. 104 United States Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), prepared statement ... 93 Weston, Hon. Troy ‘‘Scott’’, President, Oglala Sioux Tribe, prepared state- ment ...................................................................................................................... 120 Yazzie,Aneva J., CEO, Navajo Housing Authority, prepared statement ............ 90 VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:50 Nov 30, 2017 Jkt 027650 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\DOCS\27650.TXT JACK S. 1250, S. 1275, AND S. 1333 TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2017 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:55 p.m. in room 628, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. John Hoeven, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN HOEVEN, U.S. SENATOR FROM NORTH DAKOTA The CHAIRMAN. I call the meeting to order. Today, the Committee will examine three bills in two panels: S. 1250, the restoring accountability to the Indian Health Service Act of 2017; S. 1275, the bringing useful initiatives to Indian land de- velopment or the BUILD Act; and S. 1333, the Tribal HUD/VASH Act of 2017. Regarding Panel 1, on May 25, 2017, Senators Barrasso, Thune and I introduced S. 1250, the restoring accountability to the Indian Health Service Act of 2017. This bill is intended to increase trans- parency and accountability, improve patient safety and care, and boost recruitment and retention of employees to the IHS. We introduced this bill again this Congress to begin reversing years of poor health care delivery in some IHS facilities. A signifi- cant amount of work by the Committee with the agency, the Gov- ernment Accountability Office and stakeholders, has been put into this bill and the predecessor bill introduced by then-Chairman Barrasso and Senators Thune, Rounds and McCain. Nearly one year ago in the last Congress on June 17, 2016, the Committee held a hearing on the predecessor bill, S. 2953. The Act- ing Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Mary Wakefield, testified in support of some provision of the bill and gave suggestions on