Senate committee hearing: HHS reorganization and cuts threaten tribal programs beyond IHS

A Senate Committee on Indian Affairs oversight hearing on April 1 focused on how recent Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) workforce reductions and proposed reorganizations are disrupting programs tribes rely on beyond the Indian Health Service.

Committee chairwoman Murkowski opened the hearing by saying HHS programs outside IHS "are just as important as those under the IHS," and called the session an opportunity for tribes and native organizations to make their case to the legislative branch.

Why it matters: witnesses and senators said the changes have already reduced tribal access to grants, severed working relationships with regional staff, and paused surveillance and prevention programs that track maternal and infectious-disease threats. Several witnesses testified that reductions in staff and abrupt administrative moves have created grant-delivery gaps that can force tribal grantees to halt services or lay off shelter and clinical staff.

Janet Elkier, chairwoman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Great Plains representative for the National Indian Health Board, told the committee the reorganization has "reduced HHS staff by 24%" and led to "the cancellation of over $6,000,000 in grants," leaving some tribal grantees unable to contact project officers. Elkier said the CDC team that supported overdose prevention in tribal communities was cut from seven staffers to one and that other surveillance and HIV/STI programs have lost staff or been paused.

Witnesses urged early, consistent and meaningful tribal consultation. "These programs work best when they reflect…