Senate Indian Affairs hearing: tribal leaders warn HHS reorganization, staff cuts have disrupted grants and services

WASHINGTON — Tribal leaders told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Thursday that staff reductions and a broad reorganization at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have disrupted grant administration and diminished services tribal communities rely on outside the Indian Health Service.

The leaders said the changes have removed technical expertise, closed regional HHS offices, paused or canceled grants and left tribal grantees without timely guidance or a known point of contact. "To date, the reorganization has reduced HHS staff by 24 percent, disrupting grant access, tribal advisory committees, and causing tribal program staff to leave," Janet Elkier, chairwoman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Great Plains representative for the National Indian Health Board, said in testimony.

Tribal witnesses told senators that the cuts have reached across HHS programs that tribes use for health, social services and public safety —…