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House Appropriations Committee Advances FY25 Funding Bills for Indian Health Service and Other Health Programs – Includes Increases for Tribes

Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill

On July 9, the House Appropriations Committee passed out its version of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies FY 2025 appropriations bill which contained significant increases for Tribal programs. Upon passage of the legislation, Chairman Cole shared: “As the first Native American to lead this committee, I commend the strong investments that uphold our nation’s trust and treaty responsibilities to our tribal communities.”

The House FY 2025 Interior appropriations includes a 23% increase for the Indian Health Service. Highlights from the Committee’s report include (all increases are in comparison to FY 2024 Enacted levels):

• FY 2026 Advance Appropriations for IHS at $5.9 billion;
• Adds Sanitation Facilities Construction and Health Care Facilities Construction to advance appropriated line items;
• Provides a $344 million increase for Current Services;
• Provides a $290.4 million increase for Clinical Services;
• Provides a $295.4 million increase for Hospitals and Health Clinics;
• Provides a 50% increase for maternal health;
• Provides a $10 million increase for Tribal Epidemiology Centers;
• Provides a $30 million increase for Dental health, including $8 million for expanding Dental Support Centers;
• Provides $26.6 million increase for Alcohol and Substance Abuse and Mental Health;
• Provides a $52 million increase for the Purchased/Referred Care Program;
• Provides a 10% increase on Indian Health Professions Program and a 27% increase for Staff Quarters;
• Contract Support Costs (CSC) receive a $985 million increase;
• Tribal Leases receive a $251 million increase;
• EHR Modernization received a $115 million reduction.

Importantly, the bill does not include a transition to mandatory spending for Contract Support Costs and 105(l) leases. This request has been a long-time priority for Tribal leaders so it would ensure that these costs are treated in the appropriation as the mandatory costs they are. Currently, CSC and 105(l) leases are an open-ended appropriation, but they still count against the overall “cost” of the bill.

To read the full Interior Committee Report click here.

Bill text can be found here.

Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill



Today, the House of Representatives advanced the FY 2025 Appropriations bill that funds the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor H). Despite overall decreased funding for this bill, it contains some important provisions for Tribal nations when it comes to health. The National Indian Health Board was pleased to work on many of these provisions with the House Appropriations Committee and looks forward to ensuring that they are included in the final FY 2025 appropriations. Some highlights included in the committee report are as follows:

• The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is directed to report on how it is working with Tribes and provide additional technical assistance to Tribes to ensure that funding at this agency is reaching Tribal communities. The committee report also includes at 15 percent set aside within the National Health Service Corps “to participating individuals that provide health services in Indian Health Service facilities, Tribally-operated health programs, and Urban Indian Health programs.”

• The report language includes a 10 percent set aside for public health infrastructure at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and notes that this funding “will better ensure Tribes and Tribal Organizations are better equipped to coordinate together to save lives.” It also increases funding for the Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country program at CDC by $6 million for a total of $30 million.

• The Committee also adds an additional $9 million (for a total of $15 million) to the Improving Native American Cancer Outcomes program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to “to support efforts including research, education, outreach, and clinical access related to cancer in Native American populations.”

• The bill would include additional tribally specific funding at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) including funding increases for the Tribal Behavioral Health Grants, Project Aware, Medication Assisted Treatment, and American Indian and Alaska Native Suicide Prevention.

• The bill would make a historic investment in the Child Care and Development Block Grant for Tribes and Tribal organizations by designating a 6 percent set-aside. This means that funding going to Tribal communities would more than double over FY 2024 for a total of $526 million. 



• Finally, the report includes language that would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to work with Tribal representatives to advance the expansion of self-governance at HHS. This has been a decades-long request for Tribes that would significantly improve how programs are funded and operated at the department for Tribal nations.

To read the full Labor H Committee Report click here.

Bill text can be found here.

National Indian Health Board | www.nihb.org | 202-507-4070

Visit the NIHB COVID-19 Tribal Resource Center at:

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For media inquiries, contact Ned Johnson at njohnson@nihb.org.

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