{"id":6206,"date":"2020-12-28T22:56:29","date_gmt":"2020-12-29T03:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=6206"},"modified":"2020-12-28T23:08:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-29T04:08:00","slug":"indian-country-finally-sees-action-on-diabetes-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/12\/28\/indian-country-finally-sees-action-on-diabetes-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian Country finally sees action on diabetes program"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HousingSection 102 \u2013 Tribal Continuum of Care provisions (p. 2513)Allows Tribes to receive funds through other participating entities or apply for funding di…<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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NAFOA: Tribal Leader Town Hall: COVID-19 Bipartisan Relief Package – December 22, 2020<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
Indian Country finally sees action on diabetes program<\/div>\r\n
Monday, December 28, 2020<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. — \r\nFor the first time in a decade, Indian Country will be able to rely on a stable source of funding to address diabetes in tribal and urban communities<\/a>. But the achievement didn’t come without chaos, courtesy of the current occupant of the White House.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe massive COVID-19 and federal funding bill<\/a> that became law on Sunday includes a three-year authorization for the Special Diabetes Program for Indians<\/a> (SDPI). The extension is the longest on record since 2010.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThe program has improved the quality of life for many and saved many lives,\u201d President Jonathan Nez<\/a> of the Navajo Nation<\/a> said on Monday. \u201cThe three-year reauthorization also provides long-term stability for the program, which is important for long-term planning and strategizing.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nBut the 400-plus tribal and urban Indian programs that benefit from the program won’t be seeing any increases in resources. Lawmakers only set aside $150 million a year for diabetes prevention and treatment grants, an amount that hasn’t changed since 2004.\r\n

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Special Diabetes Program for Indians: Changing the Course of Diabetes in Indian Country. Source: Indian Health Service<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nDespite the short length and the stagnant funding levels, tribes and their advocates are welcoming the latest extension. It comes after Indian Country spent most of the last 10 years pushing Congress to fulfill its trust and treaty responsibilities by reauthorizing the SDPI.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cEspecially after a year in which we had six short-term extensions of SDPI — a couple of which were only for a day — seeing three-year stability is definitely a good thing,\u201d Shervin Aazami, the director of Congressional Relations for the National Indian Health Board<\/a>, said during a tribal leader town hall<\/a> last Tuesday.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nJust hours later, however, Indian Country’s progress was threatened by Donald Trump. Still sore after losing the presidential election more than a month prior, the outgoing Republican president threatened to blow up the $900 billion package<\/a> because he said it was filled with \u201cwasteful spending\u201d and didn’t provide enough in direct payments to American citizens.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nTrump and his temper tantrum left the country in limbo for days, all during a holiday season already darkened by COVID-19<\/a>, which has impacted American Indians and Alaska Natives at disproportionate rates. His inaction resulted in a temporary lapse of unemployment benefits for millions of Americans, many of whom are still hurting from job and economic losses brought about by the pandemic.\r\n

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ICYMI: Donald Trump is threatening to blow up the $900 billion #COVID19 relief and federal funding bill, one that keeps Indian Country programs up & running, fulfilling the trust & treaty responsibility. He says the bill is filled with “wasteful spending.” https:\/\/t.co\/oLDgAnNKRb<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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<\/p>\r\nBut as the weekend drew to a close, Trump relented<\/a> and signed H.R.133<\/a> into law on Sunday. Even though he is leaving office in less than month, he said he would send a “formal rescission request” to Congress<\/a>, demanding cuts in federal programs whose funding levels had already been secured by bipartisan agreement.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nHe also reiterated his call to increase COVID-19 payments to $2,000 per individual, up from $600 provided by H.R.133. Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives<\/a> quickly took him up on the offer and passed a new bill<\/a> with the higher amount on Monday.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cI know what it\u2019s like to struggle to make ends meet and the torture folks feel when deciding which bills to pay and how they\u2019re going to put food on the table,\u201d Rep. Deb Haaland<\/a> (D-New Mexico), a citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna who relied on food stamps while raising her child as a single mother, said in the evening after the vote on H.R.5091, also known as the Caring For Americans With Supplemental Help, or the CASH Act<\/a>.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been fighting for this for months, and finally, the president came around after he blocked negotiations since summer,\u201d added Haaland, who is set to make history as the first Native person<\/a> to lead the Department of the Interior<\/a> for the incoming Joe Biden administration. \r\n

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