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This section captures a floor statement or debate entry. It mentions legislation such as Stronger Engagement for Indian Health Needs Act of 2025, committees such as Committee on Natural Resources, members such as Bruce Westerman.
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September 14, 2026
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Download official House Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 741) to elevate the position of Director of the Indian Health Service within the Department of Health and Human Services to Assistant Secretary for Indian Health, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 741
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Stronger Engagement for
Indian Health Needs Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INDIAN HEALTH.
(a) Establishment.—Section 601(a) of the Indian Health
Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1661(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking “tribes” and inserting
“Tribes”;
(2) in paragraph (2)—
(A) by striking “a Director” and inserting “an Assistant
Secretary for Indian Health (in this section referred to as
the `Assistant Secretary')”;
(B) by striking “The Director shall report” and inserting
“The Assistant Secretary shall report directly”;
(C) by striking “the Director” and inserting “the
Assistant Secretary”; and
(D) by striking “A Director” and inserting “An Assistant
Secretary”;
(3) in paragraph (3), by striking “date of enactment of
the Indian Health Care Improvement Reauthorization and
Extension Act of 2009 shall serve as Director” and inserting
“date of enactment of the Stronger Engagement for Indian
Health Needs Act of 2025 shall serve as Assistant
Secretary”;
(4) in paragraph (4), in the matter before subparagraph
(A), by striking “Director” and inserting “Assistant
Secretary”; and
(5) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(5) Deputy assistant secretary.—The Assistant Secretary
may—
“(A) with the approval of the Secretary, appoint a Deputy
Assistant Secretary; and
“(B) consistent with applicable law, utilize officers and
employees of the Department as necessary to administer the
activities of the Service.”.
(b) Duties.—Section 601(c) of the Indian Health Care
Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1661(c)) is amended—
(1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by striking
“Director” and inserting “Assistant Secretary”; and
(2) in paragraph (1), by striking “date of enactment of
the Indian Health Care Improvement Reauthorization and
Extension Act of 2009” and inserting “date of enactment of
the Stronger Engagement for Indian Health Needs Act of
2025”.
(c) Authority.—Section 601(d)(1) of the Indian Health Care
Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1661(d)(1)) is amended in the
matter before subparagraph (A), by striking “Director” and
inserting “Assistant Secretary”.
(d) References.—Section 601 of the Indian Health Care
Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1661) is amended by adding at the
end the following new subsection:
“(e) References.—Any reference to the Director of the
Indian Health Service in any Federal law, Executive order,
rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or in any
document of or relating to the Director of the Indian Health
Service, shall be deemed to refer to the Assistant
Secretary.”.
(e) Rate of Basic Pay.—
(1) Positions at level iv.—Section 5315 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended by striking “Assistant Secretaries
of Health and Human Services (6)” and inserting “Assistant
Secretaries of Health and Human Services (7)”.
(2) Positions at level v.—Section 5316 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended by striking “Director, Indian Health
Service, Department of Health and Human Services.”.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentlewoman from Maryland (Ms. Elfreth) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.
General Leave
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 741, the bill now under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 741 is a straightforward bill to strengthen Indian health leadership within the Department of Health and Human Services.
healthcare rooted in the Federal trust responsibility. The Indian Health Service is the principal Federal entity responsible for providing health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Indian health issues do not begin and end at IHS. Many of these issues require coordination across HHS, including healthcare access, workforce recruitment and retention, behavioral health, public health, and health infrastructure.
H.R. 741 will help that coordination by elevating IHS' senior within the Department.
This bill is narrowly tailored. The IHS director is already appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, so H.R. 741 does not create a new Senate-confirmed appointment. It does not create a new program or change how IHS delivers healthcare.
coordinate health issues across the Department. This is a practical and reasonable step. When Indian health issues cut across IHS, the senior official responsible for Indian health should be positioned to work across HHS.
Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 741, and I reserve the balance of my time.
House of Representatives,
Committee on Natural Resources,
Washington, DC, August 24, 2026.
Hon. Brett Guthrie,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Guthrie: I write regarding H.R. 741, the
“Stronger Engagement for Indian Health Needs Act of 2025,”
which was ordered reported by the Committee on Natural
Resources on May 14, 2026.
I recognize that the bill contains provisions that fall
within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Energy and
Commerce and appreciate your willingness to forgo further
consideration of the bill. I acknowledge that the Committee
on Energy and Commerce will not formally consider H.R. 741
and agree that the inaction of your Committee with respect to
the bill does not waive any jurisdiction over the subject
matter contained therein.
I am pleased to support your request to name members of the
Committee on Energy and Commerce to any conference committee
to consider such provisions. I will ensure that our exchange
of letters is included in the Congressional Record during
floor consideration of the bill and will include such letters
in the committee report on H.R. 741. I appreciate your
cooperation regarding this legislation.
Sincerely,
Bruce Westerman,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources.
House of Representatives,
Committee on Energy and Commerce,
Washington, DC, August 24, 2026.
Hon. Bruce Westerman,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Westerman: I write regarding H.R. 741, the
“Stronger Engagement for Indiana Health Needs Act of 2025.”
While there are provisions of the legislation that fall
within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on Energy and
Commerce, I wanted to notify you that the Committee will
forgo action on the bill so that it may proceed expeditiously
to the House floor for consideration.
This is done with the understanding that the Committee's
jurisdictional interests over this and similar legislation
are in no way diminished or altered. In addition, the
Committee reserves the right to seek conferees on H.R. 741
and requests your support when such a request is made.
I would appreciate your response confirming this
understanding with respect to H.R. 741 and ask that a copy of
our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the
committee report on the bill or in the Congressional Record
during consideration of the bill on the House floor.
Thank you again for your assistance on this matter.
Sincerely,
Brett Guthrie,
Chairman.
{time} 1630
Ms. ELFRETH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 741, the Stronger Engagement for Indian Health Needs Act, introduced by my friend and colleague from Arizona (Mr. Stanton).
responsible for providing healthcare to American Indians and Alaska Natives. Yet, for decades, the agency has fallen short of meeting our trust and treaty obligations as we have left IHS underfunded and underprioritized.
Indian health in IHS. H.R. 741 responds to their advocacy by elevating the Director of IHS to an Assistant Secretary within the Department of Health and Human Services.
within the Department, ensure the healthcare needs of Tribal patients are properly represented, and elevate health disparities, including inadequate infrastructure, limited services, and staffing shortages, facing Tribal communities.
Country has the culturally competent, robust, and accessible healthcare they deserve, and H.R. 741 will help us uphold this premise.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge support for the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stanton) and the ranking member for working with us on this legislation.
I have no further requests for time. I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. ELFRETH. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stanton), the sponsor of the bill.
Mr. STANTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bipartisan bill, H.R. 741, the Stronger Engagement for Indian Health Needs Act.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Ohio (Mr. Joyce) for co- leading on this important effort.
healthcare to our Native communities. For far too long, we have fallen short of that obligation.
Native, and Native Hawaiian communities and the broader American population. American Indians and Alaska Natives have lower life expectancies and some of the highest rates of poor health across racial groups. Access and quality of care are impacted by high vacancies at Indian Health Service facilities. When it comes to equality in healthcare, our Nation has a long way to go.
Mr. Speaker, 20 years ago, the late Senator John McCain first tried to pass a similar measure to raise the Director of the IHS to an Assistant Secretary role within the Department of Health and Human Services. Senator McCain, who advanced this measure through the Senate time and time again, never saw it pass the House and signed into law. Today, this bill honors his legacy.
H.R. 741 would finally get this across the finish line. It creates the position of Assistant Secretary for Indian Health at HHS, giving Native communities a voice at the highest levels of Department leadership.
This matters. As an Assistant Secretary, the head of IHS would finally have the pay and hiring authorities needed to tackle chronic workforce shortages and disparities in access to care. It means faster hiring, better retention, and a direct line to the Secretary on every matter affecting Indian health.
obligations to Native communities. This is a meaningful step forward, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Ms. ELFRETH. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this critical
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 741, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 741, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title of the bill was amended so as to read: “A bill to redesignate the position of Director of the Indian Health Service within the Department of Health and Human Services as Assistant Secretary for Indian Health, and for other purposes.”.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.