Representative Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) spearheaded a recent letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding the proposed closure of the Tucson Area Indian Health Service (IHS) office, demanding answers.
As Rep. Grijalva explained, the Tucson IHS Office "facilitates essential health services for nearly 28,000 patients in coordination with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and Tohono O'odham Nation," and closing it would require patients and staff to drive an extra two hours to the closest facility in Phoenix.
On top of that, "The Tucson Office also provides specialized, local services, including dedicated Area Diabetes Consultants, which the Phoenix office may be unable to replicate."
Joining the Arizona congresswoman were Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who had previously protested the closure of the Phoenix Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Office last March.
As previously reported, Acting General Services Administrator Stephen Ehikian announced that 2 million square feet of BIA office space would be closed as part of the Trump Administration's effort to improve government efficiency and maximize federal real estate.
The closure was regarded as sudden by many and lacked input from the 53 Tribes and Nations who work with the office, and as such, Sens. Kelly and Gallego demanded answers on how the decision was made, how it ensured BIA's continued ability to work with tribes, and whether the federal government's trust responsibility to tribes was taken into account when making this decision.
Grijalva, meanwhile, has also expressed concerns about the federal government's approach to Tribal affairs, with her first bill, introduced in December, seeking to repeal a 2014 land transfer that gave 2,422 acres of Arizona's Tonto National Forest to Resolution Copper, a mining company. The addition came without the typical public comment period or discussions with affected tribal groups.
In March, Grijalva introduced an amendment to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill that would prohibit DHS from conducting immigration enforcement actions on tribal lands without first consulting the tribes that govern them.
