Congress is considering legislation to reauthorize the Indian Health Service (IHS) for 10 years. The IHS was last reauthorized in 1992. On February 26, 2008, the Senate passed its bill, S. 1200, the Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments. The House bill, H.R. 1328, may be brought to the floor shortly. Prior to final passage the Senate voted to approve an amendment by Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) to incorporate the policy of the Hyde Amendment into the bill (no federal funds for abortion, with exceptions for danger to the life of the mother or cases of rape or incest). Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-PA) is prepared to offer the same amendment in the House. Abortion advocates in Congress are opposed to any limits on federal funding of abortions. In an attempt to block the Vitter Amendment they delayed passage of S. 1200 in the Senate. They are now seeking to block a vote on the Pitts amendment in the House.
|