IHS Confused Whether Indian Diabetes Funding Faces Another Sequestration

 

Rob Capriccioso

1/16/14 ICTMN.com

For the second year in a row, Indian Health Service (IHS) leadership is confused how federal sequestration will impact its budget, leading to questions of responsibility and competency from Native-focused health officials.

The latest confusion centers on how the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI), a program created in 1997 by Congress for the prevention and treatment of diabetes in American Indian and Alaska Natives, will be affected under the new federal budget deal. The December congressional arrangement alleviates sequestration on many so-called discretionary Indian-focused programs, but it leaves cuts in place for some mandatory programs.

SDPI last year was classified as mandatory under White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rules, so the program received a 2 percent cut, translating to $3 million. That reduction was able to be absorbed by IHS through an internal reshuffling of funds, according to agency officials last year.

This year, under the budget deal hammered out for 2014 by Democratic and Republicans congressional negotiators in December, mandatory programs would be subject to the same cut. As of December 24, 2013, IHS officials believed that SDPI would face the same cut as last year, and agency leadership was communicating that information to Indian health officials and to the press. An IHS spokeswoman told Indian Country Today Media Network by e-mail on December 24 that “SDPI has been sequestered by 2 percent again as other mandatory health programs.” A question at that time left unanswered was whether IHS would be able to absorb the $3 million shortfall, as it had in 2013.

Fast forward to mid-January, with IHS now telling Indian health officials that it doesn’t know if SDPI will be subject to sequestration in 2014. They also told Indian health officials on January 15 that the agency does not know when they would have more information on this issue.

When asked by ICTMN again on January 16 if SDPI would be subject to sequestration and if so whether IHS would be able to administratively pick up the slack as it did last year, Dianne Dawson, a spokeswoman for IHS, said that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) should be contacted for details on the 2014 budget.

OMB has not responded to requests for comment, but one thing is for sure: IHS leadership is no stranger to accusations of not knowing how federal sequestration affects their budget. Yvette Roubideaux, acting director of the agency, told Indian health officials at various tribal meetings and in letters throughout 2011 and early 2012 that “the worst-case scenario would be a 2 percent decrease from current funding levels” for IHS under sequestration, rather than the 9 percent that was forecasted for most federal agencies if the sequester went into effect. But that information was a misreading of the law, according to OMB, and IHS ended up being subject to higher levels of sequestration.

RELATED: A Miscalculation on the Sequester Has Already Harmed Indian Health

Indian health officials were outraged that Roubideaux had fed them wrong information, and they said it cost them the ability to prepare tribal budgets to help make up for the greater shortfall. They were also concerned with OMB’s interpretations of the law.

Questions over this issue and others involving lacking tribal consultation, transparency and funding issues have caused Democratic senators to hold up Roubideaux’ re-nomination to her director position. She has been reduced to acting capacity, which has reduced morale in the agency, according to Indian-focused officials who have discussed the situation with IHS staff.

RELATED: 6 New Year Nomination Battles for Obama’s Native-Focused Nominees

Given the new confusion surrounding the SDPI program and sequestration in 2014, Indian health officials are again angry with IHS leadership and are demanding clarification.

“I am not sure what IHS is doing anymore; we have hardly any transparency when it comes to IHS budget issues with this director and administration,” said Jim Roberts, a policy analyst with the Northwest Portland Indian Health Board, when asked about the SDPI situation in December. “I’ve never seen budget and administrative transparency worse in the history of the agency despite its mantra and their espousal that this is their priority.”

From Roberts’ own reading of the law, he says that if Congress does its job and stays within the allocation caps reached under the December budget deal, there should not be a two percent reduction to the general IHS appropraition.

National Indian Health Board officials say they are investigating the situation with the agency.

Group: Protect Orcas In West Coast Waters

Credit AP Photo/NOAA Fisheries Service, Candice EmmonsFILE - In this file photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and shot Oct. 29, 2013, orca whales from the J and K pods swim past a small research boat on Puget Sound in view of downtown Seattle.
Credit AP Photo/NOAA Fisheries Service, Candice Emmons
FILE – In this file photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and shot Oct. 29, 2013, orca whales from the J and K pods swim past a small research boat on Puget Sound in view of downtown Seattle.

Jan 16 2014

By The Associated Press

A conservation group is asking federal officials to protect endangered killer whales in the marine waters off the West Coast.

The Center for Biological Diversity on Thursday petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to designate critical habitat for orcas along the coast of Washington, Oregon and California.

The southern resident killer whales are frequently seen in Puget Sound during the summer, but little was known about their winter movements until recently.

Federal biologists have tracked the orcas as they traveled extensively along the coast, from Cape Flattery, Wash. to Point Reyes, Calif.

The group says those offshore areas should now be added as critical habitat. Such a designation would require federal officials to limit activities that harm the whales.

A message left with the federal agency was not immediately returned.

Fmr. Snoqualmie gaming commissioner calls casino operation ‘illegal’

by JOHN LANGELER / KING 5 News

Bio | Email | Follow: @jlangelerKING5

January 15, 2014

SNOQUALMIE — William Papazian, the former chairman of the Snoqualmie Gaming Commission, is suing three casino executives and two tribal council members for ousting fellow commissioners and replacing the entity responsible for independent oversight of gambling operations with themselves.

The litigation was flied in U.S. Federal Court last Friday.

The Snoqualmie Tribe, which is not specifically named in the lawsuit, denied Papazian’s claims and said it planned to help defent the accused.

Papazian chaired the Snoqualmie Gaming Commission for five years.  He resigned November 27, 2013 as other employees with the body were being fired, he alleged.

The commission is required by federal law and through a gaming compact, or agreement, the tribe has with U.S. and state authorities.  It is tasked to handle background checks of employees, ensure protocol is followed and keep an eye on casino floor operations.  It is supposed to be, “independent” and “separate…from that of the Gaming Facility or Tribal Government,” according to the compact.

Papazian alleges he and his fellow commission members and employees were removed and replaced by the Snoqualmie Tribal Council so it could “run an illegal, unregulated gambling operation”.

Furthermore, he accuses the defendants of racketeering, money laundering and fraud.

Papazian, who lives in Arizona, declined to comment.

The Washington State Gambling Commission confirmed Wednesday it was told by the Snoqualmie Tribe its council was taking “interim control” of its own gaming commission, and that it had no immediate concerns.

A spokesperson with the National Indian Gaming Commission, which approves all gaming compacts, would not confirm or deny if it was investigating the Snoqualmie Casino.

The tribe would not say who is on its gaming commission now or when a new one would be selected.

In a statement, the tribe wrote, “It is disappointing to know that our former employee, Mr. Papazian, has chosen to file a baseless civil complaint.  Mr. Papazian’s allegations are completely false and without merit.  The Snoqualmie Tribe will vigorously defend this case and support the named defendants.  This

complaint will not disrupt the workings of Tribal Government or Casino operations.  We will continue to work hard to help our people.”

$3,000 Tulalip grant helps buy student laptops

 

Herald Staff January 16, 2014

LAKE STEVENS — The Lake Stevens School District has received a grant of $3,000 from the Tulalip Tribes that will be used to partially offset the purchase of ChromeBooks laptops for classroom use.

The School District recently purchased a package of 32 laptops and related equipment for use by third and fourth graders and staff at Sunnycrest Elementary. The computers cost $12,000, with the balance being paid for by the district’s technology levy.

The school district also received a donation of $1,887 from board director David Iseminger through Microsoft’s Giving Campaign. Iseminger works at Microsoft, and the company matches employee volunteer work with cash grants. Iseminger’s donation goes into a fund that allows students who otherwise don’t have access to financial resources to take part in extracurricular activities such as sports, music programs and field trips.

EPA: Mining poses risks to Bristol Bay salmon

 

FILE- In this July 13, 2007 file photo, a worker with the Pebble Mine project test drills in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska near the village of Iliamma, Alaska. An EPA report indicates a large-scale copper and gold mine in Alaska's Bristol Bay region could have devastating effects on the world's largest sockeye salmon fishery and adversely affect Alaska Natives, whose culture is built around salmon. Photo: AL Grillo, AP
FILE- In this July 13, 2007 file photo, a worker with the Pebble Mine project test drills in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska near the village of Iliamma, Alaska. An EPA report indicates a large-scale copper and gold mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region could have devastating effects on the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery and adversely affect Alaska Natives, whose culture is built around salmon. Photo: AL Grillo, AP

By BECKY BOHRER, Associated Press

anuary 15, 2014

 

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A government report indicates a large-scale copper and gold mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region could have devastating effects on the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery and adversely affect Alaska Natives, whose culture is built around salmon.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday released its final assessment of the impact of mining in the Bristol Bay region. Its findings are similar to those of an earlier draft report, concluding that, depending on the size of the mine, up to 94 miles of streams would be destroyed in the mere build-out of the project, including losses of between 5 and 22 miles of streams known to provide salmon spawning and rearing habitat. Up to 5,350 acres of wetlands, ponds and lakes also would be lost due to the mine footprint.

The report concludes that “large-scale mining in the Bristol Bay watershed poses significant near- and long-term risk to salmon, wildlife and Native Alaska cultures,” EPA regional administrator Dennis McLerran said in a conference call with reporters.

The battle over the proposed Pebble Mine has been waged for years and extended beyond Alaska’s borders, with environmental activists like actor Robert Redford opposing development. Multinational jewelers have said they won’t use minerals mined from the Alaska prospect, and pension fund managers from California and New York City last year asked London-based Rio Tinto, a shareholder of mine owner Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., to divest, a request Rio Tinto said it planned to consider.

EPA has said its goal was to get the science right. McLerran said the report doesn’t recommend any policy or regulatory decisions and will serve as the scientific foundation for the agency’s response to the tribes and others who petitioned EPA in 2010 to use its authority under the Clean Water Act to protect Bristol Bay. He said no timeline for a response had been set.

The report also found that polluted water from the mine site could get into streams through runoff or uncollected leachate, even with the use of modern mining practices. It noted culvert blockages or other failures could impede fish passage and failure of a tailings dam, where mining waste is stored, could be catastrophic though the probability of such a failure was considered quite low.

Supporters of the EPA process hoped it would lead the agency to block or limit the project, action they urged again Wednesday; opponents saw it as an example of government overreach and feared it would lead to a pre-emptive veto.

Jason Metrokin, president and CEO of Bristol Bay Native Corp., said the corporation supports “responsible development where it can be done without causing unacceptable risks to the people, cultures and fishing economy of our region. The proposed Pebble mine is not such a project.”

John Shively, the chief executive of the Pebble Limited Partnership, which was created to design, permit and run the mine, called the report rushed and flawed, saying EPA did not take the time or commit the financial resources to fully assess such a large area. In a statement, he said the report is “a poorly conceived and poorly executed study, and it cannot serve as the scientific basis for any decisions concerning Pebble.”

Some see the mine as a way to provide jobs, but others fear it will disrupt or devastate a way of life. A citizens’ initiative scheduled to appear on the August primary ballot would require legislative approval for any large-scale mine in the region.

The Bristol Bay watershed produces about 46 percent of the world’s wild sockeye salmon, and salmon are key to the way of life for two groups of Alaska Natives in the region, Yup’ik Eskimos and the Dena’ina. The report said the response of Native cultures to any mining impacts was unclear, though it could involve more than the need to compensate for lost food and include some degree of cultural disruption.

 

Jeff Frithsen, a senior scientist and special projects coordinator with EPA, said the Pebble deposit is a low-grade ore deposit, and over 99 percent of the ore taken from the ground will end up as waste. He said the deposit’s location is at the headwaters of two of the watersheds that make up half the Bristol Bay watershed and produce half its sockeye salmon.

He said the existence of a large-scale mining operation there would affect fish habitat and any accidents would add to that. He said any loss of habitat can affect the overall diversity of the fishery habitat in the watershed.

“Changes in the portfolio of streams within the Bristol Bay watershed can reduce the overall reliability and increase the variability of the fishery over time,” he said.

Asked whether EPA believed a mine could co-exist with fish, McLerran said the assessment spoke for itself.

While EPA initiated the review process in response to concerns about the impact of the proposed Pebble Mine on fisheries, the report wasn’t meant to be about a single project.

EPA said the report looks at possible impacts of reasonably foreseeable mining activities in the region. The agency said it drew on a preliminary plan published by Northern Dynasty and consulted with mining experts on reasonable scenarios.

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said in a statement the report was little more than a pretext for an EPA veto of the state’s permitting process. “As my record demonstrates, I will not trade one resource for another, and every permitting application — when filed — deserves scientific and public scrutiny based on facts, not hypotheticals.”

The Pebble Partnership has called the mine deposit one of the largest of its kind in the world, with the potential of producing 80.6 billion pounds of copper, 107.4 million ounces of gold and 5.6 billion pounds of molybdenum over decades.

While EPA focused on the effects of one mine, the report said several mines could be developed in the watersheds studied, each of which would pose risks similar to those highlighted.

___

Online:

To read the assessment: http://www2.epa.gov/bristolbay

 

In the Red $8M in 2009, Colville Tribal Federal Corp. Grossed $86M in 2013

 

Courtesy Colville Tribal Federal Corp.Left to right: CEO Joe Pakootas, Pearline Kirk, Butch Stanger, Lynn Palmanteer-Holder, Susie Marchand, Sneena Brooks, John Sirois, Randy Williams, Debi Condon, Debbie Atuk
Courtesy Colville Tribal Federal Corp.
Left to right: CEO Joe Pakootas, Pearline Kirk, Butch Stanger, Lynn Palmanteer-Holder, Susie Marchand, Sneena Brooks, John Sirois, Randy Williams, Debi Condon, Debbie Atuk

Lynn Armitage

 

1/15/14 ICTMN.com

By the end of 2009, the tribal business for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in North Central Washington—Colville Tribal Enterprise Corp.—was nearly bankrupt.

Then tribal member Joe Pakootas, the newly hired CEO, took charge, and within a year, he turned an $8.1 million loss into a $2.3 million profit. If you’re doing the math, that’s a turnaround of copy0.4 million in just nine months—a remarkable accomplishment for the tribe’s 25th CEO in 29 years. 

According to Pakootas, he did it by cutting costs, eliminating wasteful spending and most significantly, restructuring the business as a federally chartered corporation—the Colville Tribal Federal Corp., or CTFC—under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

He explained the economic advantages: “When we do business within the boundaries of the reservation on trust property, we are exempt from federal and state taxes.”

CEO Joe Pakootas
CEO Joe Pakootas

But Pakootas hasn’t rested on his laurels one bit. Since his last interview with Indian Country Today Media Network, “Big Turnaround for Colville Tribal Enterprises,” Pakootas and his management team have been busy controlling expenses, diversifying CTFC’s business portfolio and investing in profitable ventures—including two smoke shops, two convenience stores (which generate one-quarter of total revenues) and another casino (the tribe now runs three)—and it has all paid off handsomely, once again.

“The very first year we were in operation, our gross revenues were about $49 million from all of our businesses. This year, our gross revenues were at $86 million, so we almost doubled that in two to three years,” Pakootas explained with great pride. “And our projections for this next year are about copy20 to copy40 million in gross revenues.” 

Understandably, the business community has taken notice. CTFC recently won the 2013 William D. Bradford Minority Business of the Year Award. It’s the granddaddy of seven awards given annually by the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business that recognizes a company “that has demonstrated success in areas of revenue, size, superior management practices and commitment to the community.”

“What is most impressive to me is how the tribe and the enterprise leadership have been able to transform their operations following the economic collapse of 2007-2008,” said Michael Verchot, one of the judges and director of the Consulting and Business Development Center at the university’s business school. “They also received high marks for their community impact by employing many tribal members.”

In fact, laying off so many employees during the reorganization was the most difficult part of the job, claimed Pakootas. “It was heart-wrenching to let so many people go—85 percent were tribal members—but it was necessary to improve the business.”

Initially, there was some backlash from the tribe from all the layoffs, according to Pakootas. “But after a while, they understood the reason behind it. Basically, it was the future health of the tribe that we were looking at and the future of our children and grandchildren.”

“Joe has provided invaluable leadership and vision in this transformation and has built a solid and unified vision for CTFC’s future,” said Verchot.

Currently, CTFC employs about 500 people  in 13 different businesses that include gaming (the biggest revenue generator), recreation and tourism, retail, construction and wood products—12 which are profitable, and the 13th one, a small electrical company, will be closing this spring.

However, more business development is in the works. “We are looking at developing our own fuel distribution,” because, Pakootas said, CTFC  pays a hefty cost right now to have fuel delivered, and there is a lot of money to be saved by doing it themselves.

While the 56-year-old CEO has a lot to be proud of in his four years as head of CFTC, he is quick to share credit with his Board of Directors and managers for the enterprise’s overall success. “We are all Native American, and that makes a real difference because there’s more understanding of our tribe’s cultures and traditions. In the past, many of our policies have been put together by non-Indians.”

As much as Pakootas enjoys working for his tribe, very soon he could be heading down a different path entirely. “I haven’t made a formal announcement yet, but I have filed—and I am a certified candidate—for Congress for the 5th Congressional District here in Washington.”

Running for Congress, he said, will allow him to be a voice for the Native American community and middle-class America, as well—segments of the country that he says face the same difficult issues: poverty, unemployment and poor health care.

Depending upon how the election goes, Pakootas said he may or may not continue with his duties as CEO. “I would like to stay here until some of these operations are going that we are working on right now. I want to make sure that we continue to grow and continue to diversify.”

The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation is a federally recognized tribe located in the state of Washington, and is comprised of 8,700 descendants from 12 aboriginal tribes.

Lynn Armitage is a freelance writer and enrolled member of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin. She writes the “Spirit of Enterprise” column for ICTMN.

Senior Project Basketball Tournament

Tulalip Heritage H.S. Senior Project Basketball Tournament Jan 31-Feb 2, 2014, Tulalip Tribal Gym

This is a fundraiser Heritage H.S. senior project, all proceeds left over will go towards a Tulalip High School Senior. Help us graduate!

Iron 5 + 1, All Native w/ Tribal ID
Entry Fee: $300
1st – $1000, 2nd – $500, 3rd – $300

Info contact: Justina Brown 360.640.4571 or Shawn Sanchey 425.931.0616

Inslee’s spending plans trigger Republican protests

Gov. Jay Inslee, in his State of the State address Tuesday, called for a boost in K-12 funding, but that and his other proposals — boosting teacher pay and increasing the state minimum wage — kicked up a storm of Republican protest.

ELLEN M. BANNER / THE SEATTLE TIMESGov. Jay Inslee listens to a a standing ovation shortly before giving his first state of the state address in the House of Representative chambers at the Washington State Capitol Tuesday afternoon.
ELLEN M. BANNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Gov. Jay Inslee listens to a a standing ovation shortly before giving his first state of the state address in the House of Representative chambers at the Washington State Capitol Tuesday afternoon.

By Andrew Garber, Seattle Times Olympia bureau

OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposals to boost teacher pay and increase the state minimum wage ran into a wall of Republican opposition after his State of the State address Tuesday.

The GOP-led caucus that controls the Senate slammed the governor’s ideas, saying they would go nowhere in that chamber. Democrats control the House and the governor’s office.

Asked if more money is needed for education this session, Senate Majority Leader Rodney Tom said, “No … We already addressed the money issues this last time with over a billion dollars.”

Tom, a Medina Democrat who crossed party lines to give Republicans control of the Senate, was referring to increased education funds in the budget approved by lawmakers last year.

Regarding the minimum wage, Sen. Linda Evans Parlette, R-Wenatchee, said, “If you raise the minimum wage, you’re going to have more small businesses go out of business, which means more people will lose jobs. It’s the wrong direction.”

The governor’s proposal to boost K-12 funding by $200 million, including cost-of-living increases for teachers, came as a surprise, considering he had previously said the state should wait until 2015 to address education funding.

Inslee said he changed his mind after the state Supreme Court told lawmakers last week to speed up their efforts to meet a court mandate for increased funding for education. The justices set an April 30 deadline for the Legislature to come up with a complete, year-by-year plan to meet the court’s requirements.

“I’ve had to rethink that approach. Or, to be candid, the Supreme Court has forced us all to look anew at funding our education system this year,” the governor said in his speech.

Inslee noted the Supreme Court wrote that it “wants to see ‘immediate, concrete action … not simply promises.’ ”

Inslee said he would look at closing tax breaks to pay for the funding increase, but did not go into details.

House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, agreed the Legislature should take action this session.

“I think we’re going to have to look at additional investments,” Sullivan said. “The order from the Supreme Court was a game changer. It elevated the need to put more funding into K-12 education this year.”

Sullivan said he agrees the Legislature should look at closing tax breaks, but said it’s too early to say which ones.

House Democrats have already drafted legislation to give teachers a cost-of-living increase.

Rich Wood, a spokesman for the Washington Education Association, said the legislation has 52 signatures by representatives, enough support to pass the 98-seat House.

Wood said there’s no Senate version of the bill at this point.

Inslee, in his speech, said, “We need to stop downplaying the significance” of the state Supreme Court’s order, adding the justices wrote that “this case remains fully subject to judicial enforcement.”

But Republicans did not seem impressed.

“Their job is to be the judiciary branch, our job is to be the legislative branch,” said House Republican Leader Dan Kristiansen, of Snohomish. “While I appreciate their strong concerns, what I don’t appreciate is that it almost comes across that they want to do both our jobs. And if that’s what they want to do, let them run for the Legislature.”

In addition to money for education, Inslee renewed his call for raising the state’s $9.32-an-hour minimum wage, this time adding a range of $1.50 to $2.50 for the increase.

“As I look out at this chamber today, I recognize the political realities of the split control of Olympia,” Inslee said, referring to the GOP-led Senate majority. “But we must spend time and energy — and yes, political capital — helping make sure everyone in Washington is paid a fair wage.”

Patrick Connor, state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, said his group opposes the increase.

“A minimum-wage hike doesn’t help anybody get a job. We should be focused on getting people jobs first and then talk about whether workers are getting paid enough,” he said.