"Two weeks after Congress failed to pass important Indian health legislation, tribal and political leaders touted Sen. Barack Obama's plans to improve Indian health care Tuesday.

"It's really a life or death conversation we need to be having," said Rosebud Sioux tribal councilman Robert Moore.

Moore joined Nevada Indian Health Board director Larry Curley and Obama staff Tuesday in voicing support for Obama's plans during a conference call with reporters Tuesday.

The conference call comes two weeks after the U.S. House of Representatives adjourned without passing the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, legislation that would have reauthorized the primary laws that deliver health care to Native people. Tribal leaders across the nation supported the act, which the Senate passed in February by a wide margin.

The act stalled after federal legislators focused their attention on a $700 billion bailout package meant to buy devalued mortgage-backed securities."

Get the Story:
Kevin Abourezk: Tribal Advocates Tout Obama's Health Plan (RezNet News 10/14)

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