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.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Stanton (for himself and Mr. Joyce of Ohio) introduced …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill elevates the Director of the Indian Health Service (IHS) to a Cabinet-level position called Assistant Secretary for Indian Health. The legislation increases the position's bureaucratic rank within the Department of Health and Human Services, establishes direct reporting to the HHS Secretary, and creates a new Deputy Assistant Secretary role. This is primarily an administrative reorganization designed to enhance the political visibility and decision-making authority of federal Indian healthcare leadership.
Who Benefits and How
Native American tribes and tribal health organizations benefit from having a higher-ranking federal advocate with direct access to the HHS Secretary, which could translate to stronger influence over healthcare funding and policy decisions affecting Indian Country. The Indian Health Service as an agency gains increased bureaucratic clout within the federal government, potentially improving its ability to compete for budget resources. The current and future IHS leadership directly benefits through a salary increase, as the position moves from Executive Level V to Level IV (a higher pay grade).
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal taxpayers face a minimal cost increase from the higher salary for the Assistant Secretary position and the creation of the Deputy Assistant Secretary role, though this represents a negligible addition to the overall federal budget. The HHS Secretary's office may experience a slight increase in coordination demands from having the IHS leader report directly to the Secretary rather than through an intermediary, though this could also improve communication efficiency.
Key Provisions
- Renames the Director of Indian Health Service to Assistant Secretary for Indian Health
- Elevates the position's pay grade from Executive Schedule Level V to Level IV
- Establishes direct reporting relationship between the Assistant Secretary and the HHS Secretary
- Creates a new Deputy Assistant Secretary position to assist with IHS administration
- Updates all federal references to the "Director" to refer to the new "Assistant Secretary" title
- Increases the total number of HHS Assistant Secretaries from 6 to 7 to accommodate the elevated position
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
To elevate the Director of the Indian Health Service to Assistant Secretary for Indian Health within HHS, increasing the position's authority and visibility in the federal bureaucracy
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Bureaucratic elevation strategy to increase political visibility and authority of Indian health programs by raising the IHS director to Assistant Secretary level, which includes Cabinet-level access and higher GS pay scale (Level IV)"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Indian Health Service as an agency (increased bureaucratic clout)
- Native American tribes and tribal health organizations (stronger federal advocate)
- Current and future IHS Directors (higher pay grade and direct access to HHS Secretary)
- Native American healthcare advocates (elevated political attention)
Likely Burden Bearers
- Federal taxpayers (minimal - slightly higher salary for the position)
- Other HHS Assistant Secretaries (potential bureaucratic competition for resources)
- Office of Personnel Management (administrative burden of reclassifying the position)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services
- "the_assistant_secretary"
- → Assistant Secretary for Indian Health (formerly Director of Indian Health Service)
- "the_deputy_assistant_secretary"
- → Deputy Assistant Secretary (newly created position)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A new position that may be appointed by the Assistant Secretary with approval of the Secretary to assist in administering IHS activities
Assistant Secretary for Indian Health, elevated from the position of Director of the Indian Health Service
Indian Health Service, a federal agency within the Department of Health and Human Services providing healthcare to Native American and Alaska Native populations
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology