Recent federal funding outlays—including the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the US$1.7 trillion OMNIBUS bill passed in December 2022—have given the Indian Health Service (IHS) historically high levels of access to federal funding. The allocations aim to address longstanding deficiencies in drinking water and sewer infrastructure for tribal communities.
IHS—which sits under the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)—is the primary federal agency responsible for funding health and sanitation needs for 574 federally recognized indigenous tribes and communities.
The Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA) IIJA boosts typical funding allocations 3x. The IIJA provides the IHS with US$700 million in appropriations per year between FY2022 and FY2026. In addition, the FY2023 OMNIBUS bill signed into law by President Biden included US$9.5 billion in advance funding for IHS, the first time advance funding has been provided to the agency.
