As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs February 25, 2015
S. 230 would authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to convey a specified 23-acre parcel of federal land in Bethel, Alaska, from the United States to the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC). The conveyance of the property would be made by a warranty deed, which is a type of deed that provides that the grantor (the United States) has a good title free and clear of all liens and encumbrances and that the grantor promises to defend the title to the property against all persons claiming the property.
The Indian Self-Determination and Education Act allows Indian tribal entities to assume responsibility for the provision of health care services funded by the Indian Health Service (IHS), the agency within HHS responsible for providing health care to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The YKHC, a nonprofit tribal organization that administers health care services for 58 tribal communities in Alaska, operates a hospital under the authority of that act on the parcel of land that would be transferred under this bill. According to IHS, the YKHC currently does not pay rent or any other remuneration to IHS for the use of the land. As a result, CBO estimates that enacting S. 230 would have no significant effect on the federal budget and would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
S. 230 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would benefit the YKHC by transferring the property to the corporation. Any costs to the YKHC would be incurred voluntarily.
