Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center Access Improvement Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 144) to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Indian Health Service, to acquire private land to facilitate access to the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center in Hemet, California, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 144 authorizes the Indian Health Service, or IHS, to purchase land in Hemet, California, for the purpose of constructing a paved road that facilitates access to the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center. IHS will then maintain the road or enter into an agreement with Riverside County, California, to maintain the road.

This critical legislation will expand healthcare access to American Indian and Alaska Native youth in California by ensuring that the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center can be reached by safe roadways.

Prior to 2016, indigenous youth in California experiencing substance use disorders were forced to travel to out-of-State facilities in order to receive care. Recognizing this added barrier to quality care, IHS built the Desert Sage Wellness Center in Hemet, California. The center is notable for providing culturally sensitive treatment to indigenous youth battling substance use disorders and can hold up to 32 patients at a time.

Unfortunately, during the center's construction, IHS was unable to reach an agreement with adjacent property holders on the pavement and maintenance of an access road to the facility. As a result, the center is currently accessible only by a dirt road that is often washed out from heavy rainfall or in a general state of disrepair.

The center remains the sole IHS youth regional treatment facility in the State, and it is a much-needed resource to California's American Indian and Alaska Native communities. However, the center's physical inaccessibility poses yet another obstacle to indigenous youth seeking care.

This bill will solve the issue by granting IHS the authority to acquire the necessary nearby land in order to build an operational access road to the center.

I thank Senator Feinstein for moving this important bill through the Senate, as well as our colleague, Representative Raul Ruiz, for championing the House version of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge swift adoption of S. 144, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce a bill to facilitate improved access to the Indian Health Service's Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center in Hemet, California. My colleague Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) is joining me as an original cosponsor of the bill.

The Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center is the only currently operating center in the State of California that provides culturally-sensitive substance use disorder treatment to indigenous youth.

The Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center, located in Hemet, is run by the Indian Health Service. The facility not only provides healthcare, but also academic support, family therapy, and treatment plans to support the healing and long-term recovery of youth enrolled at the Center.

Currently, the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center is only accessible by a dirt road. This limits access to the Center during California's extreme wet and dry seasons. The dirt road frequently cracks or floods during these times and creates significant challenges to those depending on the Center's important work.

The Indian Health Service does not currently have the authority to buy land from willing private landowners who are supportive of selling their land to provide for a paved access road. It is necessary that we provide for safe and dignified access to the center, and I am pleased to reintroduce this legislation to do so.

This commonsense bill would authorize the Director of the Indian Health Service to purchase land from willing sellers and construct a paved road to improve access to the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center. After the road's construction, Riverside County would maintain it.

This bill has the support of local stakeholders, including Riverside County. An identical, bipartisan bill is being introduced by Representatives Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Nanette Barragan (D-CA), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), and Pete Aguilar (D-CA) in the House of Representatives.

This bill passed the Senate unanimously last year, and I look forward to working with my colleagues this Congress to enact this bill into law.

Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce a bill to facilitate improved access to the Indian Health Service's Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center in Hemet, California. My colleague Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) is joining me as an original cosponsor of the bill.

The Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center is the only currently operating center in the State of California that provides culturally-sensitive substance use disorder treatment to indigenous youth.

The Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center, located in Hemet, is run by the Indian Health Service. The facility not only provides healthcare, but also academic support, family therapy, and treatment plans to support the healing and long-term recovery of youth enrolled at the Center.

Currently, the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center is only accessible by a dirt road. This limits access to the Center during California's extreme wet and dry seasons. The dirt road frequently cracks or floods during these times and creates significant challenges to those depending on the Center's important work.

The Indian Health Service does not currently have the authority to buy land from willing private landowners who are supportive of selling their land to provide for a paved access road. It is necessary that we provide for safe and dignified access to the center, and I am pleased to reintroduce this legislation to do so.

This commonsense bill would authorize the Director of the Indian Health Service to purchase land from willing sellers and construct a paved road to improve access to the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center. After the road's construction, Riverside County would maintain it.

This bill has the support of local stakeholders, including Riverside County. An identical, bipartisan bill is being introduced by Representatives Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Nanette Barragan (D-CA), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), and Pete Aguilar (D-CA) in the House of Representatives.

This bill passed the Senate unanimously last year, and I look forward to working with my colleagues this Congress to enact this bill into law.

Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 144 would authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Indian Health Service, to purchase land from willing sellers at fair market value to facilitate access to the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center in Hemet, California.

In March 2017, IHS opened California's first youth regional treatment center in Hemet, California. The Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center was designed as a coed inpatient facility to serve Native youth aged 12 to 17 with substance abuse and co-occurring disorders.

The facility is located approximately a half mile from a paved county road. According to the IHS, a half-mile access road was granted under an easement from two landowners at the time construction began on the facility. Unfortunately, the IHS was unable to come to a purchase agreement with the landowners by the time the construction was completed.

To secure access to the facility, the IHS is requesting purchasing authority since authorities previously granted have since expired for this facility.

It is my understanding that this road has historically been dirt and gravel, and it can be washed out in heavy rains, thus affecting access to the facility.

Once the title to the access road is acquired, the IHS can make improvements, specifically to pave the road, which will provide better and safer access to the Desert Sage facility for staff, Native youth seeking care, and visitors.

After the necessary improvements are made, S. 144 provides that the IHS can continue to own and maintain the road, or it can enter into an agreement with Riverside County, California, for the county to own, maintain, and manage the road.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc: Calendar No. 21, S. 144; Calendar No. 40, S. 325; Calendar No. 52, S. 559.

I ask unanimous consent that the bills be considered read a third time en bloc.

I know of no further debate on the bills.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc: Calendar No. 38, S. 108; Calendar No. 39, S. 314; Calendar No. 41, S. 548; Calendar No. 42, S. 549; and Calendar No. 43, S. 550.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bills be considered read a third time and passed en bloc and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc with no intervening action or debate.

The bills were ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and were read the third time, en bloc.

The bills (S. 108, S. 314, S. 548, S. 549, and S. 550) were passed en bloc, as follows: