LOS ANGELES, Oct. 21, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The healthcare agenda of Indians to California congressional delegates is apparently a moot point. In an attempt to obtain a clearer understanding of the state's congressional candidates' stance on critical Indian healthcare issues, The Action for Indian Health Campaign (AIHC) issued a brief survey to all California congressional candidates, including challengers and those running for re-election. The polling initiative, conducted by The AIHC, which is a joint effort of several organizations focused on the healthcare needs of California Indians, contacted each campaign five times over the course of five months. A staggering 80% were unresponsive.
"We were extremely disappointed at California Congressional candidates' evident indifference toward important issues and concerns surrounding their key constituents' growing well-being," Jim Crouch, executive director of the California Rural Indian Health Board (CRIHB), an organization addressing the healthcare needs of Indians in California. "We made the false assumption that the needs of Indians would at least be a concern of these candidates as they develop their agendas for a seat. What we found was the polar opposite. It's disheartening."
Of the 53 federal delegations -- approximately 90 incumbents and candidates surveyed, the pollsters received 18 responses. Not a single Republican incumbent responded to the survey. Those respondents included:
* Dist. 01 Rep. Mike Thompson (D) St. Helena * Dist. 03 Candidate Gabe Castillo (D) Sacramento * Dist. 05 Rep. Robert Matsui (D) Sacramento * Dist. 06 Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D) Petaluma * Dist. 07 Rep. George Miller (D) Concord * Dist. 12 Rep. Tom Lantos (D) Burlingame * Dist. 13 Rep. Pete Stark (D) Freemont * Dist. 09 Rep. Barbara Lee (D) Oakland * Dist. 10 Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D) Walnut Creek * Dist. 14 Rep. Anna Eshoo (D) Sacramento * Dist. 18 Rep. Dennis Cordoza (D) Merced * Dist. 25 Candidate Tim Willoughby (D) Crowley Lake * Dist. 28 Candidate David Hernandez (R) North Hollywood * Dist. 30 Rep. Henry Waxman (D) Beverly Hills * Dist. 38 Rep. Grace Napolitano (D) Norwalk * Dist. 43 Rep. Joe Baca (D) Washington * Dist. 49 Rep. Bob Filner (D) San Diego * Dist. 53 Rep. Susan Davis (D) San Diego
The four-question survey covered critical healthcare concerns and federal appropriations issues affecting the American Indian community that makes up over one percent of the California voting population. Those critical issues included Indian Health Service annual appropriation; hospital facility funding; an epidemiology center program; and the reauthorization of the Indian health care improvement act.
The full questionnaire, and survey findings, can be obtained through contacting CRIHB at www.crihb.org .
About Action for Indian Health Campaign
The Action for Indian Health Campaign is a joint activity of Riverside San Bernardino County Indian Health Council. Southern Indian Health Council and the eleven member Tribal Health Programs of the California Rural Indian Health Board representing California Indians from Oregon to the Mexican borders.