H.R. 521 would authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to convey a 23-acre parcel of land in Bethel, Alaska to the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC). The conveyance 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 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 H.R. 521 would not have a significant effect on the federal budget. Because enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 521 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.
On March 13, 2015, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 230, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, on February 15, 2015. H.R. 521 contains provisions similar to those in S. 230, and the CBO cost estimates for those provisions are the same.
