[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 118 (Monday, July 18, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H6686-H6687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        DESERT SAGE YOUTH WELLNESS CENTER ACCESS IMPROVEMENT ACT

  Mr. HUFFMAN. 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.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                 S. 144

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Desert Sage Youth Wellness 
     Center Access Improvement Act''.

[[Page H6687]]

  


     SEC. 2. ACCESS ROAD FOR DESERT SAGE YOUTH WELLNESS CENTER.

       (a) Acquisition of Land.--
       (1) Authorization.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, acting through the Director of the Indian Health 
     Service, is authorized to acquire, from willing sellers, the 
     land in Hemet, California, upon which is located a dirt road 
     known as ``Best Road'', beginning at the driveway of the 
     Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center at Faure Road and extending 
     to the junction of Best Road and Sage Road.
       (2) Compensation.--The Secretary shall pay fair market 
     value for the land authorized to be acquired under paragraph 
     (1). Fair market value shall be determined--
       (A) using Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land 
     Acquisitions; and
       (B) by an appraiser acceptable to the Secretary and the 
     owners of the land to be acquired.
       (3) Additional rights.--In addition to the land referred to 
     in paragraph (1), the Secretary is authorized to acquire, 
     from willing sellers, land or interests in land as reasonably 
     necessary to construct and maintain the road as required by 
     subsection (b).
       (b) Construction and Maintenance of Road.--
       (1) Construction.--After the Secretary acquires the land 
     pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall construct on 
     that land a paved road that is generally located over Best 
     Road to facilitate access to the Desert Sage Youth Wellness 
     Center in Hemet, California.
       (2) Maintenance.--The Secretary shall--
       (A) maintain and manage the road constructed pursuant to 
     paragraph (1); or
       (B) enter into an agreement with Riverside County, 
     California, to own, maintain and manage the road constructed 
     pursuant to paragraph (1).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Huffman) and the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. 
Herrell) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HUFFMAN. 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.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. 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.
  Ms. HERRELL. 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. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, S. 144.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

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