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- By Native News Online Staff
Every week, Native News Online brings you the latest Indian Country news and moves from Washington, D.C.
Tribes Push Back Against Congressional Review Act Threat to Grand Staircase-Escalante
Members of the Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition strongly oppose any attempt to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the 2025 Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Resource Management Plan. They urge Congress to vote “no” on any resolution of disapproval expected from Utah’s congressional delegation.
The resource management plan, finalized in January 2025 after two years of public input and tribal consultation, provides critical protections for cultural sites, sacred places, petroglyphs, springs, plants, and animals. Coalition member Autumn Gillard (Southern Paiute) emphasized that using procedural shortcuts to dismantle the plan undermines responsible stewardship and tribal governance.
“Dismantling this plan threatens our ancestral lands and sacred sites,” Gillard said. “We urge lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to uphold the approved 2025 resource management plan.”
Without this plan, important cultural and ecological resources within the monument face increased risk of looting, vandalism, and degradation. The Coalition calls on Congress to safeguard the plan that Tribes helped shape.
HHS and DEA Extend Telemedicine Flexibilities Through 2026
\The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced a fourth temporary extension of telemedicine flexibilities for prescribing controlled medications. The extension runs Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2026, allowing patients to receive prescriptions without a prior in-person visit while permanent rules are finalized.
Telemedicine prescribing flexibilities, first introduced during the COVID-19 public health emergency, have become a lifeline for millions. Data show more than 7 million controlled medication prescriptions were issued via telemedicine in 2024, and lapses in policy previously caused sharp drops in access, including a 24% decline in Medicare telehealth visits in September 2025.
The extension provides DEA and HHS additional time to finalize permanent regulations, including the proposed Special Registration for Telemedicine, which would set clear standards for prescribing controlled substances via telehealth while ensuring patient safety and preventing misuse.
Importantly, the extension does not alter existing requirements that prescriptions be issued for legitimate medical purposes, by licensed practitioners, and in compliance with federal and state law.
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