OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

SCIA Passes Three Bills During Committee Business Meeting

Press Release

Date: May 11, 2016
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Indigenous Peoples Education

Today, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA), passed the following three bills at its business meeting:

· S. 1163, the Native American Languages Reauthorization Act of 2015;

· S. 2580, the Reforming American Indian Standards of Education Act of 2016 (RAISE Act), a bill to establish the Indian Education Agency to streamline the administration of Indian education, and for other purposes; and

· S. 2739, the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation Equitable Compensation Act.

During the business meeting, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the SCIA, highlighted what each piece of legislation intended to accomplish.

"S. 1163, the Native American Languages Reauthorization Act, was introduced by Senator Udall with Senators Franken, Heinrich, Heitkamp, Murkowski, Schatz, and Tester. A legislative hearing was held in November of 2015," said Chairman Barrasso. "This would amend the Native American Programs Act of 1974 and reauthorize certain Native American language programs through fiscal year 2020, and the bill modifies requirements for survival schools, language nests, and grants.

"….S. 2739, the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation Equitable Compensation Act, was introduced by Senator Cantwell, along with Senator Murray. A legislative hearing was held for a similar bill introduced in the 113th Congress, S. 1448. S. 2739 would provide compensation to the tribe for the past and continuing use of tribal lands by the federal government for the generation of hydropower by the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington."

Barrasso then discussed his own bill, the RAISE Act, to reform the Bureau of Indian Education. "Finally, we will consider S. 2580, the RAISE Act, a bill that I introduced in February. The committee held a legislative hearing in April.

"This bill would cut through the bureaucratic red tape of the Bureau of Indian Education. The bill would separate all education-related functions from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and create an independent Indian Education Agency within the Department of the Interior.

"The Bureau of Indian Education school system includes 183 elementary and secondary schools and dormitories on 63 reservations in 23 states, with an estimated 47,000 students."


Source
arrow_upward