Letter to Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury, and David Bernhardt, Sec. of the Interior - Reps. O'Halleran and Gallego lead Arizona Delegation in Urging Immediate Relief for Arizona Tribes

Letter

Dear Secretaries Mnuchin and Bernhardt:

As Members of the House of Representatives who represent the 22 federally recognized Tribes in
Arizona, we write to you about the need to ensure a timely and fair distribution of the $8 billion
Coronavirus Tribal Relief Fund established by the recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security Act ("CARES Act"). While the CARES Act was being developed, we
consistently heard from tribal nations about the need for federal relief to assist them in funding
their essential government services and to help offset costs for continuing to pay employees who
were impacted by closures of tribal governments and enterprises. We therefore urge you to
immediately consult with Tribal Nations, including those in Arizona, in order to facilitate the
release of this aid throughout Indian Country as soon as possible.

Our country is waging a war with this new virus, and we need to ensure no community is left
behind without the resources they need in that fight. We must also protect our workers and keep
them paid so they can purchase the food and supplies they need to get their families through this
crisis safely. This is true of all our communities, including Tribal Nations, who are uniquely
vulnerable to this health and economic crisis.

Tribes in Arizona are on the front lines of this pandemic. The Navajo Nation is located in
Apache, Navajo, and Coconino Counties, where testing indicates that there more COVID-19
cases than the rest of the state on a per capita basis. In Navajo County, there are more than fourtimes as many cases than the state average, while Coconino County has nearly three-times the
state average. Significant resources are necessary to ensure that Native Communities have the
resources to recover from a disproportionate impact.

In addition to a disproportionate impact, many Tribes are rural and have remote communities,
making access to hospitals difficult and expensive. For example, the Havasupai Tribe resides at
the bottom of the Grand Canyon and it is costly to transport individuals to the nearest hospital.
Accordingly, the COVID-19 relief fund regulations must contemplate these unique health care
costs and the associated lost revenues.

The tribal nations within Arizona are diverse with unique health and economic needs. While
some primarily rely on the federal government to fund their government programs, others have
been able to supplement federal funding with revenues generated from tribally owned
enterprises. Unlike state and local units of governments, tribal governments lack a tax base and
must rely on the federal government and business revenues--rather than taxes--to fund essential
services for citizens. In addition, tribal governments and their enterprises are often some of the
largest employers in their regions and make up a significant component of the local economy.
Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic is having a uniquely catastrophic economic impact on tribal
nations in that they have had to close their enterprises, which means the very revenues they rely
on for services to their citizens evaporated overnight. Additionally, as some of largest employers
in their regions, the closure of tribal governments and enterprises has a dramatic impact on local
workers and economies.

It is these hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that must be addressed by the $8 billion
tribal relief fund. These consequences are being felt right now, and the priority of your
Departments should be to alleviate these immediate impacts and the impacts expected in the near
future. The CARES Act indicates that these funds are specifically targeted towards expenditures
incurred between March 1, 2020 and December 30, 2020, but we believe it is important to focus
on the present and near future impacts to help get our tribal nations through this crisis. We also
think it is important that you ensure every tribal nation receives a baseline amount of relief.

Again, we urge you to take immediate steps to consult with Arizona Tribes on the distribution of
the $8 billion Coronavirus Tribal Relief Fund to ensure the timely distribution of this money in a
way that upholds our federal trust responsibilities to Tribes and ensures tribal nations have the
resources they need to fight this pandemic.

Sincerely