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Letter to Mark Lee Greenblatt, Department of the Interior Inspector General - Huffman, Grijalva, Subcommittee Chairs Request DOI Inspector General Investigate Alaska Native Corporation Eligibility for Tribal Relief Funding

Letter

Date: May 1, 2020
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Business and Consumers Indigenous Peoples Government Budget and Spending

Dear Mr. Greenblatt:

In the recent Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act relief package,
Congress set aside $8 billion in funds to help tribal governments respond to the current pandemic
and continue essential government services.To guide the disbursement of these funds, the
Department of the Treasury consulted with Department of the Interior (DOI) Assistant Secretary
for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney. In the course of this process, Assistant Secretary Sweeney
recommended a dubious interpretation of the CARES Act language that would make Alaska
Native Corporations (ANCs) eligible for the $8 billion. Unlike federally recognized tribal
governments, ANCs are for-profit companies that continue to receive revenue during the pandemic
and are eligible to apply for funding under other legislative provisions.

Assistant Secretary Sweeney previously served as vice president for the Arctic Slope Regional
Corporation, the largest ANC in terms of revenue, of which she remains a shareholder. Her active
financial interest in Arctic Slope raises questions about whether her involvement in determining
ANCs would be eligible for CARES Act funding specifically intended for federally recognized
tribal governments violated ethics rules and/or pledges.

In addition, it was recently reported that DOI released sensitive data from tribal governments'
CARES Act applications to the ANCs in an allegedly improper manner and/or for improper
reasons.

The Committee requests the DOI Office of Inspector General conduct an investigation into these
matters, including but not necessarily limited to the following:

1. Whether Assistant Secretary Sweeney violated any ethics rules, regulations, laws, or
pledges regarding her involvement in CARES Act relief administration, specifically as
it relates to the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and/or other ANCs;

2. Whether any DOI components or employees, including Assistant Secretary Sweeney,
committed any legal violations, ethics or otherwise, in causing, encouraging, or
allowing the disclosure of CARES Act-related information to other parties.

Considering the collaborative nature of DOI and the Department of the Treasury's work on
disseminating CARES Act funding to federally recognized Tribal governments, the Committee
encourages DOI OIG to work jointly with Treasury OIG and other potentially relevant federal
oversight bodies on these issues, to the extent necessary and appropriate.

For more information regarding this request please contact my staff, Chris Martinez, Counsel for
the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations at Chris.Martinez@mail.house.gov and Naomi
Miguel, Professional Staff for the Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoples at
Naomi.Miguel@mail.house.gov. Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.


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