American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the importance of the $31 billion allocated to tribal governments under the American Rescue Plan (ARP), which includes a critical investment of $20 billion for direct relief for the 574 federally recognized tribal nations across the United States.

As you know, this funding is a lifeline to Native communities, who have suffered the most devastating and disproportionate impact of the public health and economic crises of the COVID-19 pandemic. This $20 billion fund is critical for tribal governments to address the economic losses and health disparities that were left unaddressed through funding dedicated under the CARES Act, and I applaud your leadership to prioritize tribal nations in the ARP since the federal government's trust responsibility has largely been ignored throughout history.

In an effort to strengthen the intended goal of investing these funds into Indian Country, I first and foremost would like to stress that the federal government's trust responsibility to our tribal nations is of upmost importance. It is absolutely essential that in its implementation of the American Rescue Plan Act and in its distribution of funding allocations, the Department of the Treasury fully and properly consults with tribal leaders across the country, as required by law. Additionally, in my conversations with tribal leaders over the last year, I have heard three main concerns about relief fund allocations for Native communities that are addressed in turn below.

First, I respectfully suggest clarification of the ARP language of Section 9901, indicating how the $19 of the $20 billion direct relief for tribal governments is to be allocated by Treasury to ensure economic recovery funds can be used in a flexible manner, which was left unaddressed under the CARES Act. The availability of flexible spending is of grave importance since tribal governments faced significant impacts from COVID-19 and, as a result, lost critical government revenue. It is estimated that tribal nations sustained 35 percent revenue loss in 2020 since they lack traditional tax bases enjoyed by state and local governments. Thus, tribal enterprise revenues supply a majority of funding for basic government services to make up for these losses.

As it stands, the language in this bill allows the Department of the Treasury to implement this Fund such that tribes are able to meet their individual and unique needs, whether it be addressing employment costs, providing health care or education, or investing in much-needed infrastructure. That flexibility is owed as a measure of tribal sovereignty, and I will work with the Department of the Treasury to ensure that the bill is implemented as such.

Second, the Department of the Treasury must conduct robust tribal consultation with tribal nations to determine the most effective and fair ways of measuring tribal population figures. Again, this issue was left largely unaddressed under the language of the CARES Act, and the past administration's decision to utilize the Indian Housing Block Grant formula for its tribal population calculation resulted in inaccurate funding distributions across the country. I urge the Department to ask tribal governments to submit comments on their preferred population metrics, and actually take those comments into account in an effort to strengthen our government-to-government relationship with tribal nations.

Finally, Congress's intent for the tribal set-aside in the Fund is to provide an equitable allocation between economic and population-based factors. The Department of the Treasury must provide a strong baseline of support for all tribal governments, ensuring that no tribes are excluded from these funds, in addition to considerations for revenue losses and cost increases.

I thank the Speaker for the opportunity to speak to this historic investment in Indian County, and for continued work to uphold the Federal trust responsibility to the 574 federally recognized tribal nations in the United States. I look forward to working with the Department of the Treasury on swift implementation of this landmark legislation.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source