Members of Congress visited the Navajo Nation on Monday to tour reservation housing and to hold a hearing on housing conditions in Indian Country.

The visit was prompted by Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), whose district includes parts of the Navajo reservation. He urged the House Financial Services subcommittee on housing and community opportunity to see the overcrowding and poor infrastructure first-hand.

"Those are the toughest living conditions I've seen," subcommittee chairman Rep. Robert Ney (R-Ohio) was quoted as saying.

After the tour, the subcomittee took testimony from five tribal leaders, two top officials from the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Housing and Urban Development and several experts in housing and finance. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was invited to testify but did not attend.

The written testimony can be found at http://financialservices.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=detail&hearing=294.

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Navajo housing decried (The Arizona Republic 5/4)

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