"Faced with the misconception that every tribe is casino-rich, 300 Native Americans went to Capitol Hill yesterday and today to lobby lawmakers to help turn around deplorable housing conditions in Indian Country.
Besides concerns that inflation and tight budgets were reducing the funds available for housing, tribal leaders were particularly upset that President Bush's budget zeroes out funds for the National American Indian Housing Council, which provides training, technical assistance and communications programs for tribal housing authorities. The administration tried to kill the $4.6 million program for fiscal 2006, but Congress restored $2 million.
Chester Carl , chairman of NAIHC and executive director of the Navajo Housing Authority, and tribal housing leaders yesterday talked about overcrowded living conditions, substandard housing, lack of adequate heating and clean water, and isolated conditions.
"NAIHC is the driver of progress in housing throughout Indian Country, helping build the capacity of tribes, which produced more than 6,000 housing units for their people last fiscal year," Carl said at a news conference."
Get the Story:Special Interests by Judy Sarasohn: Lobbying Against Cliche of Casino-Rich Tribes (The Washington Post 3/2)
pwpwd Relevant Links:
Office of Public and Indian Housing, HUD - http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih
National American Indian Housing Council - http://naihc.net Related Stories:
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