The Obama administration is reviewing most of the inventory for the Indian Reservation Roads program, a senior Bureau of Indian Affairs aide said on Thursday.

The BIA has hired an independent contractor to look at 75 percent of the inventory data. The goal is to ensure that $450 million in program funds are used for roads that primarily benefit tribes, rather than state or local governments.

"This data review and clarification of the inventory will reflect the needs of tribal road transportation and serve as an important tool to help make the program fair and equitable for all tribes," BIA chief of staff Paul Tsosie said in testimony to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

Some tribes have complained that state and local roads are being added to the IRR inventory, causing them to lose out on funds. But other tribes say those roads should be in the system because they run through reservations.

Get the Story:
Navajo leader bemoans tribes’ lack of control over transportation funds (Cronkite News 9/15)

Committee Notice:
OVERSIGHT HEARING on Tribal Transportation: Paving the Way for Jobs, Infrastructure, and Safety in Native Communities(September 15, 2011)

Related Stories:
Witness list for SCIA oversight hearing on tribal transportation (9/13)
Senate Indian Affairs Committee roundtable and two hearings (9/7)