Sen. Coburn proposing a wide range of cuts to Indian programs

Thursday, August 4, 2011  

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) is proposing to eliminate a wide range of Indian programs as part of his Back to Black plan to reduce the federal deficit by $9 trillion over the next 10 years and balance the budget.

At the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Coburn wants to trim real estate services, saying the agency has "proven a poor steward of these resources and responsibility as evidenced in the class action lawsuit Cobell v. Salazar." He wants to eliminate the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, reduce the Indian Guaranteed Loan Program, the Office of Corrections that oversees detention facilities, cut all tribal college funding, end the forestry, get rid of the Office of Federal Acknowledgement in the next five years and eliminate job training and placement programs

"Despites [sic] years of federal assistance, Native Americans and Alaska Natives have continued to experience economic hardships for various reasons," the report states.

Coburn also wants to end the $2 billion Tribal Economic Development Bond Program. He says tribes are issuing tax-exempt bonds for projects that aren't fulfilling an "essential government function."

"The bonds are not always put to the best use," Coburn's report states.

Get the Story:
Coburn Proposes Ending Tribal Tax Exempt Bonds, CDFI Funding, Tax Credits (Indian Country Today 8/4)