Senate Committee on Indian Affairs adds business meeting to agenda

Monday, May 8, 2017  

Young citizens of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts participate in the Wopanaak Language Reclamation Project. Photo" WLRP

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is meeting on Wednesday afternoon to consider two bills.

Both measures, one for Indian education and another for federal recognition, have bipartisan support. Similar versions cleared the committee during the last session of Congress and Sen. John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), the new chairman of the panel, has placed a priority on those kinds of bills

The agenda for the meeting follows:

• S.458, the Native Educator Support and Training Act (NEST Act). The bill aims to recruit and retain teachers in Indian Country by providing new scholarships, federal student loan forgiveness and teacher development courses, according to Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana).
• S.691, the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act. The bill extends federal recognition to six tribes in Virginia.

The business meeting takes place on Wednesday, May 7, at 2:30pm in Room 628 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building. It will be immediately followed by a legislative hearing.

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notices:
Business Meeting to Consider S. 458 & S. 691 (May 10, 2017)
Legislative Hearing to Receive Testimony on S. 772 and S. 825 (May 10, 2017)