Senate Committee on Indian Affairs advances more legislation in troubled climate

Wednesday, February 6, 2019  

By Acee Agoyo

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With experts predicting gridlock and the presidential campaign already kicking into gear, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is wasting little time advancing tribal priorities after a somewhat disappointing start in the Trump era.

Since the beginning of the 116th Congress in January, the committee has approved 15 bills. All had previously passed the Senate or the committee during the prior session. And almost all of them enjoy bipartisan support.

“I look forward to seeing our committee bills advancing quickly through the Senate again, and then onto the House, and to the president this year," Sen. John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), the chairman of the panel, said as three bills were advanced at a business meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

Despite the optimism, it was those last two steps where a number of pro-tribal bills met their demise during the 115th Congress. By the end of that session, the House had failed to take action on a significant number of Indian measures -- about a dozen -- whereas the Senate only left about five on the table.

That meant President Donald Trump signed fewer Indian bills in his first two years in office than his predecessors, Republican and Democrat alike. Hoeven's committee had hoped to get 20 to his desk by the end of 2017 but the effort fell short -- in the end, he only signed about a dozen into law.

The disappointing outcome was all the more noteworthy considering that Trump arrived in Washington, D.C., in a seemingly strong political position. The House and the Senate, after all, were both controlled by his own Republican Party for the entirety of the 115th Congress.

"He inherited a pretty good situation," Aurene Martin, a citizen of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa who has worked in Indian law and policy for two decades, said at the Wiring the Rez conference last week in Arizona.

"He should have been able to parlay that into great legislative successes, which he did not do," Martin said at the event, held on the Gila River Indian Community near Phoenix.

But with Democrats now in control of the House while the Senate remains in GOP hands, Indian law and policy experts aren't expecting much out of the current session even if voters in two states made history by sending the first Native women to Capitol Hill. And the fact that the 2020 presidential cycle is already kicking into gear has raised concerns -- historically, the legislative agenda grinds to a halt as the election approaches, consuming just about everyone's attention and resources.

"I think we have to build bridges," Gary Davis, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation who serves as executive director of the Native American Financial Services Association, said at Wiring the Rez. "We don't have the luxury of building a wall in Indian Country."

Legislation to provide housing for homeless veterans in Indian Country passes Committee. Chairman @SenJohnHoeven thanks @SenatorTester for sponsoring this important legislation & @SenatorTomUdall & @SenatorIsakson for their leadership on this bill. More: https://t.co/Nw5NeKD3kw

— Senate Indian Affairs Committee (@IndianCommittee) February 6, 2019

Members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs aren't openly complaining about the troubled climate -- yet. The panel typically acts in bipartisan fashion and almost every piece of legislation makes it to the floor of the Senate with little to no objections.

Hoeven himself said the 115th Congress was a "productive" one for Indian Country during the committee's first business meeting on January 29.

But there are signs of strain. At that same meeting, Hoeven sounded a little exasperated when he noted that a bipartisan bill to make improvements for tribal self-determination and self-governance has yet to clear Congress despite more than a decade of work and strong support from Indian Country.

"It's time we get this one all the way through," Hoeven said of S.209, the PROGRESS for Indian Tribes Act last week.

A prior version of the bill was among those which passed the Senate during the last session only to be stalled in the other chamber. Hoeven noted that the package first surfaced more than 10 years ago, during the 108th Congress.

Sen. Tom Udall (D-New Mexico), the vice chairman of the committee, doesn't sound worried either. He said he's determined to advance legislation that promotes tribal sovereignty and tribal parity, a platform that includes S.256, S.257 and S.294, the three bills advanced at the meeting on Wednesday.

"Too often historical circumstances or legislative oversights have put tribes and Native communities on unequal footing in federal programs," Udall said. "But today's bills will go toward a long way toward leveling playing field of opportunity by expanding access to support programs for homeless Native veterans, small business owners on reservation and assisting tribal communities of all sizes to revitalize their Native languages."

As the committee continues to hit the ground running, its counterpart in the other chamber is getting to work. The House Committee on Natural Resources, which has jurisdiction over Indian issues, held its first hearing on Wednesday morning, with Rep. Deb Haaland (D-New Mexico), the first Native person to serve vice chair, joining other members in focusing on climate change.

Four more #ActOnClimate hearings are on the agenda this week and the next, including the first hearing of the new Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States. The panel will meet on Tuesday, February 12, as part of the Democratic focus on climate change.

The subcommittee was established to focus on issues affecting American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians. That's a major change from the days of Republican rule, when Indian issues were grouped with those of U.S. territories that don't enjoy the same government-to-government relationship and trust and treaty obligations.

So far, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has advanced 15 bills since the start of the 116th Congress on January 3, 2019. All await further action in the Senate:

• S.46, the Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Repeal Act

• S.50, the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act

• S.51, the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians Restoration Act of 2019

• S.199, the Leech Lake Band Of Ojibwe Reservation Restoration Act

• S.207, to enhance Tribal road Safety, and for other purposes

• S.209, the PROGRESS for Indian Tribes Act

• S.210, the Tribal Law and Order Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2019

• S.211, the SURVIVE Act

• S.212, the Indian Community Economic Enhancement Act

• S.216, the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation Equitable Compensation Act

• S.224, to provide for the conveyance of certain property to the Tanana Tribal Council located in Tanana, Alaska, and to the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation located in Dillingham, Alaska, and for other purposes

• S.226, the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2019.

S.256, the Esther Martinez Native American Languages Programs Reauthorization Act. The bill, named in honor of the late Esther Martinez, an Ohkay Owingeh linguist and educator, will provide $13 million a year for Native language programs.

• S.257, the Tribal HUD-VASH Act. The bill will permanently authorize a program to provide services and rental assistance to Native veterans, particularly those who are homeless or who are at risk. HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) is a joint initiative of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

• S.294, the Native American Business Incubators Program Act. The bill establishes a competitive grant program within the Department of the Interior to foster economic development in Indian Country.

The House Committee on Natural Resources has yet to advance any Indian legislation.