Students attend the reopening of the Santa Rosa Ranch School, a Bureau of Indian Education facility located on the Tohono O’odham Nation in Arizona, on March 25, 2019. Photo: Office of Public Affairs - Indian Affairs

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House subcommittee schedules hearing on infrastructure in Indian Country

Monday, July 8, 2019

By Acee Agoyo

The House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States will be taking testimony this week on the many infrastructure needs in Indian Country.

Aging roads, bridges and facilities in tribal communities are in need of critical improvements, maintenance and outright replacement. The backlog in deferred maintenance. for roads and bridges is an estimated $280 million, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and only 17 percent of reservation roads are in acceptable condition.

Fixing the worst Bureau of Indian Education schools will cost billions of dollars, according to some government estimates. The deferred maintenance backlog at these facilities runs at least $643 million.

News Release (03/25/2019) - Assistant Secretary Tara Mac Lean Sweeney Reopens Improved, Expanded Santa Rosa Ranch School - https://t.co/GZzkMUyX3H #IndianAffairs pic.twitter.com/yNcFEdBWLL
— Indian Affairs (@USIndianAffairs) March 26, 2019

“My priority is for our BIE students to receive a quality education and study in safe facilities and environments," Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney said in March when she helped reopen the Santa Rosa Ranch School, located on the Tohono O’odham Nation in Arizona. The facility had closed in December in order to address safety deficiencies.

The situation isn't any better at the Indian Health Service. The backlog on "priority" hospitals, clinics and related infrastructure runs about $2.0 billion while fixing all of them is estimated to cost a whopping $14.5 billion.

Despite the documented needs, the Trump administration only sought to invest about $238 million in replacing and fixing Indian schools in the coming fiscal year, according to a budget document. Key members of Congress boosted the amount to $387 million in the "minibus" appropriations bill that cleared the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on June 25.

Likewise, the Trump administration requested just $165.8 million for new facilities at the IHS, which represented a $77.7 million cut from current levels, according to a budget document. When other construction, maintenance and improvement items are added, the fiscal year 2020 budget proposal included $803.0 million for hospitals, clinics and related facilities in Indian Country.

In the H.R.3055, the bill that funds the IHS for the coming fiscal year, lawmakers boosted the overall health facilities construction amount to $964 million. But the measure still has to be taken up in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate and signed into law before the larger amounts make their way to tribal communities.

The House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States hearing is taking place at 2pm Eastern on Thursday in Room 1324 of the Longworth House Office Building. A witness list hasn't been posted online.

The subcommittee is part of the large House Committee on Natural Resources.

House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States Notice

Tribal Infrastructure: Roads, Bridges, and Buildings (July 11, 2019)

Recent Office of Inspector General Reports - Indian Schools

Fire Alarm and Suppression Systems at BIE-Funded School Not Fully Functioning (June 1, 2018)
The Bureau of Indian Education Is Not Ensuring That Background Checks at Indian Education Facilities Are Complete (February 8, 2018)
Company Overbilled Tribal Schools (November 14, 2017)
BIA Employee stole recyclable metal from a BIA School (October 2, 2017)
Allegations of Theft by a Tribal School Superintendent Unfounded (May 1, 2017)
Investigation Into Allegations of Stolen BIE Grant Funds (February 2, 2017)