Nez pointed out that a federal judge, as part of a case in which the Navajo Nation is a plaintiff, already ordered Treasury to disburse the funds to 574 recognized Indian nations across the country. The department itself previously told the court that it was going to start depositing the money into tribal banks accounts as soon as Tuesday. With that pledge already broken, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California), the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, on Thursday called on Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin to release the money "now." She even said the $8 billion isn't "anywhere near enough" to address the needs of tribal communities. "I wanted more, and I want more in the next bill," Pelosi said during her weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol. Key members of Congress, Democrat and Republican alike, had sought $20 billion in coronavirus relief for tribal governments. They ended up settling for $8 billion in the CARES Act (H.R.748) but even that pot of funding was hard to keep in the final package, lawmakers have said, with one GOPer calling it a "knife-fighting" endeavor.The Navajo Nation and members of Congress want to know: Where is the $8 billion #CoronavirusReliefFund promised to tribal governments under the #CARESAct? It's been over a month and Indian Country hasn't seen a penny. #COVDI19 @NNPrezNez @NNVPLizer2019 https://t.co/bCr2yPNaKa pic.twitter.com/Z4Bx0vnRaX
— indianz.com (@indianz) April 30, 2020
Republicans are also worried about the status of the fund. In a letter to Mnuchin on Wednesday, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota) called on the Trump administration to ensure a "fair and equitable" distribution of the money. The tribes in the Great Plains, a region that includes Nebraska in addition to North and South Dakota, account for nearly 25 percent of the Indian land base, the lawmakers said. Their citizens represent 10 percent of the enrolled tribal member population, they told Mnuchin. "We ask that when you are allocating funding amongst the tribes, you allot a fair and equitable amount to the Great Plains Region based on these statistics and their demonstrated need and difficult public health challenges," Rounds and Cramer wrote. The drama will once again come to a head on Friday. That's when a status report is due in federal court, following a landmark ruling in which a judge told the Trump administration that it could not -- at this point in time -- disburse any of the $8 billion to Alaska Native corporations, or ANCs. Judge Amit P. Mehta ordered the parties -- the tribal plaintiffs and the federal government -- to discuss the next steps in the case. In particular, he wants Treasury to explain what is happening with the money. “The joint status report shall also update the court on any developments in the disbursement of Title V funds to federally recognized Indian tribes, as well as any funds withheld from ANCs pursuant to the court’s preliminary injunction order,” Mehta said in his directive earlier this week.Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) are calling on Trump administration to ensure tribes in Great Plains receive "fair and equitable" share of $8 billion #CoronavirusReliefFund. #COVID19 #Coronavirus @SenatorRounds @SenKevinCramer https://t.co/NVGDaftofz pic.twitter.com/jdCe5HUhch
— indianz.com (@indianz) April 29, 2020
On Monday, Mehta granted a preliminary injunction requested by the tribal plaintiffs in the case. He temporarily barred the Treasury from distributing any of the $8 billion to ANCs because he found that they do not qualify as “tribal governments” under Title V of the CARES Act. The decision was based on a reading of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) that have been heavily debated in the litigation. “As no known ANC satisfies ISDEAA’s eligibility clause, no ANC can partake in the $8 billion funding set aside for tribal governments,” Mehta wrote in the 34-page ruling. Though Mehta's order granting the preliminary injunction was appealable, the Trump administration has not taken any steps to do so. Representatives from Treasury have not appeared on any recent Indian Country COVID-19 calls, so questions posed to the department have gone unanswered, according to people who have participated.The federal judge assigned to the #CARESAct lawsuit ordered the parties to submit a status report by May 1, 2020, following a landmark ruling affecting the $8 billion #CoronavirusReliefFund promised to tribal governments. #COVID19 #Coronavirus https://t.co/bIUKnRbn31
— indianz.com (@indianz) April 29, 2020
Daniel Kowalski, who serves as Counselor to Secretary Mnuchin, was Treasury's lead on the $8 billion fund. He participated in two tribal consultation calls earlier this month that drew a total of nearly 3,000 participants, and he told them that his department would release some sort of formula, methodology or explanation to let them know how the money would be distributed. But that pledge has come and gone too, even as Kowalski, during a non-Indian Country specific conference call on Wednesday, said that the money promised to states and local governments has already gone out the door. "So all $142 billion available to those governmental entities has been paid," Kowalski said on the call, according to a person who listened. Kowalski said the vast majority of the state and local portion was exhausted last Friday -- the same day of oral arguments in the tribal case. "The tribal funds should start to flow soon," Kowalski added. He noted that litigation is "ongoing" but said: "We believe we have determined a path forward while staying within the court's order to not pay Alaska Native corporations."Daniel Kowalski, Counselor to the Secretary @USTreasury: "Opportunity Zones can restore prosperity to people and communities that have been left behind." According to Kowalski, about 366 designated Opportunity Zones nationwide overlap tribal lands. #ECWS19 pic.twitter.com/3guEB852nM
— NCAI (@NCAI1944) February 12, 2019
Hundreds of tribes in Alaska, along with hundreds of Native for-profit corporations, have lined up for shares of the $8 billion. With internet service severely lacking in many remote villages, some regional entities stepped up to help the communities in their territories submit information to Treasury's CARES Act portal before before an 11:59pm Eastern deadline on April 17. "Calista’s sole focus in participating in the Tribal Relief Program is to benefit YK Delta people and communities and not Calista’s corporate finances," President/CEO Andrew Guy said of the Yukon-Kuskokwim region, where 58 rural villages are spread around a territory the size of Oregon. With controversy over the fund generating headlines in the mainstream media and drawing the attention of top politicians, Guy and some of his fellow Alaska Native executives have been open to the possibility that they might not receive any shares of the $8 billion, or if they do, they won't utilize the payments for their own operations. One regional corporation, Koniag, has promised to "ensure one hundred percent of the funds received" go to the people. “Koniag’s sole focus in applying for the CARES Act Tribal Relief Funding is to help our Alaska Native people and communities impacted by the pandemic," Chairman and CEO Ron Unger said.Quyana! Calista Corporation @CalistaCorp staff worked late into the night to ensure tribes in the region are included in the $8 billion #CoronavirusReliefFund. #Alaska #COVID19 #Coronavirus https://t.co/Tne41K2fk9
— indianz.com (@indianz) April 21, 2020
Shiprock Alternative Care Site ready to house positive COVID-19 patients SHIPROCK, N.M. — Navajo Nation President...
Posted by Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer on Wednesday, April 29, 2020
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