{"id":10508,"date":"2021-04-20T19:35:46","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T23:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=10508"},"modified":"2021-04-20T21:26:35","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T01:26:35","slug":"gaylord-news-indian-country-included-in-american-jobs-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/04\/20\/gaylord-news-indian-country-included-in-american-jobs-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaylord News: Indian Country included in American Jobs Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg delivers remarks to tribal leaders about the American Jobs Plan on April 16, 2021.\u201cWe can\u2019t talk about jobs and in…<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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Indianz.Com Video: Secretary Pete Buttigieg: American Jobs Plan and Indian Country<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
Buttigieg: Indian Country investment a priority of infrastructure plan<\/div>\r\n
Tuesday, April 20, 2021<\/div>\r\n
By Joseph Tomlinson <\/div>\r\n
Gaylord News<\/div>\r\n
gaylordnews.net<\/a><\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON – Indian Country infrastructure needs, for everything from water to housing to broadband, are a high priority of the Biden administration’s $2.2 trillion American Jobs Plan<\/a>, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last week.

<\/P>\r\nButtigieg, in a call with reporters last Monday to discuss the plan, said the need to improve 20th-century infrastructure on the lands of nearly 575 tribes has been ignored by the federal government for years.

<\/P>\r\n“A lot of parts of Indian country have been on the short end of … infrastructure investment maintenance, over the years,” Buttigieg said.<\/span>

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The American Jobs Plan invests tens of billions of dollars directly in tribal communities, offering historic opportunities to improve housing, broadband, roads and more in Indian Country. Learn more from the White House. #AmericanJobsPlan #NationToNation https:\/\/t.co\/KNFIMFnPT0<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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<\/P>\r\nThe American Jobs Plan<\/a> is President Joe Biden\u2019s $2.2 trillion plan to transform the nation\u2019s infrastructure. Along with the American Rescue Plan, which aimed to help Native Americans recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the administration intends for the American Jobs Plan to help solve the tribes\u2019 growing infrastructural needs.

<\/P>\r\n“When we talk about equity, we’re thinking a lot about racial and economic justice,” Buttigieg said of the plan. “But we\u2019re also thinking about stretches of this country that have too often been left out of the promises of this kind of great infrastructure.”

<\/P>\r\nFor Native American communities, those needs include critical water infrastructure, internet broadband, housing, transportation, tribal colleges and universities and roads, Buttigieg said.

<\/P>\r\nBroadband was among the top priorities for tribes with the American Rescue Plan, which funding to come from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Many families did not have access to the internet throughout the pandemic, making it difficult for their students to attend distance learning classes.

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The American Jobs Plan is going to modernize the way Americans live, starting with the roads we drive on.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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<\/P>\r\nBiden’s infrastructure plan aims to provide 100% broadband coverage across rural and tribal communities.

<\/P>\r\n“The lack of access to broadband on tribal lands is particularly severe,” said Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the National Economic Council. “There’s going to be a significant tribal component to that.”

<\/P>\r\nThe American Jobs Plan also aims to inject funding into research and development programs for colleges and universities across the nation, including tribal. But Monte Randall, president of the College of the Muscogee Nation, believes broadband access is still the top concern for his students.

<\/P>\r\n“There are definitely challenges with connecting to our students on virtual platforms,” Randall said. Many College of the Muscogee Nation students live in rural areas where internet access is not available.

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