{"id":548752,"date":"2026-05-22T10:38:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:38:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=548752"},"modified":"2026-05-27T11:03:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T16:03:52","slug":"press-release-sen-murkowski-r-alaska-discusses-tribal-priorities-at-oversight-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/05\/22\/press-release-sen-murkowski-r-alaska-discusses-tribal-priorities-at-oversight-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Release: Sen. Murkowski (R-Alaska) discusses tribal priorities at oversight hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_youtu-be\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/KgU3whIsdHo\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01\/maxresdefault-204.jpg\" alt=\"Examining the FY2027 Budget Requests for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/KgU3whIsdHo\">\n\t\t\tExamining the FY2027 Budget Requests for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/KgU3whIsdHo\">\n\t\t\t<p>Senate Committee on Indian AffairsOversight Hearing to \u201cExamine the President\u2019s Budget Requests for Fiscal Year 2027 for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the&#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/s\/desktop\/ce6b1040\/img\/favicon.ico\" alt=\"YouTube\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\tYouTube\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">\r\nSenate Committee on Indian Affairs: <a href=https:\/\/youtu.be\/KgU3whIsdHo> Oversight Hearing to \u201cExamine the President\u2019s Budget Requests for Fiscal Year 2027 for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service\u201d &#8211; May 20, 2026<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Murkowski Raises Tribal Priorities During FY 2027 Budget Hearing On Indian Affairs And IHS Programs<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Friday, May 22, 2026<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source\">Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<em>The following is the text of a May  22, 2026, news release from <a href=https:\/\/www.murkowski.senate.gov\/>Sen. Lisa Murkowski<\/a> (R-Alaska), the  chair of the <a href=https:\/\/www.indian.senate.gov\/>Senate Committee on Indian Affairs<\/a>.<\/em>\r\n<\/em>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nU.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, held an oversight hearing to examine the President\u2019s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Requests for Indian Affairs programs at the Department of the Interior and the Indian Health Service (IHS). During the hearing, the Chairman spoke to priorities in each agencies\u2019 respective budgets, federal coordination on Tribal resilience and relocation efforts, the probate backlog, and proposed cuts to IHS funding for sanitation facilities construction.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWitnesses included:\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n \t<li><strong>The Honorable William \u201cBilly\u201d Kirkland<\/strong>, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Mr. Clayton Fulton<\/strong>, Chief of Staff, Indian Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nDuring her opening statement, Chairman Murkowski stressed the importance of ensuring Native communities remain directly involved in decisions affecting their future and maintaining strong support for the Indian Health Service.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cAs I look at the proposed FY27 budget for Indian Affairs programs, I\u2019ve got questions as to whether or not it will meet the well-documented needs across Indian Country,\u201d <strong>said the Chairman.<\/strong>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nChairman Murkowski\u2019s full opening statement can be <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/DCNBTGM_Lcw\">found here.<\/a>\r\n<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_youtu-be\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/DCNBTGM_Lcw\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01\/maxresdefault-205.jpg\" alt=\"Chairman Murkowski delivers opening statement during BIA, IHS FY 27 budget hearing\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/DCNBTGM_Lcw\">\n\t\t\tChairman Murkowski delivers opening statement during BIA, IHS FY 27 budget hearing\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/DCNBTGM_Lcw\">\n\t\t\t<p>Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/s\/desktop\/ce6b1040\/img\/favicon.ico\" alt=\"YouTube\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\tYouTube\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<strong><u>Federal Coordination on Tribal Resilience and Relocation Efforts<\/u><\/strong><BR>\r\nChairman Murkowski highlighted to Assistant Secretary Kirkland the growing threats facing Alaska Native coastal communities and stressed the need for stronger federal coordination on Tribal resilience and relocation efforts.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cPart of the challenge that I think we have, is that you don\u2019t really have a lead agency when it comes to how we deal with these disasters and particularly as we\u2019re talking about tribal relocation,\u201d <strong>said Chairman Murkowski.<\/strong>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cBIA is not formally designated as the federal lead, but I think more and more, you\u2019re seeing tribes that are looking to BIA as the primary partner coordinating across these agencies and helping communities navigate,\u201d <strong>said the Chairman.<\/strong>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAssistant Secretary Kirkland said that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has an ongoing presence in Alaska and should play a leading role in supporting communities through any relocation or rebuilding process, ensuring families are not forgotten after the initial emergency response.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s easy to respond to an emergency at the first step. It\u2019s easy to know that there was a tragedy. The tough part is sticking around and making sure the job gets finished,\u201d <strong>said Kirkland.<\/strong>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe full exchange between Chairman Murkowski and Assistant Secretary Kirkland can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/mUqXhmp4tpc\">here.<\/a>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_youtu-be\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/mUqXhmp4tpc\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01\/maxresdefault-206.jpg\" alt=\"Chairman Murkowski questions Assistant Secretary Kirkland on Federal Disaster Relief\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/mUqXhmp4tpc\">\n\t\t\tChairman Murkowski questions Assistant Secretary Kirkland on Federal Disaster Relief\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/mUqXhmp4tpc\">\n\t\t\t<p>Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/s\/desktop\/ce6b1040\/img\/favicon.ico\" alt=\"YouTube\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\tYouTube\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<strong><u>Probate Backlog<\/u><\/strong><BR>\r\nChairman Murkowski pressed Assistant Secretary Kirkland for concrete timelines and accountability in addressing the nationwide probate backlog, noting that 47,000 cases are currently pending nationwide. She stressed that modernization efforts must translate into measurable progress for families still waiting on resolution.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWhen asked by the chairman to provide metrics on when individuals can expect progress and when cases will begin moving through the system, Assistant Secretary Kirkland said that by the end of July, the agency expects to fully understand the scope of the probate backlog, including the status of individual cases and any missing documentation needed to close them. Kirkland also acknowledged that long-standing concerns about the probate backlog.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cYou\u2019ve heard time and time again, individuals come up here and say, we\u2019re gonna fix the problem. We\u2019ve got this under control. So, until you actually see numbers moving, you\u2019re very, you\u2019re very right to be concerned,\u201d <strong>said Kirkland.<\/strong>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe full exchange between Chairman Murkowski and Assistant Secretary Kirkland can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/3L-TxMecMbg\">here.<\/a>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_youtu-be\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/3L-TxMecMbg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01\/maxresdefault-207.jpg\" alt=\"Chairman Murkowski Questions Assistant Secretary Kirkland on Probate Backlog\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/3L-TxMecMbg\">\n\t\t\tChairman Murkowski Questions Assistant Secretary Kirkland on Probate Backlog\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/3L-TxMecMbg\">\n\t\t\t<p>Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/s\/desktop\/ce6b1040\/img\/favicon.ico\" alt=\"YouTube\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\tYouTube\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<strong><u>Sanitation Funding Cuts<\/u><\/strong><BR>\r\n\r\nChairman Murkowski raised concerns about the proposed $93 million reduction below FY 2026 enacted levels, pressing Mr. Clayton Fulton to explain how IHS will sustain progress on unmet sanitation needs once funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act run out.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cWe\u2019re talking about communities that are still relying on honey buckets, haul wagons. And this, again, is \u2013 public safety, public health \u2013 when you don\u2019t have clean water and clean wastewater systems,\u201d <strong>said Chairman Murkowski.<\/strong>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nMr. Fulton shared that in a tight budget environment, the main challenge is deciding what to prioritize, and the agency sees this as a chance to invest in improving direct patient care. Chairman Murkowski challenged that response, arguing that basic sanitation and clean water are fundamental to preventing illness and should be treated as essential health infrastructure.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nChairman Murkowski reiterated that one-time Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding should not replace sustained base funding for essential sanitation services.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cWe can\u2019t use that as the excuse not to continue robust base funding for something as basic as clean water,\u201d <strong>the Chairman said.<\/strong>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe full exchange between Chairman Murkowski and Mr. Fulton can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/sTT-xRhp9zw\">here.<\/a>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_youtu-be\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/sTT-xRhp9zw\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01\/maxresdefault-208.jpg\" alt=\"Chair Murkowski questions Mr. Clayton Fulton on potential IHS Budget Cuts\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/sTT-xRhp9zw\">\n\t\t\tChair Murkowski questions Mr. Clayton Fulton on potential IHS Budget Cuts\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/sTT-xRhp9zw\">\n\t\t\t<p>Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/s\/desktop\/ce6b1040\/img\/favicon.ico\" alt=\"YouTube\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\tYouTube\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indian.senate.gov\/hearings\/oversight-hearing-to-examine-the-presidents-budget-requests-for-fiscal-year-2027-for-the-bureau-of-indian-affairs-and-the-indian-health-service\/\">archived video<\/a> is available on the Committee website for both the business meeting and the hearing.\r\n\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">Indianz.Com Audio: Oversight Hearing to \u201cExamine the President\u2019s Budget Requests for Fiscal Year 2027 for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service\u201d <\/div>\r\n<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_www-youtube-com\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLUZ4SOc8isRfYiz6MzX7NrcKsfD-y4AxV\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01\/hqdefault-17.jpg\" alt=\"Oversight Hearing to \u201cExamine the President\u2019s Budget Requests for Fiscal Year 2027 for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service\u201d\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLUZ4SOc8isRfYiz6MzX7NrcKsfD-y4AxV\">\n\t\t\tOversight Hearing to \u201cExamine the President\u2019s Budget Requests for Fiscal Year 2027 for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service\u201d\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLUZ4SOc8isRfYiz6MzX7NrcKsfD-y4AxV\">\n\t\t\t<p>Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing to \u201cExamine the President\u2019s Budget Requests for Fiscal Year 2027 for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and th&#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/s\/desktop\/ce6b1040\/img\/favicon.ico\" alt=\"YouTube\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\tYouTube\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">\r\nSenate Committee on Indian Affairs: <a href=https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLUZ4SOc8isRfYiz6MzX7NrcKsfD-y4AxV> Oversight Hearing to \u201cExamine the President\u2019s Budget Requests for Fiscal Year 2027 for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service\u201d &#8211; May 20, 2026<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cAs I look at the proposed FY27 budget for Indian Affairs programs, I\u2019ve got questions as to whether or not it will meet the well-documented needs across Indian Country,&#8221; said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":242177,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19,20,13,1,14,31],"tags":[5366,78,79,117,5905,7468,3469,118,6909,248,210,1319,211,85,213,91,153],"class_list":["post-548752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-indian-trust","category-law","category-national","category-politics","category-press-release","tag-119th","tag-alaska","tag-alaska-native","tag-bia","tag-billy-kirkland","tag-clayton-fulton","tag-disasters","tag-doi","tag-fy2027","tag-hhs","tag-ihs","tag-infrastructure","tag-lisa-murkowski","tag-republicans","tag-scia","tag-senate","tag-water","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/30\/IndianzComDefaultImage.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-2iKQ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548752"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":548781,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548752\/revisions\/548781"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}