WASHINGTON, D.C. – Over the past year, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs led the passage of 16 bills and helped secure historic investments, which will benefit Native communities nationwide. Specifically, record funding for Native housing was delivered, totaling more than $1.3 billion, as well as more than $7 billion to strengthen Native healthcare. Additionally, four bills were enacted into law, and several others – including the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act – advanced to the House for further consideration.
“This year, we built on the historic progress of the past few years, helping pass more than a dozen bills and delivering significant funding for a wide range of Native priorities,” said U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. “I’m proud of the progress we’ve made this year, and over the past two congresses, but make no mistake: we have a lot more work to remedy the generations of neglect and help Native communities determine their own futures.”
Of the 16 Indian Affairs bills that the Senate passed this session, four became law:
- H.R. 663, Native American Child Protection Act
- Introduced by Representative Gallego (D-AZ), H.R. 663 creates a path for direct, set-aside funding for tribes to treat and prevent child abuse by reauthorizing three programs at the IHS and BIA, which were created in the 1990s by Senator McCain (R-AZ) after Congress verified reports of Native children being physically and sexually abused in federal Indian boarding schools.
- S.382, Puyallup Tribe of Indians Land Into Trust Confirmation Act of 2023
- Introduced by Senator Cantwell (D-WA), S.382 takes over 17 acres of land in Pierce County, WA, into trust for the benefit of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians to expand its reservation.
- H.R.1240, Winnebago Land Transfer Act of 2023
- Introduced by Representative Feenstra (R-IA), H.R.1240 takes land into trust for the benefit of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska to expand its reservation.
- S.3857, Jamul Indian Village Land Transfer Act
- Introduced by Senator Padilla (D-CA), S.3857 takes approximately 172.1 acres of land in San Diego, CA, into trust for the benefit of the Jamul Indian Village to expand its reservation.
Other passed bills include:
- S.385, a bill to amend the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act to authorize grants to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations, and for other purposes
- Introduced by Chairman Schatz and Vice Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), S.385 makes technical corrections to the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act, which authorizes grants to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations for recreational travel and tourism activities.
- S.465, BADGES for Native Communities Act
- Introduced by Senator Cortez Masto (D-NV), S.465 revises federal policies and procedures related to information sharing, reporting, and investigating cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) and shortages of BIA law enforcement officers.
- S.1322, Unlocking Native Lands and Opportunities for Commerce and Key Economic Developments Act of 2023
- Introduced by Chairman Schatz and Vice Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), S. 1322 enables tribes to lease their land for up to 99 years for business and other purposes, and to approve their own rights-of-way on tribal lands.
- S.1723, Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act of 2023
- Introduced by Senator Warren (D-MA) and co-sponsored by Chairman Schatz (D-HI) and Vice Chair Murkowski (D-AK), S. 1723 would create a federal commission and other advisory committees to formally investigate, document, report on, and acknowledge the systematic and long-term effects of Indian Boarding Schools on Native American peoples.
- S.1987, Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2024
- Introduced by Senator Tester (D-MT), S.1987 ratifies the Fort Belknap Indian Community’s water rights settlement agreement entered into with the United States and Montana to bring clean drinking water to the reservation.
- S.2783, Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act
- Introduced by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), S.2783 expands Miccosukee tribal lands to include a portion of Everglades National Park known as Osceola Camp. It also authorizes funding to protect the Osceola Camp from flooding caused by federal ecosystem restoration projects in the Everglades.
- S.2868, A bill to accept the request to revoke the charter of incorporation of the Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota at the request of that community, and for other purposes
- Introduced by Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), S.2868 revokes the Lower Sioux Indian Community’s Indian Reorganization Act, Section 17 charter of incorporation, which requires the tribe to secure the Interior Secretary’s approval for economic development activities.
- S.2908, Indian Buffalo Management Act
- Introduced by Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), S.2908 establishes a program within the Department of the Interior to increase tribes’ role in buffalo restoration, including tribally owned and managed herds and buffalo habitat on tribal lands.
- S.3022, IHS Workforce Parity Act of 2024
- Introduced by Senator Cortez Masto (D-NV), S.3022 addresses staffing shortages at Indian Health Service facilities by allowing part-time clinicians to qualify for Indian Health Professions Scholarships or the Indian Health Service Loan Repayment Program.
- S.4000, A bill to reaffirm the applicability of the Indian Reorganization Act to the Lytton Rancheria of California, and for other purposes
- Introduced by Senator Padilla (D-CA), S.4000 would reaffirm the applicability of the Indian Reorganization Act to the Lytton Rancheria of California, tribe and clarify its eligibility to have land taken into trust.
- S.4365, Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act
- Introduced by Vice Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), S.4365 allows officers from the U.S. Public Health Service to offer certain veterinary services at Indian Health Services Facilities to control domestic animal populations and prevent the spread of rabies and other diseases to humans.
- S.4370, Tribal Forest Protection Act Amendments Act of 2024
- Introduced by Vice Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), S.4370 expands the types of lands that tribes can do forest fire mitigation work on by including not just federal lands next to tribal lands, but also any federal lands which a tribe maintains certain relationships with, as well as allows tribes to do this fire mitigation work on their own lands.
As part of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations process, Schatz helped secure more than $5.7 billion to support efforts to revitalize Native languages. $175 million was also included in appropriations to improve tribal access to transportation and help address longstanding transportation funding backlogs.