Tribal Programs Funding Bills Still Working Their Way Through Congress

Native American Legislative Update - July 2012

Tribal Programs Funding Bills Still Working Their Way Through Congress

Congress has been busy moving the FY 2013 appropriations bills, particularly in the House, which has passed six of the twelve spending measures. Another measure that will include significant funding for Indian Country -- the Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations bill - was released on Tuesday and was approved by the House appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday. Details to come. For information regarding the Commerce, Justice State appropriations, refer to the May NALU.

How has Indian Country fared so far?

Quite well! In spite of the fact that appropriations bills in the House this year have been quite a bit less generous overall to federal programs than they were last year, the House is appropriating funds for FY 2013 at or above current (FY 2012) levels for tribal programs in the areas of law enforcement, health care, education and housing, among others. Here are details on two of the bills.

Transportation/Housing and Urban Development Appropriations (T-HUD) (H.R. 5972)

Status:

• Passed the floor of the House on June 29
• Funding maintained at current levels

The Details
As passed by the House, the bill kept level funding of $60 million for Indian Community Development Block Grants. These grants are awarded by HUD on a competitive basis; communities use the funds to support a variety of community development and affordable housing projects for low- to moderate-income families. During debate, members rejected an amendment offered by Representative McClintock (CA) to eliminate funding for the whole Community Development Fund, which includes funding for the grant programs in Indian country.

The bill also maintains funding at $650 million for the Indian Housing Block Grant program, a program that disperses funds according to a formula for a range of affordable housing activities on Indian reservations and in tribal areas. The program was authorized under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA).

FY 2013 Interior and Environment Appropriations (H.R. 6091)

Status:

• Passed the House Appropriations Committee on June 28
• Reduced funding for the Environmental Protection Agency
• Increased funding for Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service

The Details
While the House bill would reduce funding for EPA 12% below the FY 2012 level, funding for the BIA and the IHS fared much better.

The House Appropriations Committee's recommendation of a total of $2.57 billion for the Bureau of Indian Affairs is $36.8 million above the FY 2012 enacted level and $41.4 million above the President's request.

Specifically, there are increases over the budget request for

• the Johnson O'Malley Education Assistance Program, which addresses the unique educational needs of Native children who attend public school ($1 million, for a total of $14.3 million);
• roads maintenance ($2 million, for a total of $27.4 million);
• law enforcement ($13.9 million, for a total of $335.9 million);
• tribal courts ($1.7 million, for a total of $25.1 million);
• Replacement School Construction ($9.2 million); and
• the Indian Guaranteed Loan Program, which assists Indian businesses with lender financing ($5 million, for a total of $10 million).

The Interior appropriations bill also directs the BIA to work with tribes to develop a pilot program to accelerate conventional energy and mineral development on tribal lands.

In addition, the bill contains a provision, extending the life of the Indian Law and Order Commission, which was established under the Tribal Law and Order Act, to submit their report to Congress of their study of public safety in Indian Country and recommendations for improvements.

The proposed total of $4.49 billion for the Indian Health Service is $187 million above the FY 2012 enacted level and $71 million above the President's request. $4.05 billion is for health services, with the remainder for health facilities.

Among the increases is $300,000 more than the FY 2013 budget request for Dental Health to provide staffing for the Early Childhood Caries initiative. This initiative seeks to address a significant health issue for Indian children, 90% of whom, by eight years of age, suffer from dental caries, compared with only 50 % of the general U.S. population.

Another increase of $2.5 million is for health services provided by Urban Indian Health Organizations (for a total of $45.5 million).

While it is exciting that these increases in funding for the Interior bill passed through the House committee, the bill must still pass the floor of the House. Although the House is expected to take action on several more FY 2013 appropriations bills prior to the August recess, it is not certain if the Interior bill will be one of them. Funding amounts for the EPA and several provisions in the bill concerning the EPA are quite controversial.

Meanwhile in the Senate, the Appropriations Committee has approved nine of the twelve appropriations bills, but none of them have come to the Senate floor, and none are likely to have final approval before the end of the fiscal year (September 30). A continuing resolution will have to be adopted before September 30, to allow programs to go forward while the major budget, tax, and spending decisions are made after the elections.

See more articles in the July 2012 NALU.