Native American Legislative Update

At the end of December, President Joe Biden signed a $1.7 trillion spending package to fund the federal government through Sept. 30, 2023. Included in the package was a historic win for Indian Country: For the first time, the Indian Health Service (IHS) received funding for more than one year, also referred to as advance appropriations.

On Dec. 7, the House Natural Resources Committee (HNRC) filed several committee reports on key bills, including the Save Oak Flat Act (H.R. 1884), the Advancing Equality for Wabanaki Nations Act (H.R. 6707), and the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act (H.R. 5444).

Tribal leaders joined Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Office of Indian Energy Director Wahleah Johns for a nation-to-nation summit on Oct. 4 and 4. They discussed how tribes can harness clean energy to enhance sovereignty, address climate resilience, and build stronger economies.

Sept. 30 marks the National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools, an Indigenous-led grassroots effort to raise awareness of the far-reaching intergenerational impacts of the boarding school era.

Native communties are set to benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) (P.L. 117-169), which was signed into law on Aug. 16. It is the most significant climate legislation in U.S. history.

Welcome to FCNL’s Native American Legislative Update! NALU is a monthly newsletter about FCNL’s Native American policy advocacy and ways for you to engage members of Congress.

On June 22, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA) held an oversight hearing on the findings of volume one of the Interior Department’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Report. 

On May 11, the Department of the Interior released the first volume of the long-awaited Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Report.

For the first time in history, the president’s budget process included direct consultations with tribal nations. As a result, President Joe Biden’s FY 2023 budget proposal includes increased funding for tribal nations and programs.

On March 15, President Joe Biden signed the FY2022 omnibus spending bill into law (P.L. 117-103). Notably, the spending bill included the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).