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.
Movement Continues for Truth and Healing
The Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act (S.1723/H.R. 7227) continues to advance in Congress. We are waiting for the House Education and Workforce Committee to release their report, after voting to approve the bill in June. Their report will allow the bill to be scheduled for a full floor vote. In the meantime, the House bill has continued to gain more cosponsors from both political parties.
After more than a year, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA) released its report on the bill (S.1723). In addition, Senators Brian Schatz (HI; chair of SCIA) and Lisa Murkowski (AK; vice-chair) filed a bipartisan amendment attaching the bill to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA, S. 4638).
The NDAA is a “must pass” defense bill to which other bills may be attached. Indian affairs bills have a long history of being passed using the NDAA as a vehicle. The release of the report and the proposed amendment gives S.1723 two potential pathways for passage in the Senate.
Appropriations Season Brings Early Wins for Indian Country
While Senate appropriators remain in the early stages of their work, the House Appropriations Committee has released all 12 of its major funding bills. The committee, chaired by Rep. Tom Cole (OK-4 and a Chickasaw tribal citizen), has made supporting Indian Country a major priority. Initiatives that support Native communities largely received stable or increased budgets for Fiscal Year 2025.
The House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Bill (H.R. 8998, which narrowly passed out of the House) includes an additional $739 million dollars to pay Contract Support Costs to tribes. This increase will bring the Indian Health Service into compliance with the landmark June 6 ruling by the Supreme Court, which orders the federal government to pay tribes for costs incurred providing healthcare to tribal members.
The bill also includes $13.5 million dollars to support the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Initiative. It directs the Bureau of Indian Affairs to work with law enforcement agencies to facilitate information sharing.
The Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill (H.R. 9026) maintains the Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program funding at FY24 levels. COPS grants support local and tribal law enforcement agencies by updating equipment, providing training on anti-opioid and methamphetamine interventions, and hiring additional officers.
COPS grants are crucial in tribal communities where law enforcement is under-resourced. Five percent of the grant pool is reserved for tribal governments.
Leonard Peltier Denied ParoleOjibwe activist and American Indian Movement (AIM) member Leonard Peltier was denied parole early this month after his first parole hearing in over 15 years. Peltier, 80, is currently incarcerated in Coleman, FL, at a federal penitentiary. In 1975, Peltier was arrested and convicted for the murder of two FBI agents during AIM’s occupation of Wounded Knee, SD. He has been incarcerated for almost 50 years and has maintained his innocence since his arrest. The case against Peltier has been controversial for decades, based largely around the lack of eyewitness testimony or physical evidence tying Peltier to the scene of the shooting. There have also been allegations that the FBI hid exculpatory evidence during his trial. Native and human rights activists have continually called for his release. His latest parole hearing focused on allegations that the Bureau of Prisons (BUP) has withheld treatment and medication from Peltier. The parole board considered the possibility of transferring Peltier to a medical facility operated by BUP. |
