- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Policy and Law
The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs capped off a busy year, passing 16 bills and securing significant funding increases for Native communities in 2024, including more than $1.3 billion for Native housing and $7 billion for Native health care programs.
"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," Committee Chairman Brian Schatz (D-HI) said in a statement.
Four bills were enacted into law during the session, including the Native American Child Protection Act, which creates dedicated funding for tribes to prevent and treat child abuse through Indian Health Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs programs.
The committee also advanced several land-into-trust bills benefiting the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, and Jamul Indian Village.
Major legislation advancing to the House included the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act, which would establish a federal commission to investigate and document the impacts of Indian boarding schools on Native American communities.
Other significant bills passed by the Senate addressed Missing and Murdered Indigenous People cases, tribal water rights, buffalo management on tribal lands, and expanded tribal authority over land leasing and rights-of-way decisions.
The committee helped secure $5.7 billion for Native language revitalization efforts and $175 million for tribal transportation infrastructure through fiscal year 2024 appropriations.
"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," Schatz said.
"The Indian Affairs Committee continues to show that through good, bipartisan work we can continue to address the priorities that matter most to Indigenous communities," Vice Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said in a separate statement.
