Today, the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs held a hearing on the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Cobell Land Consolidation Program. The program authorizes DOI to purchase highly fractionated allotments and consolidate them in tribal ownership. After an expenditure of over $1 billion, it remains unclear that the program has greatly reduced Indian land… Read more »
Yesterday, President Trump signed into law H.J. Res. 69 sponsored by Rep. Don Young (R-AK). The joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act overturns the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) rule on “Non-Subsistence Take of Wildlife, and Public Participation and Closure Procedures, on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska.”
“The resolution recognizes that states, like… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs held an oversight hearing on the status of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA).
PREPA, the state-owned, self-regulated monopoly that operates as Puerto Rico's public utility, provides power generation to the 3.4 million Americans residing on the island. The utility faces… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs held an oversight hearing exploring ways to improve infrastructure in tribal and insular communities.
“Quality infrastructure boosts economic development, creates jobs, and quality of life increases. Nowhere is this more important than tribal and insular communities. There is however, a great need in tribal communities,… Read more »
House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement in reaction to President Trump’s actions related to the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines:
“I’m glad this President understands we can create more jobs and provide affordable energy through domestic resource development - but we need infrastructure to make it happen. This action is a… Read more »
By: Terry L. Anderson and Shawn Regan
As Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump court the minority vote, they have paid virtually no attention to one of the most impoverished groups—Native Americans. More than any other group, American Indians are shackled by bureaucratic red tape that deprives them of the same rights and dignity as other Americans.
The continuing… Read more »
Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior issued the final rule to create a Native Hawaiian government. The rule, which is highly disputed and raises difficult constitutional issues, includes new administrative procedures and criteria for establishing such relationships. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) released the following statement:
“What the President wants, the President gets. This rule… Read more »
Today, the U.S. Departments of the Army, the Interior and Justice invited tribal leaders to participate in government-to-government consultations on infrastructure permitting. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) released the following statement:
"This administration has never cared about consulting local communities or Native tribes. Over the past eight years, tribes and Alaska Natives have… Read more »
Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a markup on five bills including H.R. 2387 (Rep. Don Young), the "Alaska Native Veterans Land Allotment Equity Act." The bill, which passed by voice vote, provides equitable treatment of Alaska Native Vietnam Veterans under the Native Allotment Act of 1906, allowing veterans to be eligible for land benefits from the federal… Read more »
Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a markup on four bills including H.R. 3764 (Rep. Rob Bishop), the Tribal Recognition Act of 2015. The bill restores the constitutional framework to tribal recognition authorities vested with Congress under Article I. Following the passage of H.R. 3764, Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following… Read more »
