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Indian and Insular Affairs

Bishop Statement on Rescindment of Federal Coal, Oil and Gas Valuation Rule

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the Department of the Interior (DOI) rescinded the Office of Natural Resources Revenue’s (ONRR) “Consolidated Federal Oil & Gas and Federal & Indian Coal Valuation Rule.” Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement: “This rescindment is another important step by the Trump administration to position Interior as a facilitator of responsible energy development. I…

Wall Street Journal: People Are Dying Here: Federal Hospitals Fail Native Americans

| Posted in In Case You Missed It

Indian Health Service facilities sanctioned for dangerous, faulty care, leaving often-impoverished patients on remote reservations without services required by law By Dan Frosch and Christopher Weaver At the Indian Health Service hospital in Pine Ridge, S.D., a 57-year-old man was sent home with a bronchitis diagnosis—only to die five hours later of heart failure. When a patient at the…

Bishop Statement on Puerto Rico Oversight Board and PREPA

| Posted in Press Release

Yesterday, the Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and Management Board rejected the Puerto Rico Electricity Power Authority (PREPA) restructuring support agreement (RSA) between Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló and PREPA’s creditors.  Chairman Rob Bishop issued the following statement:   “Congress provided a path to stability in Puerto Rico. Yesterday, the Board deviated…

Panel: Trio of Bills Empower Tribes and Alaska Natives

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs held a legislative hearing on a series of bills that would empower Indian and Alaska Native communities to direct their own affairs. They place decision-making power in the hands of those most qualified to make decisions on local issues: the tribes and communities themselves. H.R. 1074 repeals a previous act of Congress…

Interior Official: Land Consolidation Program Failing Native Americans, Taxpayers

| Posted in Press Release

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…

President Trump Signs into Law Measure Ending FWS’s Unlawful Power Grab in Alaska

| Posted in Press Release

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…

Subcommittee Presses Panel on Status of Puerto Rico’s Power Utility Restructuring Agreement

| Posted in Press Release

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…

Indian Country and Insular Territories in Desperate Need of Infrastructure Updates

| Posted in Press Release

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,…