National Congress of American Indians Policy Update 2015 Mid Year Conference St. Paul, MN Table of Contents OVERVIEW ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES .................................................................................................................................. 4 Restore Tribal Homelands – Addressing the Carcieri Decision ............................................................................................... 4 Natural Resources ................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Trust Modernization ...................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Energy ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 11 Agriculture & Nutrition ............................................................................................................................................................... 13 ECONOMIC/COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................................ 16 Tribal Tax Initiatives .................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Native American Workforce Development ............................................................................................................................. 18 Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ................................................................................................................... 19 Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act ............................................................................................................................................................. 20 PUBLIC SAFETY ......................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Violence Against Women Act Implementation ....................................................................................................................... 22 Victims of Crime Act Funding ................................................................................................................................................... 23 Reauthorization of the Tribal Law and Order Act & Criminal Justice ................................................................................ 24 Emergency Response/Homeland Security............................................................................................................................... 25 HUMAN RESOURCES/SOCIAL SERVICES .......................................................................................................................... 27 Education ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Health ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 29 Child Welfare ................................................................................................................................................................................ 32 Cultural Protections ..................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Native American Elders .............................................................................................................................................................. 36 Native Veterans ............................................................................................................................................................................ 37 TRIBAL GOVERNANCE ......................................................................................................................................................... 40 Voting Rights Amendment Act.................................................................................................................................................. 40 Self-Governance ........................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Federal Acknowledgement ......................................................................................................................................................... 42 TRIBAL INFRASTRUCTURE ........................................................................................................................................................ 44 Native American Housing .......................................................................................................................................................... 44 Tribal Transportation .................................................................................................................................................................. 45 Tribal Telecommunications ........................................................................................................................................................ 46 APPROPRIATIONS .................................................................................................................................................................... 49 FY 2016 Interior-Environment Appropriations ...................................................................................................................... 49 Page | 1 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill ........................................................................................................................... 51 Transportation HUD Appropriations Bill ...................................................................................................................................... 53 Labor-HHS-Education Bill ................................................................................................................................................................. 53 INTERNATIONAL ISSUES ............................................................................................................................................................ 57 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples ..................................................................................................................... 57 WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVES ..................................................................................................................................................... 59 Youth - Generation Indigenous ......................................................................................................................................................... 59 My Brother’s Keeper ................................................................................................................................................................... 59 White House Council on Native American Affairs ................................................................................................................ 60 Page | 2 OVERVIEW The 114th Congress was sworn in on January 6, 2015, with a Republican majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives for the first time in eight years. In the House, the Leadership remains the same with Congressman Boehner remaining the Speaker and Congresswoman Pelosi, the Minority Leader. In the Senate, the Majority Leader is Senator McConnell with Senator Reid as Minority Leader. And, while the 2016 Presidential election won’t take place until next November, the election cycle has started early with at least 16 declared candidates for the Presidency. The upcoming election also impacts Congressional action because lawmakers become more cautious about passing key legislation the closer it gets to the election. So, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is advocating for early action on legislation that impacts Indian Country to avoid being caught up in larger political discussions as the elections near. Indian Country’s priorities for the 114th Congress have been focused on passing key legislation in areas such as energy, trust modernization, economic development, education, public safety, and tribal infrastructure including transportation, housing, telecommunications and irrigation. There has been early action in each of these areas which is detailed throughout this Policy Update. We want to highlight one current issue where tribal support is urgently needed - the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act. This legislation provides a simple amendment to the National Labor Relations Act that would include tribes in the same exempt category as all other governments. This legislation has strong bipartisan and tribal support, but we face strong opposition and pressure from labor organizations so please seek support