Delivering Wins for Indian Country
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
July 26, 2024
BIG Update
The assassination attempt on President Trump is a very serious act that should not be overlooked. Congress is working to get to the bottom of this. The House held committee hearings this week to get answers about what happened at the rally in Pennsylvania. The hearings resulted in Kimberly Cheatle stepping down from her position as Director of the Secret Service, after members on both sides of the aisle called for her resignation.
I voted to establish a special task force to investigate and identify ways to strengthen security measures. The bipartisan task force passed the House unanimously – all members agree that we can’t let this major security failure ever happen again.
BIG Idea
In South Dakota, the average life expectancy is 78 years old. But, for Native American enrolled members on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, it’s 58 years. That’s a remarkable 20-year gap. One of the reasons for that is the poor quality of health care in Indian country. The federal government has trust and treaty obligations to address this, but the quality of care is second class. The Indian Health Service (IHS) faces a lack of oversight, questionable financial integrity, staffing needs, and employee shortcomings.
I introduced the Restoring Accountability in the IHS Act to improve the delivery of care for Native Americans relying on IHS by promoting the recruitment and retention of staff, best practices on information-sharing, cultural awareness, and accountability.
This week, I testified in the House Natural Resources Committee on my bill to improve service for Indian country.
Click here or the image above for Johnson’s remarks.
BIG News
The public safety crisis on Indian reservations is serious. Tribal law enforcement agencies are faced with a lack of resources and officers, contributing to long response times and insufficient safety. I’ve requested additional funding for tribal law enforcement, field hearings in Indian country, and introduced legislation to ease the burden on tribal law enforcement.
This week, the House passed the appropriations bill for the Department of Interior which oversees tribal safety programs within the Bureau of Indian Affairs. I fought hard to get an increase in funding, and this package included the following:
- $2.81 billion for the Bureau of Indian Affairs – a 14.5% increase from the FY24 enacted level – which includes:
- $746 million for Public Safety and Justice programs – a 34% increase from the FY24 enacted level.
- $414 million for Criminal Investigations and Police Service – a 51% increase from the FY24 enacted level.
- $55 million for Tribal Courts – an 18% increase from the FY24 enacted level.
Fiscal responsibility is important, so I’m glad these funding increases are done without raising the cost of the bill. We made significant cuts elsewhere to provide resources for essential safety programs. This is a huge win for Indian country.
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