[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED
AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR 2020
_______________________________________________________________________
HEARINGS
BEFORE A
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
_______________
SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES
BETTY McCOLLUM, Minnesota, Chair
CHELLIE PINGREE, Maine DAVID P. JOYCE, Ohio
DEREK KILMER, Washington MICHAEL K. SIMPSON, Idaho
JOSE� E. SERRANO, New York CHRIS STEWART, Utah
MIKE QUIGLEY, Illinois MARK E. AMODEI, Nevada
BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN, New Jersey
BRENDA L. LAWRENCE, Michigan
NOTE: Under committee rules, Mrs. Lowey, as chairwoman of the full committee,
and Ms. Granger, as ranking minority member of the full committee, are
authorized to sit as members of all subcommittees.
RITA CULP, DONNA SHAHBAZ, JOCELYN HUNN, PETER KIEFHABER,
KUSAI MERCHANT, JANET ERICKSON, and TYLER COE
Subcommittee Staff
__________
PART 7
Testimony of Interested Individuals and Organizations
Page
Americans for the Arts, February 26, 2019 ....................... 1
National Council of Indian Health, March 6, 2019 .............. 265
Quinault Indian Nation, March 7, 2019 ......................... 483
Members� Day Hearing, March 27, 2019 .......................... 749
Written Testimony From Individuals and
Organizations ................................................. 769
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
36-774 WASHINGTON : 2019
_______________________________________________________________________
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
----------
NITA M. LOWEY, New York, Chairwoman
MARCY KAPTUR, Ohio KAY GRANGER, Texas
PETER J. VISCLOSKY, Indiana HAROLD ROGERS, Kentucky
JOSE E. SERRANO, New York ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, Alabama
ROSA L. DeLAURO, Connecticut MICHAEL K. SIMPSON, Idaho
DAVID E. PRICE, North Carolina JOHN R. CARTER, Texas
LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD, California KEN CALVERT, California
SANFORD D. BISHOP, Jr., Georgia TOM COLE, Oklahoma
BARBARA LEE, California MARIO DIAZ-BALART, Florida
BETTY McCOLLUM, Minnesota TOM GRAVES, Georgia
TIM RYAN, Ohio STEVE WOMACK, Arkansas
C. A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER, Maryland JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska
DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Florida CHUCK FLEISCHMANN, Tennessee
HENRY CUELLAR, Texas JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER, Washington
CHELLIE PINGREE, Maine DAVID P. JOYCE, Ohio
MIKE QUIGLEY, Illinois ANDY HARRIS, Maryland
DEREK KILMER, Washington MARTHA ROBY, Alabama
MATT CARTWRIGHT, Pennsylvania MARK E. AMODEI, Nevada
GRACE MENG, New York CHRIS STEWART, Utah
MARK POCAN, Wisconsin STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi
KATHERINE M. CLARK, Massachusetts DAN NEWHOUSE, Washington
PETE AGUILAR, California JOHN R. MOOLENAAR, Michigan
LOIS FRANKEL, Florida JOHN H. RUTHERFORD, Florida
CHERI BUSTOS, Illinois WILL HURD, Texas
BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN, New Jersey
BRENDA L. LAWRENCE, Michigan
NORMA J. TORRES, California
CHARLIE CRIST, Florida
ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona
ED CASE, Hawaii
Shalanda Young, Clerk and Staff Director
(ii)
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES
APPROPRIATIONS FOR 2020
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
TESTIMONY OF INTERESTED INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS
----------
AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS
WITNESS
ROBERT L. LYNCH, ARTS PRESIDENT AND CEO, AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS
Ms. McCollum [presiding]. Good morning, and welcome to the
first of two public witness hearings being held today for the
non-tribal programs under the jurisdiction of the Interior,
Environment Appropriations Subcommittee. I am pleased to be
joined by our ranking member, David Joyce of Ohio, our vice
chair, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree of Maine, and my other
colleagues, Mr. Stewart and Mr. Amodei.
As chair of the subcommittee, I want you to know I am
really excited to bring back this important tradition of public
witness days. While we have continued to hold annual public
witness hearings for American Indians and Alaska Natives, this
is the first public witness hearing dedicated to non-tribal
programs held by this subcommittee since March of 2015.
And today we will hear from more than 40 witnesses, and it
is composed of a diverse range of partners, including public,
nonprofit organizations, State and local agencies. And this
testimony is going to cover a diverse range of topics related
to the jurisdiction of this committee: the arts and the
humanities, the environment, public lands, and wildlife. I am
ready to learn more about all of your priorities, and I look
forward to the discussions on these issues because I believe it
will help inform us to develop the 2020 appropriations bill.
Now, before I turn to Mr. Joyce, I would like to cover the
hearing logistics. Each witness will have 5 minutes to present
testimony, and we will be using a timer to keep track of the
time. When the light turns yellow, the witness will have 1
minute remaining to conclude his or her remarks. When the light
blinks red, I will lightly tap the gavel--I mean lightly--so
the next witness can begin.
And I know 5 minutes can go so very fast, but we need to be
fair. We need to get through a lot of testimony. As I said, I
am very excited about it, and as I mentioned to some of you
earlier, your written testimony will be submitted for the
record, and I have read all of it. So I am really excited to
hear our question and answer part, which will also be part of
what we will do at the end of the whole panels' testimony.
I would like to remind those of you in the committee
hearing room about the rules. We prohibit the use of cameras
and audio equipment during the hearing unless you are presented
with House press credentials. So other than that, no pictures,
please.
When this morning's hearing concludes, we will adjourn, and
then we will reconvene at 12:45 for the afternoon hearing. And
with that, I am very happy and honored to yield to my friend,
Mr. Joyce, for his remarks.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, Madam Chair, for calling this
important hearing to get input from the public on a wide array
of programs under the subcommittee's jurisdiction. I look
forward to working with you in the days and weeks ahead to do
what we can to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs and
to make the difficult, but necessary choices, among competing
priorities. Since we have a full day of testimony ahead of us,
I am glad to yield back at this time.
Ms. McCollum. Ms. Pingree, any remarks.
Ms. Pingree. Absolutely none. We will have a good day.
Ms. McCollum. All right. All right. Well, I am going to
turn to our first panel now covering the arts. Mr. Lynch,
president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, you are recognized
for 5 minutes, sir.
Mr. Lynch. Thank you so much. Good morning, and let me just
say, Chair McCollum, and Ranking Member Joyce, and co-chair of
the Congressional Arts Caucus, Congresswoman Pingree, and
members of the subcommittee, I thank you for the opportunity to
testify today in support of Federal funding for the National
Endowment for the Arts at no less than $167.5 million for
fiscal year 2020. That is a $12.5 million increase over fiscal
year 2019 funding.
The arts are exploding across America bringing human,
social, and economic benefits, and I thank this committee for
helping to lead that effort. This committee has been in the
forefront of that effort. Americans for Arts works to advance
the arts and arts education in America, representing and
serving the more than 5,000 local arts agencies in every State.
And together with those agencies, we work to ensure that every
American has access to the transformative power of the arts.
And it has been my honor to be there for 34 years.
I know that I speak for the entire arts community in our
appreciation for the bipartisan work from this committee and
Congress in appropriating the additional $2 million last year
and an increase in 2018 as well. I thank you for that. It has
made a huge difference. These consecutive years of incremental
funding enhanced the National Endowment for the Arts'
investment in every single congressional district in our
country. And according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis,
this now contributes $764 billion to the arts and culture
industry in America, $4.2 percent of the annual gross domestic
product, bigger than tourism itself, amazingly. The Nation's
arts and culture industry supports $4.9 million direct jobs and
yields a $21 billion trade surplus for our country, so this
investment is a good deal for America.
Every National Endowment for the Arts grant dollar
leverages also at least $9 in private and other public funds,
generating more than $500 million in matching support. And this
leveraging power is the chief value, I think. It far surpasses
the required non-Federal match of 1 to 1. It is unique to this
industry and very valuable to the growth of our industry.
For fiscal year 2020, we hope that the National Endowment
for the Arts will receive funding at the same level as the
recent high point of $167.5 million, which Congress
appropriated on a bipartisan basis back in fiscal year 2010, so
a while back. Would like to see it returned.
We estimate that this $12.5 million increase, based on
current NEA programming, would provide, first, an increase for
direct endowment grants by about $6 million; secondly, an
increase of $4 million to the NEA's state partnership
agreement, which would result in about 2,000 additional State
grants across the country, and with the National Endowment for
the Arts' estimate of 9 to 1 return, each direct grant dollar
will leverage an additional $40 million in non-Federal matching
support. So that is the main thing that we are looking for and
the arts community, many of my colleagues here, are looking for
in that growth.
But today I would also like to highlight one very important
National Endowment for the Arts initiative. That is the
Creative Forces Program. An increase in funding for the
National Endowment for the Arts is vital in order to sustain
and expand important work that serves the needs of military
service members and veterans, many of whom are just around this
table I have heard today. But many of whom out there in the
community have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and
psychological and physical health conditions.
Much of this work is being supported through targeted
programs, such as the National Endowment for the Arts Creative
Forces Military Healing Arts Network, which we are proud is
administered through a cooperative agreement with Americans for
the Arts, as well as many community arts engagement programs
receiving Federal grants with State and local arts agencies.
The Creative Forces Program currently has been expanded
with your help to 11 clinical sites and utilizes creative arts
therapists who are integrated into interdisciplinary treatment
teams, providing art therapy, music therapy, dance and movement
therapy, and creative writing instruction for service members.
In 2018, more than 16,000 patient encounters took place, and
over 3,000 new patients were served.
This work is being documented and networked through the
Americans for the Arts National Initiative for Arts and Health
in the Military, and several examples that I have here are
administered and take place in your districts or districts of
members here. So the Arts Bellum Foundation in St. Paul,
Minnesota is one with research-based art therapy programs for
veterans and their families. The Vet Arts Project in Akron,
Ohio, specializing in storytelling and focusing on women. The
Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington, which uses glass blowing
and Hot Shop Heroes Healing with Fire Program. And the Reno
Veterans Photo Group in Reno, Nevada, focusing on photography
and lighting and framing and printing. So an awful lot is
happening.
Eighty-five percent of military patients say art therapy is
helpful to their healing, and military patients consistently
rate art therapy among the top four treatments out of more than
40 health interventions offered. Shortly you will hear about
this life-changing program from the gentleman next to me, and I
won't go into his credentials. You will hear about it
yourselves, but it is an honor to be sitting here with him.
So thank you for your consideration and support of at least
$167.5 million for the NEA in the fiscal year 2020 budget. And
we stand ready to assist and remain focused on getting the
Endowment fully funded again in the coming months. Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Lynch follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Christopher Stone, master
gunnery sergeant, United States Marine Cops, Retired. Welcome
home.
Master Gunnery Sergeant Stowe. Thank you very much.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
WITNESS
MASTER GUNNERY SERGEANT CHRISTOPHER STOWE, UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS,
(RETIRED)
Master Gunnery Sergeant Stowe. Chair McCollum, Ranking
Member Joyce, who is also a fellow Ohioan, and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify in front
of you today in support of Federal funding for the National
Endowment for the Arts. I would like to echo Mr. Lynch's
comments of a budget line of no more than $167.5 million for
fiscal year 2020, with a $12.5 million increase over fiscal
year 2019 funding.
As mentioned earlier, I am a retired Marine master gunnery
sergeant who has served with multiple conventional and special
forces units as an explosive ordnance disposal technician,
deploying 6 times to Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as multiple
locations in Africa, Kosovo, Macedonia, and other CENTCOM
command locations in the Middle East over the course of my 24-
year career. I have also served in these halls as a
congressional fellow for then chairman of the House Veterans
Affairs Chairman, Jeff Miller, as a Wounded Warrior fellow on
his committee, working on veterans' legislation and oversight
of the Veterans Affairs Department in 2013. Today I am
testifying at the invitation of the American Art Therapy
Association, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, nonpartisan,
professional and educational organization dedicated to the
growth and development of the art therapy profession.
I appreciate the opportunity to provide public comment on
the budget request for the NEA, specifically in support of
creative arts therapies and community arts engagement programs
like Creative Forces, the NEA Military Healing Arts Network, a
partnership of the NEA, the Departments of Defense and Veterans
Affairs, and state and local arts agencies that serves the
special needs of military service members and veterans with
traumatic brain injury and psychological health conditions, as
well as their families and caregivers.
Creative arts therapies, including art therapy and music
therapy, and community arts engagement programs have completely
changed how I view therapeutic treatment. The use of creative
arts therapies as part of an integrative approach to healing my
combat injuries helped me move towards a more whole of person
approach to therapy and helped me succeed. I fully believe that
no single form of therapy is the be-all and end-all. One
individual may or may not respond well to traditional forms of
therapy, but will accelerate greatly in his or her healing when
creative arts therapy, or as in my case, is applied in concert
with more traditional therapies.
A mask-making exercise is typically done as one of the
first exercises in the art therapy program at the National
Intrepid Center of Excellence at Walter Reed. As many of you
can attest and seeing the National Geographic special that was
done in their magazine as well as the TedMed speech that was
done by the Creative Arts therapist there, Ms. Walker. I can
attest to the mixed emotions that can be felt during this mask-
making exercise: guilt, fear, and self-loathing, self-doubt at
first, and then while moving through the making of the mask,
feelings of exhilaration, freedom, resolution, and
accomplishment can start to emerge. I know that it helped show
the way for me as it pertained to how I personally viewed
myself, normal on the outside, kind of a demon and little bit
broken on the inside.
I also feel that this nonverbal tool allows the member to
expose themselves in a safe and controlled setting with an art
therapist, without having to belabor long talk therapy sessions
in order to draw out the key pieces that a member needs help
dealing with, while creating a very visceral trust experience
and exercise with the art therapist and the member in a very
non-judgmental way. Creative self-expression has long been a
form of healing throughout cultures around the world, and we
are fortunate that the creative arts therapies are being more
widely recognized in the medical community.
The readily apparent benefits of increased confidence,
mental acuity, physical dexterity, improved self-worth, and
decrease in depression have all been wonderfully positive
aspects to me that were and are derived from art therapy.
However, the incidental positive consequences of art therapy in
Creative Forces as well as engaging with traditional
nonmilitary communities, such as local art communities, have
been equally beneficial to me. Some of these positive
consequences for me have been increased interaction with other
people, as in the case today, a much greater appreciation of
people that have never served and what their lives and opinions
look like, a healthier overall appreciation for human life and
perspectives, as well as a deepened and renewed commitment to
help my fellow service members through the advocacy of art
therapy. I can state unequivocally that art therapy has helped
me to be a better human, husband, father, and friend. I can
also state without a doubt that art therapy has helped save my
life.
As a testament to how creative art therapies have
positively affected me and how I interact with the world, I
found in the first community-based arts program to partner with
the James A. Haley VA in Tampa, Florida at the Maury Arts
Center in St. Petersburg called Operation Art of Valor. Much
like the West Coast version, Hot Shop Heroes, this
collaborative project between the NEA, the VA, and the local
arts community teaches the art of glass blowing to veterans and
military members free of charge. This program wouldn't be
possible without funding opportunities from the NEA's military
and veteran-focused program, Creative Forces, and their
guidance and resource education have been invaluable to me so I
can continue to serve.
I sincerely hope the subcommittee and Congress as a whole
will continue to support creative art therapies and access to
more community-based arts engagement programs for service
members, veterans, their families and caregivers by increasing
the NEA's funding for fiscal year 2020 to at least $167.5
million. And once again, thank you all for allowing me to
testify here this morning, and I am happy to answer any
questions you may have.
[The statement of Master Gunnery Sergeant Stowe follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you for your testimony. Dr. Ford Bell,
who, in full disclosure, is from Minnesota. Welcome.
[Laughter.]
Dr. Bell. Thank you very much.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
AMERICAN ALLIANCE OF MUSEUMS
WITNESS
FORD W. BELL, DVM, AMERICAN ALLIANCE OF MUSEUMS
Dr. Bell. Thank you very much. Thank you. Chairwoman
McCollum, thanks to you, and Ranking Member Joyce, and members
of the subcommittee for inviting me to testify today. My name
is Ford Bell, and I am the immediate--sorry--immediate past
president and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums here in
Washington. AAM represents all types of museums from art to
natural history museums to zoos, and I am especially delighted
to testify before you today, which is Museums Advocacy Day on
Capitol Hill.
I am here to request the subcommittee provide at least
$167.5 million each in fiscal year 2020 funding for the
National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for
the Humanities, as well as sufficient funding for the
Smithsonian Institution. We also request your support for the
Historic Preservation Fund, including at least $60 million for
state historic preservation offices, $20 million for tribal
historic preservation offices, $15 million for competitive
grants to preserve the sites and stories of the Civil Rights
Movement, and $15 million for the Save America's Treasures
Program.
Museums are economic engines and job creators. U.S. museums
support more than 726,000 jobs and pump $50 billion annually
into our economy. Their economic activity of museums generates
more than $12 billion in tax revenue, one-third of it going to
State and local governments. The financial impact museums have
on Minnesota's economy is $917 million each year, including
13,781 jobs. For Ohio, it is $1-and-a-billion impact,
supporting almost 26,000 jobs. This impact is not limited to
cities. More than 25 percent of museums are in rural areas.
The import of these data is not the numbers alone, but the
point that museums give back tremendously to their communities
in numerous ways, including economically. The Federal funding
for NEA, NEH, and other government programs does not stay in
Washington, DC, but goes back to communities across the Nation,
and it is leveraged many times over by private philanthropy and
by State and local investments.
Increasing investments in these agencies and programs will
enhance museums' work to enrich their communities and preserve
our many heritages. My testimony today focuses on the NEH and
NEA. The Humanities Endowment supports museums as institutions
of lifelong learning and exploration and as keepers of our
cultural, historical, and scientific heritages that can foster
critical dialogues on challenging issues of our time. Many of
NEH's divisions and offices support museums, and we applaud the
Office of Challenge Grants for offering matching grants to
support much-needed infrastructure projects at museums.
Here is one example of how NEH funding was used to support
museums' work in your communities. The Minnesota Historical
Society in St. Paul, Minnesota received an exceptional $600,000
award to implement a traveling exhibition, website, and public
programs examining the history of World War I and its impact on
America, that opened at the Museum in 2017 and is now traveling
nationally.
The Art Endowment's grants to museums help them exhibit,
preserve, and interpret visual material through exhibitions,
residencies, publications, commissions, conservation,
documentation, and public programs. Since 2010, the NEA has
collaborated with Blue Star Families and the U.S. Department of
Defense on Blue Star Museums, a really great program which
provides free museum admission to active duty military and
their families all summer long. In 2018, more than 2,000
museums in all 50 States participated, reaching on average more
than 900,000 military families.
In 2018, the NEA provided more than 100 awards directly to
museums totaling over $3.73 million. Here is just one example
of how NEA funding was used to support museums work in your
communities. The Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio
received $40,000 in 2017 to support a research project designed
to answer questions on how best to use new visitor engagement
technology to help the museum build and sustain new audiences
in the community. In addition to these direct grants, NEA's
Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Program allows museums of all
types to apply for Federal indemnity for major exhibitions,
saving them as much as $30 million in insurance costs every
year, and making many more exhibitions available to the public,
all at virtually no cost to the American taxpayer.
In closing, I highlight a recent national poll showing 95
percent of voters would approve lawmakers acting to support
museums, and 96 percent want Federal funding for museums to be
maintained or increased. People love their museums, and our
country is better because of them.
I invite members of the subcommittee and your staff to
attend our museum's Advocacy Day reception from 5:00 to 7:00
p.m. this evening in the Capitol Visitor Center cafe. I
appreciate the opportunity to testify, and I am happy to answer
any questions you may have.
[The statement of Dr. Bell follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you very much, Mr. Bell. Ms. Jessica
Unger, Foundation of Advancement and Conservation. We are
anxious to hear what you have to say.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
FOUNDATION FOR ADVANCEMENT IN CONSERVATION
WITNESS
JESSICA UNGER, EMERGENCY PROGRAMS COORDINATOR, FOUNDATION FOR
ADVANCEMENT IN CONSERVATION
Ms. Unger. Chairman McCollum, Ranking Member Joyce, members
of the subcommittee, good morning, and thank you so much for
the opportunity to speak with you all today. My name is Jessica
Unger, and I serve as emergency programs coordinator at the
Foundation for Advancement and Conservation, also known as the
Foundation for the America Institute for Conservation. I am
here today to testify on behalf of the National Humanities
Alliance for the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Firearms from the Civil War covered in mud sat on the banks
of the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the days after Hurricane
Katrina. Costumes, props, and programs from the famed Martha
Grand Dance Company floated in the storm surge-inundated
storage room in the hours following Hurricane Sandy. And swirls
of mold covered the walls from floor to ceiling of a Puerto
Rican library in the weeks after Hurricane Maria. The sense of
loss that accompanies disasters is acute. That sense is
heightened when our collective cultural heritage is imperiled
as well.
We rely on objects to learn from past generations and to
carry our own legacy into the future. Books, letters, records,
photographs, film, works of arts, whether located in our
Nation's great museums or in the cedar chest at home, our
tangible cultural heritage is fond in objects that are at risk
of decomposing. It is the job of cultural heritage conservators
to slow down the processes of decay working with museums,
library, and archives collections staff to provide the best
environmental conditions possible and perform treatments on
objects as needed.
Conservators are an impressive bunch. Versed in art
history, studio art, and chemistry, they go through rigorous
training in order to do the essential work of preserving our
cultural heritage. In my role at the Foundation for Advancement
of Conservation, I work with a team of conservators and
collections care professions who volunteer their time and
expertise to help collections affected by emergencies and
disasters. This team, known as the National Heritage
Responders, have done incredible work to salvage items when it
seemed that all was lost.
The team's work has been consistently supported by the
National Endowment for the Humanities. The Agency has funded
research projects and, likewise, informed response protocols in
support of innovative publications. NEH has likewise supported
the deployments following major disaster events, providing
these volunteers with the equipment and resources needed for
their success.
National heritage responders have the knowledge of
materials on the molecular level that helps drive their
decision-making processes. For example, while mold is a major
threat to objects exposed to damp environments, some of the
items can actually be frozen in order to create a hostile
setting for mold growth. These objects can later be thawed and
dried. Research and equivalent of techniques in this area have
moved forward in leaps and bounds over the past several
decades, and NEH has played an important role in supporting
this response work.
Although while having measures in place to effectively
respond to disasters is essential, those activities don't take
into account the full scope of a disaster cycle. Preparedness
and mitigation require foresight, innovation, and cooperation.
The Foundation for Advancement in Conservation manages a
program called Alliance for Response, which aims to bring
together collections professionals with emergency managers and
first responders on the local level.
These communities form cooperative disaster networks that
work together to achieve collective goals. The network in
Seattle has a mutual aid agreement in place to support each
other during the big one. In Salt Lake City, the network has
collaborated with state agencies to write an annex to the
State's emergency plan that included cultural resources, and
the network in Minneapolis-St. Paul developed a guide to
working with first responders. NEH has been supporting the work
of Alliance for Response since 2010. The Agency's investment in
the program has allowed for the launch of new networks across
the country and has provided resources for the existing
networks, such as training opportunities.
Collaborating on the local level is essential as each
region faces their own challenges in terms of natural hazards.
Increasingly extreme weather patterns are changing these
hazards as well. California institutions face an increased risk
for wildfires, and hurricanes gather more power over warmer
water, threatening those in their path. Local networks are
nimble in responding to these changing risks.
NEH has through their history of funding recognized the
importance of supporting collecting institutions as they
prepare for, respond to, recover from emergencies and
disasters, and the impact of these efforts is significant. When
Hurricane Irma hit Florida in 2017, the Vizcaya Museum and
Gardens in Miami, located on Biscayne Bay, suffered significant
storm surge damage. However, just 4 months prior, the museum
hosted an NEH-funded workshop in disaster response with the
South Florida Alliance for Response Network, and after the
storm, the mum's conservator knew to call the National Heritage
Responders for assistance, which helped the Vizcaya staff
quickly stabilize the environment and minimize the impact of
mold.
Conservators and collections care professionals face
significant challenges in protecting our cultural heritage for
future generations. There is ample evidence to show that the
strategic funding by the NEH has laid important groundwork, and
there is still much work to be done. With increased funding,
NEH can support the networking and training that are essential
in protecting cultural heritage from emergencies and disasters.
And this important work must continue to make sure that the
human story is preserved.
Thank you so much for your time, and I am happy to answer
questions.
[The statement of Ms. Unger follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Well, thank you for the testimony. We were
reminded of how important our arts, our history, and our
culture are, and we also learned some new information here. I
don't have any questions for the panel, but before I move on, I
would encourage anyone who would like to go out to Walter Reed,
we can arrange for that to happen through this committee. I am
also on the Defense Subcommittee. It is absolutely amazing what
is going on out there, so if you haven't had an opportunity and
you would like to do that, if a group of us would like to go
together or something like that, we can make that happen. So
thank you all very much for your testimony.
Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. I have no questions either, but I appreciate the
offer to do that.
Ms. McCollum. Ms. Pingree.
Ms. Pingree. Just briefly. Thank you all for your
testimony, and I look forward to our visit to Walter Reed. I
have heard about the program before, and thank you for your
testimony. That was very personal and moving. So thank you.
Thank you to Americans for the Arts. I am looking forward
to being the co-chair with my Republican colleague of the Arts
Caucus and working with you. I really appreciate all you to do
to advocate both for funding, but all the activities around the
arts and I learned a lot about conservation there, thank you
very much. We have lots of tiny museums in Maine, and we love
them all. thank you. [Laughter.]
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Stewart.
Mr. Stewart. I will be very brief. I would just like to
reiterate----
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Stewart, could I ask you to turn on your
microphone? Thank you.
Mr. Stewart. Sorry.
Ms. McCollum. We want to hear every word.
Mr. Stewart. OK. I will start over. [Laughter.]
I would just like to thank the witnesses, but especially
Chris as a veteran myself, as a member of a family of veterans,
and as someone with family who is serving and deployed now. I
think you bring up a point that is often overlooked, and that
is we typically think of veterans and those who, you know, need
a little help when coming home and the challenges that many
face. There is a little bit of a box that we often put them in,
and this is outside of that box. And it can be very effective,
very cost-efficient, and we appreciate your efforts to
highlight that.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Kilmer.
Mr. Kilmer. Thanks, Madam Chair. And, Mr. Stowe, I just
want to say thank you for your service, and I want to thank you
for testifying to the benefits of the Hot Shop Heroes Program
with the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. It is probably one of the
coolest hours I have had in this job was getting to visit with
some of the vets who are participating in that program. I had
one of them say to me, you know, I learned how to break a bunch
of stuff, and this has been really cool to get to form a bunch
of stuff and to create something.
And as they spoke to the therapeutic benefits, it was
incredibly powerful and highlights the importance of fighting
for funding for the NEA.
Master Gunnery Sergeant Stowe. Thank you, Congressman. I
would just like to add, too, that Hot Shop Heroes and the
partnership with Creative Forces, their program was the
template that I used with Greg Owen out there at the Tacoma
Museum, and that is how we got our program started with a
collaboration between both coasts through the NEA and Creative
Forces as the conduit. So thank you very much, sir.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Amodei.
Mr. Amodei. Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to ask,
just two things real quick. One is let us kind of take with a
grain of salt my colleague from Utah's comments because he was
in the Air Force, not the Marines. [Laughter.]
Mr. Amodei. However, as a former Army guy, which I know
isn't as good as where you hang from, but it was the best I
could do under the circumstances. But I don't want to limit the
hearings and the value of your testimony to the fact that arts
therapy could also be a very good treatment methodology for
members of Congress as well as those who have your background.
[Laughter.]
And with that, I will yield back, Madam Chair.
Ms. McCollum. I second that. Mrs. Watson Coleman.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. Thank you. I am sorry I was late. I
was delayed. I am glad that I heard as much as I have heard,
and thank you. Thank you for coming before us.
Ms. McCollum. Well, thank you.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. Thank you, Chair.
Ms. McCollum. I just want to comment on something I thought
was really important in the testimony that I heard today.
Visitation and audience trends are up. They are up in our
museums. They are up in our cultural institutions, and people
want to have the experience and the touchstones. I think the
fact that all four of you are here to talk about the importance
of that match that we do through this committee to amplify the
experience of healing, enjoying, creating, and sharing is so
very important.
So I thank you all, and, Mr. Bell, thank you for the invite
to the world to come to the reception tonight. [Laughter.]
Dr. Bell. To the world.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you so very much. As the next panel
comes up, I would just like to offer people who are here today,
we mean no disrespect if you see members come to and fore in
this hearing, as there are other Appropriations meetings taking
place, and some members will be speaking in committees or
preparing for testimony on the floor. So thank you very, very
much.
The other thing I am going to do, because we are all in
this together, I am going to share in introducing the panels.
Mr. Joyce and your team, get ready if you are here. Ms. Pingree
is going to introduce our next panel and lead that discussion.
If our next panel would come forward, and, Ms. Pingree, they
are right here.
Ms. Pingree. OK. It looks like we are reassembled. Thank
you very much, Madam Chair, for giving me this opportunity.
Hopefully I will get your names correct. And we will start with
Pam Breaux, the CEO of the National Assembly of State Arts
Agencies. Thank you, Ms. Breaux.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF STATE ARTS AGENCIES
WITNESS
PAM BREAUX, CEO, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF STATE ARTS AGENCIES
Ms. Breaux. Very correct. Good morning. Good morning,
everyone. Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking Member Joyce, and
members of the committee, thank you all for the invitation to
deliver this testimony regarding Federal appropriations for the
National Endowment for the Arts.
The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, also known as
NASAA, is the organization that represents and serves the
Nation's 56 state and jurisdictional arts agencies. Today I am
here to thank the members for their tremendous support for the
National Endowment for the Arts and urge the committee to
consider funding it at $167 million in fiscal year 2020, or to
be in exact tandem with my colleague, $167.5.
In the funding bill passed by Congress earlier this month,
the subcommittee supported an increase of $2 million in funding
for the Agency. The States and NASAA are extremely grateful for
this, particularly given the Administration's proposal to
eliminate the Agency. We recognize that committee members work
together in a bipartisan manner to support the NEA and its
important contributions to our Nation.
As you look to the next budget, NASAA hopes you will once
again consider increasing funding for NEA, which continues to
make a substantial impact in communities throughout the U.S.
Through its highly effective Federal-State partnership, the NEA
distributes 40 percent of its programmatic funds to State and
regional arts agencies each year. The resulting $49.4 million
in 2018 helped to empower States and regions to address their
unique priorities and served far more constituents than Federal
funds alone could reach. The report accompanying last year's
Consolidated Appropriations Act, affirmed Congress' support for
this important partnership and the 40 percent allocation, and
we sincerely thank the committee for this acknowledgement.
State arts agencies use their share of NEA funds, combined
with funds from State legislatures, to support approximately
22,000 grants to arts organizations, civic organizations, and
schools in more than 4,500 communities across the U.S. Twenty-
one percent of State arts agency grant awards go to non-
metropolitan areas supporting programs that strengthen the
civic and economic sustainability of rural America. Twenty-nine
percent of State arts agency grant dollars go to arts
education, fostering student success in and outside of school,
as well as building the critical thinking, creativity, and
communications skills necessary to meet the demands of today's
competitive workforce.
Congress' continued support of the 40 percent formula is
essential to state arts agencies, boosting their ability to
ensure that the arts benefit all communities regardless of
wealth or geography. Should Congress support an increase for
the NEA, State arts agencies will be in a position to expand
their meaningful work to help communities thrive as fulfilling
and productive places to live, conduct business, visit, and
raise families. They will also maintain their commitment to
engaging the public in decision-making about their programs, a
hallmark of state arts agencies' service.
NASAA and States also applaud the NEA's many services to
the country, including its leadership in developing the
noteworthy program for military personnel and veterans. In
partnership with the Departments of Defense and Veterans
Affairs, the NEA, of course, established Creative Forces, its
military healing arts network, which now has 11 clinical sites
in 9 States for creative arts therapies. Proudly, State arts
agencies now work with Federal, State, and local partners to
expand the reach of the program to benefit veteran and military
family populations in community settings. Partners also
continue to work in solidarity to help military personnel and
veterans return to their homes, their missions, and their
families whole, mentally fit, and emotionally ready for
whatever comes next. And to this end we certainly heard an
eloquent and poignant earlier testimony that attests to these
benefits.
Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you
today. NASAA sincerely appreciates Congress' strong bipartisan
support for the National Endowment Arts and Federal funding for
the arts. We look forward to continuing to work productively
with this committee, and we stand ready to serve as a resource
to you. Thank you.
[The statement of Ms. Breaux follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you very much. Flordelino Lagundino from
the Park Square Theater.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
PARK SQUARE THEATRE
WITNESS
FLORDELINO LAGUNDINO, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, PARK SQUARE THEATRE
Mr. Lagundino. Thank you very much. Thank you. Chair
McCollum, Ranking Member Joyce, and members of the
subcommittee, it is both an honor and a privilege to speak to
you today in support of the National Endowment for the Arts in
its mission to celebrate our Nation's diverse cultural
heritage. The public interactions that the NEA supports are
necessary to our Nation as they deepen our understanding of
ourselves and our community, cultivate respect for our varied
beliefs and values, and open us up to a wider world view. This
is the work of the arts and the work that the arts does best.
The experiences of my career have shown me how the arts as
a public practice strengthens our society by engaging adults
and by enhancing the understanding of the generations of
diverse young people who comprise the future of our country and
our world. Through my experiences in theater, I have seen
people be inspired, change their personal viewpoints and grow
their communities.
Personally, theater has enabled me to supplant the image of
the Filipino as little brown brother that was found in my
history textbooks with an energized, forward-looking sense of
self. I am the artistic director of Parks Square Theater, the
largest producing theater in St. Paul and the third-largest in
the Twin Cities region of Minnesota. We have over 3,000
subscribers, and more than a hundred thousand people see our
shows every year. This theater produces 9 shows and 3 shows as
a part of our award-winning education program which serves over
30,000 students annually.
In a recent conversation with Mayor Melvin Carter, the
first African-American mayor of St. Paul, he identified stories
that highlight our differences to be of the utmost importance
to building a thriving city. By sharing a multiplicity of
perspectives we connect and learn how from our seemingly
dissimilar backgrounds we actually have shared struggles and
experiences.
The support of the NEA is essential to our art making as it
enables Park Square to share stories that might not otherwise
be heard. This past summer we received a $10,000 NEA Challenge
America Grant, which funded the world premiere of the Korean
drama, Addict's Guide to Losing Her Virginity, by a Hmong
playwright, May Lee-Yang. This play is a contemporary comedy
about a Hmong Minnesota woman attempting to find love in order
to rid herself of ghosts from the past. We co-produced this
play with Theater Mu and Asian-American Theater Company in the
Twin Cities. With the NEA's contribution, we funded talk back
discussions with the artists, produced a series of panel
discussions about contemporary Korean and Hmong culture, and
offered pay-as-you-can tickets for the entire 3-week run,
making performances accessible. The community response from
this new play was overwhelming with the entire run being sold
after the first weekend. The NEA was important to the success
by alleviating some of the financial risk involved in producing
this new play and providing platforms for community engagement.
In addition to our main stage adult programming, for over 2
decades Park Square Theater has had at its core the mission the
presentation of great literature to teenage audiences in
Minnesota and neighboring States. With support from the NEA,
these live presentations challenge teens with complex human
situations and questions, stoke their intellects, and give them
a window into different worlds by making literature human and
immediate.
This past fall, Park Square presented A Midsummer Night's
Dream that featured Asian-American actors in the three of the
lovers' roles. The response from the Asian-American students
was of enjoyment and joy as they were able to see
representations of themselves as lovers, being strong,
vulnerable, impetuous, and very, very silly. They saw the
Asian-American images on stage reflected back to them as their
fullest selves, of who they are, of what they could be in the
future.
These stagings engender a sense of belonging in our society
and community. Our core values at Park Square of inclusive
casting allows our students the important opportunity to see
themselves on stage. The ability to see oneself on stage and to
see stories from own's culture reflected is such a powerful
experience, especially for people who are often denied complex
representations of their identity.
Theater has given me the opportunity to lift up and
complicate representations of my ethnic culture and uplift the
multiplicity of stories from the communities in which I have
lived. I have been fortunate to work for many NEA-supported
theaters during my career, all of which were imbued with a
sense of community commitment. At Mixed Blood Theater in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, I acted in Qui Nguyen's Vietgone, which
upended stereotypes of Asian men, that Asian men can't be sexy,
that people who speak English with a foreign accent are
ignorant. In La Jolla Playhouse, we created a veterans writers'
workshop that help people tell their stories, the service men
to tell their stories. The act of writing helped them to
process their time in service, assisted in their acclimation to
civilian life, and built a sense of mission and camaraderie
within the group.
In Perseverance Theater in Alaska, I was given the
opportunity to perform in The Long Season by Chay Yu, which was
about Filipino canary workers fighting for equal pay. These
types of roles, roles that show under represented people with
complex inner lives and intelligence, are rare in traditional
theater.
Thank you. Please, I thank this subcommittee for this
opportunity to speak and respectfully urge you to support the
Agency at the level of $167.5 million in fiscal year 2020.
Thank you very much.
[The statement of Mr. Lagundino follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you so much. Alexander Tittle, board
member from the Minnesota Humanities Center. Thank you.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
MINNESOTA HUMANITIES CENTER
WITNESS
ALEXANDER TITTLE, BOARD MEMBER, MINNESOTA HUMANITIES CENTER
Mr. Tittle. Thank you. Chairwoman McCollum and members of
the subcommittee, I thank you for the opportunity to present
testimony on behalf of the State Humanities Council, the State
affiliates of the National Endowment of the Humanities. My name
is Alex Tittle, and I am a member of the Board of the Minnesota
Humanities Center, the Minnesota affiliate of the National
Endowment for the Humanities.
I am here to request $167.5 million for the National
Endowment for the Arts and $53 million for the Federal and
State Partnership for fiscal year 2019. I am the disparity
reduction director for Hennepin County, which is a county
within the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Prior to that, I was the
vice president of Business Connect and Corporate Affairs for
the Minnesota Superbowl 2018. Before that, I was the equity
director for the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, an
agency responsible for the design and construction of the U.S.
Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, and before that, civil rights
director for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. I cite
my business and government affiliations simply because I
believe that it helps illustrate the wide variety of
individuals who believe so strongly in the role that the
humanities play in the communities across our Nation that they
are willing to volunteer their time to helping these most
important programs to thrive.
It should come as no surprise that our country is in dire
straits as it relates to disparities. By 2025, kids of color
will be the majority of U.S. high school students. The State
that we are in as a country needs to change, and I believe and
I am confident as I see and sit in the board meetings at the
Humanities Center that we are making a tremendous ground and
moving the dial around that.
As a proud member of the Humanities Center board of
directors since 2015, I have seen the impact of the work of the
State Humanities Council upon individuals, neighborhoods,
States, and regions. The state councils are the local face of
the humanities, developing and delivering the programs that
address the issues of greatest concern to their communities,
helping them explore their history and culture, and sharing the
stories of many of our diverse populations. The councils are
also a measured source of grants to local educational,
cultural, and historical organizations for public programming
in places where a small grant of several hundred to a few
thousand dollars can make an enormous difference in the lie of
our communities.
I am also, as many of my predecessors that came to speak
this morning, am a veteran of the United States armed services.
In that capacity, I have been a direct beneficiary of the
Minnesota Humanities Center programs. I participated in the
center's first Veteran Voices Program, which draws on the
humanities to call attention to veterans' contributions and
stories, allowing veterans to express themselves through
storytelling, art, theater, discussion groups, and other
activities. The program helps us veterans give voice to our
experiences and to promote a better understand between the
military and civilians.
Basically just as the master gunnery sergeant spoke
earlier, that it is an effort to ensure that our vents, our
brothers and sisters in arms have an understanding of the
suicide rates that are happening. This is serious business and
really regular medical treatment doesn't always help. The work
that we are doing at the Humanities Center is making all the
difference. It has made a difference in my life, and I see it
making a difference in the lives of my brothers and sisters who
have recently returned from theater on a regular basis.
It is to continuing to expand programs such as this in our
communities and Nation that I am asking for the funding levels
of $165 million from the NEA and $53 for the councils. The
State humanities councils are stretched thin in their ability
to meet local needs and requests and to collaborate with local
businesses, cultural organizations and institutions, such as
schools, libraries, museums, after-school programs, and many
other groups seeking to better the lives of those in these
communities.
I have sat in Humanities Center board meetings in which we
have deliberated for hours about how to allocate scarce
resources among the legitimate demands that are presented to us
from a wide range of deserving populations. Councils are also
experts, however, at using our Federal funds to attract other
funding. On average, over the past few years, councils have
been able to leverage $4 at the local level for every Federal
dollar granted.
Serving is important. Serving is important to all of us. I
would like to just reiterate the fact that as a veteran of 10
years in the United States armed services that this program,
the Veteran Voices Program, started a number of years ago,
makes all the difference to the veterans in the State of
Minnesota because we are not a large veteran community, and we
need that program to continue. And it also relates to the
humanities in the fact of education, education for our young
people, more so education for our teachers. We collaborated
with the University of Minnesota recently with a professor by
the name of Alex Pate. Alex Pate was the author of the book,
Amistad, and basically what he recognized that there is a
diverse population shortage in our country from teachers'
perspective, OK?
We can't change that, but one thing that we know is a
concept that he has developed called Innocent Classrooms. One
that he has mentioned to us is that kids within the first 5
minutes of meeting a teacher know whether or not they care
about them or not. And that is something that we are giving to
these teachers from the Humanities Center that is making all
the difference.
So, again, I plead, I ask that we consider the financial
grant for the humanities. Thank you. I stand ready for
questions if you might have them.
[The statement of Mr. Tittle follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you all for your testimony. Really
wonderful to hear from all of you, and thank you for your
service and for reminding us again how important the programs
are for returning veterans, both in the arts and humanities. I
will just reiterate, from my perspective, the State arts
councils and the people who do those jobs are just critically
important. Any increase we can have in funding makes a huge
difference, at the State level. I appreciate all of you sharing
your great work with all of us.
I will say that is very exciting to have a chair from
Minnesota since I grew up in Minnesota through high school.
[Laughter.]
Although I represent Maine and I am very proud to.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you for your testimony, and thank you for
your service.
Ms. Pingree. Mrs. Watson Coleman.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you very much for your testimony and your
service.
Mr. Tittle. Thank you.
Ms. Pingree. Mr. Amodei.
Mr. Amodei. Thank you, Madam Vice Chair. Ms. Breaux, I want
to thank you for your testimony. And I know that the
chairwoman, the vice chair, and the ranking member have never
used the phrase ``patron of the arts'' and my name in the same
sentence. [Laughter.]
Mr. Amodei. However, starting with my State legislative
career, when you talk about the program that State arts
agencies, grants, and stuff like that, it is one of the few
times I can recall in over however many years of legislative
service that when we funded that from the State level and from
the national level, your organization was phenomenally unique
in having people, especially at the State level, write a
handwritten note saying those two magic words, ``thank you.''
Patron of the arts, yeah, but everybody has got their own
style. To get those notes from those people who got, like, a
$5,300 grant, stuff like that, was phenomenally powerful. When
you talk about appropriating funds at a State or now the
Federal level, to have somebody come back and go, hey, thanks
for that program that you supported is phenomenally powerful.
So I just wanted to publicly say whoever's idea that was, and
it isn't a new one, it is a phenomenal legacy to have somebody
come back and just say thank you.
So I just wanted to make sure that, like, those notes were
not lost on this guy who didn't graduate from high school in
Minnesota, but did, I believe----
[Laughter.]
Mr. Amodei [continuing]. Get a high school diploma--I will
check and make sure--in Nevada. And the last thing I want to
say is what branch did you serve in, Mr. Tittle?
Mr. Tittle. U.S. Army.
Mr. Amodei. That a boy. All right. [Laughter.]
Ms. Pingree. I will recognize the chair and yield back, and
thank you for letting me introduce the panel.
Ms. McCollum. Certainly. Thank you. I think what you
attested to builds on what we heard earlier, but it is about
how the arts bring us together, allow us to explore one
another, sometimes in uncomfortable situations, to learn, to
grow, to heal. I am going to throw something out there and then
maybe ask you to quickly respond on it. And I am going to use
some of the information that you shared.
Forty percent formula and how important that is to the
States, because that gives an opportunity for you to focus on
Year 2025, where the majority of our students are going to be
students of color. I am a social studies teacher by trade. In
your written testimony, you refer to 2050, the Declaration of
Independence, we are going to have another big celebration. Why
treaties matter, how important that was in healing back home.
And Park Square Theater, established 1972?
Mr. Lagundino. Yeah.
Ms. McCollum. Yeah, the year I graduated from high school.
[Laughter.]
When Park started and moving forward. Could you just talk
about how important it is to have the flexibility that you get
from the arts organizations to develop programs close to your
communities? And I am going to ask you all collectively to do
that in about a minute a piece because I think it is important
to hear your voices.
Mr. Lagundino. Go ahead.
Ms. Breaux. I am happy to begin. And so my response will be
broader because of the reach of State arts agencies. You
mentioned the 40 percent share of the NEA's grant dollars. The
40/60 split is so incredibly important to the arts nationally
as well as at the local level. What the 40 percent side does,
the state side does, that the 60 percent doesn't is it responds
very specifically to State-articulated needs. Citizens
participate in strategic planning for state arts agencies, and
so their needs are articulated by them and met by the 40
percent side.
On the 60 percent side, national competition certainly
helps organizations leverage new private dollars. But the 60
percent side also has a value in that it demonstrates National
Endowment for the Arts' leadership opportunities. The very
creation of Creative Forces as leadership role of the NEA and
its ability to invest in that on the 60 percent created then
opportunity for States and locals to engage and match after
this demonstration project was created and funded nationally.
So distinct parts of the equation, both really important down
at the local level.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Do you gentlemen want to add
anything?
Mr. Lagundino. Go ahead. Go ahead.
Mr. Tittle. Well, I think--thank you. Thank you.
Flexibility, so how does this help around flexibility, simply
because when we start working with our communities,
particularly as you, Chairwoman, as you mentioned about
treaties matter and looking at our Native American communities,
when we start to unpackage the challenges inherent in those
communities, they become vast. And we have to nimble when we
see those things. We can't just say this money is just for this
or this money is just for that.
It is important that we actually address the challenges
that we see. And those folks who are on the ground, those
teachers, those individuals who represent those communities,
they have to be flexible. And I think that through the
education effort that happens within this programming, we are
able to do that. We are able to take a far reach into rural
Minnesota, in our area in rural Minnesota, and address teachers
who don't have resources because those sovereign nations aren't
equipped or aren't supported like other public school systems.
In some cases, some would say some public school systems aren't
equipped enough.
Ms. McCollum. Yeah.
Mr. Tittle. So we have to do additional things to make sure
that entire state is supported.
Ms. McCollum. OK. Thank you.
Mr. Lagundino. Hi.
Ms. McCollum. You get the last word.
Mr. Lagundino. I just want to say I am here by the request
of the Theater Communications Group. And I just want to say
that in terms of the funding, the flexibility, it allows us to
have conversations, for example, with Mayor Carter and say what
are exactly the conversations that you are wanting to have with
the community. And we can, like, then go and move with the
funding that we have to be able to have a direct dialogue with
the people or their audiences and not have to, you know, have a
2-year or 3-year window in which to raise funds.
It allows us the opportunity to be immediate, which is, I
think, one of the wonderful things about theater. It can move
quickly if we have the funding to do that.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
Mr. Lagundino. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you all for your testimony. And, Mr.
Joyce, I will let you introduce the next panel.
When you are ready, Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you for being here. I know Madam
Chairwoman brought it up before, but it bears repeating. There
are only 4 of us on this side. Three of us are also part of the
Financial Services Subcommittee which is meeting. Chris Stewart
is also on Intel and Mr. Simpson is a ranking member. So don't
worry, we are taking copious notes to make sure everybody on
our side hears your testimony as well.
I would like to recognize Dr. Cromar for 5 minutes, please.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY
WITNESS
KEVIN CROMAR, PH.D., AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY
Mr. Cromar. Thank you, and I had a chance to speak with
Representative Stewart, so I am not offended in any way.
[Laughter.]
Chair and Ranking Member, thank you. My name is Kevin
Cromar. I am testifying on behalf of the American Thoracic
Society to share our recommendations on funding and policy
issues facing clean air issues and the Environmental Protection
Agency.
I want to thank the committee for level funding from the
majority of EPA Clean Air programs in fiscal year 2019. We
haven't seen a budget for fiscal year 2020 yet, so it is hard
to comment on what is what the priorities will be for next
year. But I think we safely look at to earlier budgets to see
that there is not a high value being placed on the work being
done in EPA. That is disappointing because EPA is really doing
good work in our communities, and I am going to share some
examples in my home State of Utah, if that is OK.
I currently serve on the Utah Air Quality Board. It is a
governor-appointed board made up of business and local
government, health, and nonprofit community members. We are
charged developing plans to meet Federal air quality
regulations and to generally protect the quality in the State.
As a board member, I am personally aware of the essential
role that EPA-targeted airshed grants played in helping us
improve air quality. In 2016, Utah received an EPA grant to
purchase 33 new school buses and initiate a vehicle repair and
replacement program to assist in repairing vehicles that failed
to meet emissions standards.
These programs have been successful. They remove
approximately 131 tons of NOx emissions, 11 tons of PM
emissions, 99 tons of VOC emissions over the lifetime of the
vehicles. In 2018, Utah received an additional $3 million in
EPA funding to address diesel truck emissions. The program is
still being implemented, but it is expected that it will reduce
nearly a hundred tons of pollution each year. And then the most
important aspect is based on the success of these EPA-funded
efforts, the Utah legislature is currently considering
allocating a hundred million dollars of State funds to continue
and expand these programs. So a small investment from EPA is
leading to a larger investment from the State.
These targeted airshed grants are economically efficient.
They help communities with severe air pollution problems
improve air quality, communities like Fairbanks, Alaska, L.A.,
California, and Salt Lake City just name a few. Unfortunately,
in the past 2 years, the Administration has proposed steep cuts
to these programs, and we encourage you guys to see the value
in these programs. The Administration has also proposed steep
cuts in the EPA Clean Air science programs, enforcement
programs, climate programs, indoor air programs, and I urge
this committee to see the wisdom in continuing to support these
valuable programs.
While the proposed budget cuts are concerning, there are
other steps Administration has taken that threaten our Nation's
air quality. I understand that for this next year the priority
will be deregulation of EPA, and while that might save some
firms some money, I can't speak to political value. From an
economic perspective it may be a little shortsighted, and
hopefully I can explain that just a little bit.
A non-exhaustive list of proposed rollbacks include the
Clean Power Plan, Mercury Air Toxins Rule, wood stove and new
source performance standards, glider kits rules, and vehicle
tailpipe and fuel efficiency standards. And the reason it is
shortsighted from an economic perspective is there are
jurisdictional issues in the Clean Air Act, so some of the
major sources of pollution can only be addressed at the Federal
level. And if we roll back these regulations, what States have
to do is they have to look for places to cut the emissions in
other places. Often these other cuts we have to make are more
expensive, and they have a larger inverse impact on local
businesses and citizens. So I urge you to think about the
broader economic impacts of some of these rollbacks.
Finally, I want to bring the committee's attention to a
critical issue that is an urgent need that we need to address,
namely the health impacts from wildfires. Wildfires have long
been a source of air pollution, but their frequency, intensity,
and proportional contribution to particulate air pollution has
increased in the last 10 years. Wild land fires now contribute
up to a third of the annual average PMS in the U.S., and 40
percent of new home construction since 1990 has been in the
wild land urban interface.
Currently, wildfires and controlled burns are in the
purview of the Department of Interior, the Bureau of Land
Management, but there has been limited coordination and
interaction with sister agencies. There is a lot we still don't
know about the health effects from wildfires and a lot we don't
know about practical issues, things like are masks and indoor
cleaners effective to reduce exposures, what symptoms should
people expect or be aware of in order to request help, and how
do we effectively communicate to the public about wildfire
public health issues?
Responding to the challenges of wildfires requires a
multidisciplinary cross-agency effort, and this is best
moderated by the EPA given its prime health directive. To this,
the ATS is asking and recommends new funding, new $15 million
of EPA funding over the next 5 years to address wildfire
issues, and we have broken it down in the written testimony on
how that can best be accomplished.
In conclusion, I strongly urge the subcommittee to maintain
funding for the wide range of effective EPA Clean Air science
enforcement and grants programs. I further recommend the
committee provide an additional $15 million for EPA to better
respond to the growing public health crisis posed by wildfires.
And communities across the country, including my home State of
Utah, Representative Stewart's home State of Utah, will benefit
from this investment in clean air programs. Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Cromar follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you very much. Next we will hear from Dr.
Rizzo.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION
WITNESS
ALBERT RIZZO, M.D., FACP, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, AMERICAN LUNG
ASSOCIATION
Dr. Rizzo. Dr. Rizzo. Good morning, Chair McCollum, Ranking
Member Joyce, and members of the committee. Thank you for this
opportunity to testify. My name is Dr Albert Rizzo, and I am
the chief medical officer for the American Lung Association,
whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and
preventing lung disease. For this reason I am here to urge the
subcommittee to increase its investment in the programs of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that protect the public
health from air pollution. It is also critical that this and
all appropriation bills are free of any harmful policy riders
that would weaken EPA's ability to protect the public health.
We truly appreciate the name of this session, Environment
with a Public Health Focus. EPA's programs, many of which are
protected by the Clean Air Act, are critical for protecting the
Americans, especially those with lung disease, from harmful air
pollution. Specific funding requests or in my written comments,
but today I want to convey the sense of urgency of increasing
funding overall for EPA's clean air and climate change work.
In addition to my work with the American Lung Association,
I am a practicing pulmonary physician in Delaware, and air
pollution is lethal and cleaning it up protects my patients,
your constituents, from an array of health harms, such as
asthma attacks with missed school days and missed work days,
heart attacks, and premature deaths.
Air pollution affects everyone, but there are those at
higher risk: patients with lung disease, children, seniors,
pregnant women, those in low-income communities, and many
communities of color. My location in Delaware illustrates the
critical role that the Federal government plays in protecting
Americans from air pollution.
Delaware has worked tirelessly to reduce its emissions, and
we have stringent controls on power plants and other industrial
facilities. We have adopted low emission standards for our
vehicles. But we are at the mercy of States upwind of us. Over
90 percent of Delaware's unhealthy ozone levels originate from
out-of-State power plants with weaker pollution controls that
emit dangerous pollution that ends up in our lungs. That is why
it is so critical that this Nation continues to invest in the
EPA. All of our States need strong support from the Federal
government to protect their residents. EPA needs more resources
to implement and enforce the lifesaving protections in place
under the Clean Air Act, and to work with States, local
governments, and tribes to monitor and reduce emissions across
the country.
Thanks to the Clean Air Act, the Nation has made enormous
strides in reducing harmful outdoor air pollution. It is
estimated that in 2020 the Clean Air Act amendment will prevent
over 230,000 premature deaths. However, that progress is at
risk for two key reasons. First, despite the clear mandate of
the EPA to protect human health from air pollution, proposals
by the Trump Administration would weaken, delay, or rescind
clean air protections. These include repealing the Clean Power
Plan and replacing it with a rule that could be worse for
health than doing nothing at all. It would also call for
gutting carbon standards for new plants, undermining limits on
mercury and other air toxics, rolling back limits on greenhouse
gases from vehicles, allowing more super-polluting trucks on
the road, censoring the health science, and cherry picking the
data that supports these rollbacks. Despite these proposed
rollbacks, the staff at EPA are still doing the lifesaving work
of helping protect human health from air pollution across the
country, and we must support this critical work.
The progress toward healthy air for all to breathe is also
at risk because of climate change. Climate change is a public
health emergency. Wildfire smoke, extreme heat increased levels
of ozone pollution, disruption to medical care during extreme
storms, and health hazards of the disaster cleanup are all part
of the substances that put lungs at risk.
I would lie to close with a story that a woman from
Pennsylvania, Claudia, shared with our staff recently. Her
teenage son, Jesse, was diagnosed with asthma as a toddler.
Claudia makes every effort to control for possible asthma
triggers inside her home, but she can't control the quality of
the air when Jessie steps outside. She checks for air quality
alerts on her phones every day and knows that on hazy, hot, and
humid days, the ozone smog level is going to be high, and Jesse
has to limit his time outside. Claudia's message to you, our
legislators in Washington, is to know that families can do
everything they can at home to keep their kids healthy, but we
need your leadership.
Madam Chair, the American Lung Association often says when
you can't breathe, nothing else matters, and thanks to your
investments in EPA, our Nation has made enormous progress in
reducing harmful air pollution. We call on you now to further
fund the EPA and its lifesaving work, implementing and
enforcing protections of the Clean Air Act, and ensure that
your bill does not contain any harmful policy riders that would
undermine this work.
Thank you for the opportunity.
[The statement of Dr. Rizzo follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you for your testimony. Mr. Keogh, you are
recognized for 5 minutes.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CLEAN AIR AGENCIES
WITNESS
MILES KEOGH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CLEAN AIR
AGENCIES
Mr. Keogh. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Chairwoman,
Ranking Member, and members of the committee. My name's Miles
Keough. I am executive director of the National Association of
Clean Air Agencies, which convenes 154 of the 170 State and
local clean air agencies across the country. Today I am going
to be making three asks of you all and on behalf of all the
clean air agencies in every State of the country, so benefiting
your constituents no matter where you are.
The three asks, I will explain more fully in brief remarks,
one to increase the Federal grants to State and local air
agencies to make up for 15 years of essentially level funding
for those agencies of an additional $82 million over what is
currently funded, for a total of $310 million. Second, to
provide flexibility for agencies for how they use the funds to
address the highest priorities rather than focus them on areas
that are lower priorities. And third, retain grants for
monitoring fine particulate matter under the authority of
Section 103.
So thank you for listening to this testimony this morning.
I think that there this is an important step to really
understand where we are. A good national air quality program is
a hell of an investment in America. The Clean Air Act's 1990
investments, depending on how you read the cost benefit
analyses, have returned between 30 to 1 or 90 to 1 in terms of
the payoff. I think anyone who I said if I give you a dollar
now and you have to give me $90 later would recognize that is a
great return on investment. And this is really important. It
has really done great strides to improve public health, but by
some estimates air pollution still shortens more lives of
Americans than gun violence and car crashes put together. So we
still have a lot of work to do in this arena.
The State and local agencies work in partnership with EPA,
and the responsibilities facing these agencies have continued
to grow while the Federal funding has stayed fairly stagnant
for some time. The Federal grants to State and local air
quality agencies under Sections 103 and 105 of the Clean Air
Act were $228 million in fiscal year 2019. That is the same
number as in fiscal year 2004. Everything costs a lot more than
it did in 2004. We did an analysis about 12 years ago about the
need for increases, and trust me, it is a lot more than $310
million even then, but this would be a critical investment just
to keep pace with the change in the purchasing power of the
dollars that would be afforded to these agencies.
Secondly, we need the funding for the States to have and
locals to have the flexibility to use funds for the highest
priority programs. And third, for monitoring equipment,
especially for fine particulate, to remain in section 103
authority rather than moving to section 105 authority because
105 requires matching funds by the States, and it is a real
disincentive for some States that are really, you know, sitting
on 15 years without a change in their funding as to whether
they will improve that equipment or whether they will just hold
it together with duct tape.
The Clean Air Act originally envisioned Federal government
support for about 60 percent of the funding, and today it is
about 25 percent of what State and local agencies use, in some
cases much less. But the work that we are taking on is a lot
different than it was 15 years ago. Wildfires, new kinds of air
toxics, PFAS, certainly climate change. The public assimilates
information via social media that didn't exist 15 years ago.
The changes are really tall. And no matter how you feel about
the regulatory reforms being undertaken by EPA, it is
impossible to argue that they do not shift the balance of
responsibility to State and local agencies. So we really need
your help.
So how would we use these funds? We would bring more areas
into attainment with clean air standards. We would reduce the
concentration of fine particulates. We would improve small
business compliance assistance. We would modernize our modeling
tools, increase the frequency of our inspections, improve our
monitoring, develop better risk assessment capabilities, and
improve our communications with the public so that they can
protect their health. All these activities are critical to our
mission.
So in conclusion, NACAA urges Congress to increase Federal
grants to all State and local air agencies by $82 million over
fiscal year 2019 levels for a total of $310 million to give us
the flexibility to solve the problems that need the most
solving and to retain grants for our monitors under the Section
103 Authority. Thank you very much for this opportunity to
testify today. I am happy to answer any questions.
[The statement of Mr. Keogh follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you for your testimony. Now we will hear
from Ms. Shepard. You have 5 minutes to address us.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
WE ACT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
WITNESS
PEGGY SHEPARD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CO-FOUNDER, WE ACT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL
JUSTICE
Ms. Shepard. Good morning, Chair. I am the executive
director of We Act for Environmental Justice. We are a 31-year
old membership organization based in Harlem in New York City.
We work to build healthy communities by organizing residents of
color and low-income to engage in the creation of environmental
health and protection policies at a city, State, and local
level.
Environmental justice is respective that all communities
deserve equity and environmental protection, enforcement of
existing laws, citing of noxious facilities, and consultation
in the development of government policies and regulations.
Environmental justice places human health at the center of
environmental struggles, understanding that communities of
color and low income are home to more susceptible populations,
that children in their early stages of development are more
vulnerable, and that multiple environmental exposures must be
addressed by studying their cumulative impact and synergistic
effects on health.
Why is that necessary? Because permitting of polluting
facilities is established facility by facility. When there is a
multitude of these sources in one community, there is a
cumulative impact on the residents, and this cumulative impact
is not measured or regulated despite the fact that the National
Environmental Protection Act, or NEPA, calls for an assessment
whether or not a Federal action has the potential to
individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the
human environment. However, that assessment doesn't happen
because the EPA has never developed a final guidance on
cumulative impacts. Yet this is at the heart of environmental
justice concerns due to the disparate impact of pollution in
those communities. This subcommittee should consider holding
hearings to catalyze Federal policy on cumulative impacts and
synergistic effects on these communities.
Now, we know that increased exposure to air toxics can
begin in the womb due to the mother's exposure across the
placenta and result in results such as low birth weight,
developmental delays, asthma attacks, and genetic alteration.
The Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, where
I've served as a co-principal investigator for the past 20
years, has developed these cutting-edge studies and research,
and we need to continue the investment in these 11 centers
around the country that is funded by the EPA and the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Now, we know that place matters. Your zip code is
determinant of your health status. The crisis in Flint reminds
us that we must invest in lead-free homes, but without
financing for low-income homeowners, public housing
authorities, and moderate income housing, this toxic legacy of
lead in gasoline and paint still persists. So we must support a
healthy homes initiative that eradicates mold and lead from
homes of the most vulnerable, like those in Cancer Alley, a
hundred-mile stretch of land between Baton Rouge and New
Orleans where former agricultural plantations have been
replaced by oil refineries and 175 heavy industrial plants.
In Houston, Oakland, and Newark, the transportation impacts
from ports' and goods' movement terrorizes areas of people of
color with truck movement and emissions that exacerbate asthma
and heart disease. In New York City, public housing is home to
over 600,000 people of color and low-income residents living in
shameful conditions of mold, pests, and housing deterioration
that may be causal and contributes to the appalling incidence
of chronic disease. Farm workers and their children and
pregnant women are working in fields sprayed with
chlorpyriphos, which has been banned by the EPA for residential
use, but is still allowed to be used in agriculture. And it was
about to be banned by the EPA when the new administration moved
in and rolled that back.
The Gwich'in Tribe of Arctic Village in Alaska faces
drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It will risk
the future of their village and the caribou herd which they
depend on for food, clothing, community, and culture. Their
homes are currently threatened by global warming, seen in
permafrost and river changes, and drilling proposals. These
sacrifice zones are a moral outrage. We must pledge to end this
dichotomy of two Americas of throwaway communities, of the
acceptance that we will always have winners and losers. So we
must lift up the struggle for climate justice and reject the
cap and trade mechanism that results in environmental justice
communities not getting reductions in toxic air emissions.
So I want to thank you for the opportunity to share with
you some of the challenges that our underserved communities are
facing. Back in 1994, President Clinton issued an executive
order, 12898, on environmental justice which needs to be fully
implemented and codified into law. And to achieve these goals
we will need leadership, commitment, and strong oversight.
Thank you.
[The statement of Ms. Shepard follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you for your testimony. Last but not
least, Ms. Roberts, you are recognized now for 5 minutes.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE HEALTH ALLIANCE FOR CHEMICAL POLICY REFORM
WITNESS
MICHELE ROBERTS, NATIONAL CO-COORDINATOR OF EJHA, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
HEALTH ALLIANCE FOR CHEMICAL POLICY REFORM
Ms. Roberts. Thank you. It is wonderful following my dear
friend, Dr. Peggy Shepard. I agree with everything she said, so
I can add on to my statement.
Good morning. My name is Michele Roberts, and thank you for
inviting me to testify before you. I come before you as the
national coordinator of the Environmental Justice Health
Alliance for chemical policy reform. We are a collective of
fence line groups who live under some of our Nation's most
egregious operations. They live fence line, and their health,
as you heard Peggy Shepard and others speak, their health is
compromised as a result of that and many forms of disparities,
beginning with the State where I am originally from, that being
Wilmington, Delaware.
We are also happy to be able to also in our network be part
of what is called a larger collective, the Coming Clean
Collective, where we have a collective of science advocates,
policymakers, and others who support the capacity building that
our communities need. And equally, we are pleased to say that
one of our ally members is here with us today, and that is the
Center for Earth Energy and Democracy, which is based out of
Minneapolis, Minnesota. We are happy also to work with our
friends out of New Jersey, Dr. Nikki Sheets, and the New Jersey
Environmental Justice Alliance.
You know, the communities that we represent are those who
are impacted first and worse during industrial and natural
disasters. As I said, we agree with everything that Peggy
Shepard just read. But what we wish to speak to today is the
fact that many of our communities are impacted by disasters.
They are the canary in the minefield, as you say. I come before
you to encourage you to ensure all forms of safety protections
under your jurisdictions are fully funded. This is necessary to
protect communities, such as those represented in EJHA.
Our communities have organized and pushed hard for many
years to achieve and gain the modest gains that they have
today, such as the Executive Order 13656, securing chemical
facility safety and management systems. We need that actual act
EO codified. In addition to that, our communities, like
Charleston, West Virginia, folks over in Wisconsin who were
impacted by the Husky refinery fire, that could have impacted
Minnesota in many ways. The folks in Mossville, Louisiana, who
have lost their homes and their land and their lives and their
culture to big energy and refineries, and their health as well
have been compromised. People in Charleston, West Virginia, who
are still purchasing $5 bottles of water, as Ms. Sue Ferguson
said at Institute West Virginia, just to bathe herself on the
heels of the Elk River disaster.
Where I am from, Wilmington, Delaware, where the Croda
facility shut down the Delaware Memorial Bridge for 6 and one-
half hours on both sides of the bridge, Delaware and New
Jersey, thereby leaving communities to aimlessly wander through
the nights wondering what was going on as the highways rolled
through their communities on the Sunday following Thanksgiving,
one of the most highly trafficked time of the year; leaving
also volunteer fire departments and others to actually have to
deal with these fires. And so, therefore they need funding and
training.
This particular facility in Delaware actually emitted
ethylene oxide, and to today, the community members are to this
moment wondering how their health was compromised, and what it
is they must do for remediation, in addition to understanding
that they are living on what is called the industrial corridor,
thereby having other, as Peggy Shepard alluded, cumulative
impacts in their communities, all the reasons we need the
Environmental Protection Agency and the Chemical Safety Board
to be fully funded.
In addition to that, our communities are proliferating with
these cheap dollar stores, 99 cents, and dollar stores bringing
toxic products and stocking shelves of toxic products, to which
we need the consumer safety protection standards actually
implemented.
Our communities, to save time, we have actually sent and
shared many of our documents with you--there is a whole host of
them--because of the fact that, again, our communities must
prove the fact that they are first and worse, must prove the
fact that they have higher disparities, must prove the fact
that they need cumulative impacts analysis before any and all
permits are offered.
Again, we thank you for the opportunity to be able to
testify and ask that you fully fund the EPA's enforcement
especially and that of the Chemical Safety Board. Thank you
very much, and I welcome any questions.
[The statement of Ms. Roberts follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you for your testimony. I would like to
recognize first my distinguished colleague, Mrs. Watson
Coleman.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. Thank you. Thank you. Welcome to you.
It is good to see you, Peggy Shepard. It is good to hear Nicky
Sheats' name mentioned. I often get visits from him from around
the corner just to bring me up to date. It is good to hear from
you, Dr. Rizzo.
I am a lung patient. I just left my pulmonologist which is
why I was late. And I believe that a couple of things. It is
that we need to fully fund those programs to keep our air, and
our water, for that matter, safe, usable, breathable,
drinkable. And I also think that we need to be concerned that
we will EPA, we need EPA to do the work it is supposed to do.
I am concerned about something that you mentioned, Dr.
Shepard, and that was you said that there is a requirement for
a cumulative assessment, but that it has never been done
because EPA has never developed an instrument or has never held
anyone accountable for that.
Ms. Shepard. They have never developed a guidance for
State, and as a result, States and judges say, well, we don't
know how to measure or assess cumulative impact. So when an
environmental impact statement is being done, the cumulative
impact part of that just isn't addressed.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. So that is something that I am glad
that I know about now, and I will talk to my chairman about
such a thing. But our major concern is not that we won't fund
EPA, but that EPA will get to do the work that it is intended
to do. So I thank you very much for all of you for all of your
testimony, and I thank you for yielding to me. I yield back.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. Madam Chairwoman.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you, Mr. Joyce. I am going to put a
couple things together, and I reflect my colleague's statements
about the accumulative exposure. The power that it has to be
destructive in your body is something as a State
representative, as a mom, just as a citizen, it is something
that you really worry about, especially the fact that we don't
have good science on how some of these toxic chemicals really
affect children, both prenatal and in their development stages.
So thank you for raising that, and that is something that I
know this committee would like to look into more in the coming
months. And thanks for all the extra homework. I am a former
teacher, so thanks for the links, Ms. Roberts. I didn't have
time last night to click on everything because I was afraid of
how many pages they were going to be, and I didn't want to be
up too late. But I really do look forward to looking at the
extra reports that you added on.
Could I just talk about some of the things that you are
seeing as a lack of emphasis, you mentioned the accumulation
exposures. Things that you mentioned, wild land fires, that we
need to look into. What are some of the emerging issues that
this committee should be looking at making sure that we are
thinking and asking when EPA comes in where they are on things?
So and not to put you on the spot. You can contact us a little
more later. But just one emerging issue or something that you
think we are negligent on, just one thing, and I will go down
the panel.
Dr. Rizzo. Well, I think it was touched on. The emerging
thing is we have great standards right now. They need to be
improved, but they also cannot be rolled back. So making sure
that the Clean Air Act is set to be enforced the way it is
meant to. And as the Lung Association, we often urge it along
to help make sure they are doing what they are doing because
those changes are going to be more important as climate change
makes all these things worse, wildfires and ozone.
Ms. McCollum. OK.
Mr. Keogh. Seconded exactly what Dr Rizzo said. Also adding
there are a number of emerging toxins. There are a number in
the air toxic space, some for which new RTRs and other
procedures need to be done, some which, like PFAS, for example,
we need to understand better how it moves, how the exposures
work, and a much more serious investment in that space would be
very a good investment.
Mr. Cromar. I am going to double down on wildfires. If you
look at the largest unmet need and the biggest current issue,
we can actually make a big difference here with an investment
in this area. It is something that we need across the whole
U.S. So wildfires is an area we should encourage the EPA to
embrace. To date they don't really do anything on wildfires.
They just look at exceptional events, and can we excuse States
from their regulatory responsibility if there is a wildfire.
But in terms of the thing about health impacts, it is something
we need invest in.
Ms. Shepard. Yeah, TSCA reform, which should be happening,
be implemented at the EPA is not really being implemented. And
the fact that most of our chemicals are not really studied and
assessed is a continuing problem. We have phthalates and PFAS,
which is ubiquitous. Phthalates in our food, in all of our
consumer products, and consumer products and cosmetics are not
regulated.
I would also just double back on something you said. We do
have very good research on the impact of environmental
exposures on children, and we just need to take action. If we
look at the results from the 11 or 17 children environmental
mental health centers that have been funded for the past 20
years, there is groundbreaking evidence. We just are not taking
action on it.
Ms. Roberts. In addition to that, I agree with all of those
points that were raised. We really need to hone in on these
cumulative impacts because until we look at that and address
that of the multiplicity of chemicals that have proliferated on
this market, we are really setting ourselves up for enormous
failures. We cannot allow for certain populations to be at
risk. That is morally unconscionable. We need to have the moral
and political consciousness to be able to really dig deep and
really pass a robust a TSCA reform package that addresses
legacy communities and factors and that of cumulative impacts.
No one, no one, absolutely no one should be at risk, especially
in the disproportionate numbers that we have today. Thank you
very much.
Ms. McCollum. So one theme I heard come through was climate
change, and looking at the way climate change is going to put
at risk not only our air quality, but our water quality as
well, and these extreme weather patterns that we are seeing and
the way that we are now talking, whether it is fires or
whatever, you know, for air quality for people, to be aware, to
be safe. But we don't know what we are telling them to be aware
of, what, at what level.
So I want to thank all of you for your testimony. And with
that, I will yield back to you, Mr. Joyce, if Mr. Simpson has a
question.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you very much. I would like to recognize
the former chairman of this subcommittee and my distinguished
colleague, Mr. Simpson.
Mr. Simpson. Thank you. Just a couple quick questions. You
asked for $82 million more, I understand that. You all asked
for full funding. I don't understand what that is. I don't know
what number we are looking at. I don't know what full funding
refers to. Is there a----
Ms. Shepard. We can get back to you with numbers.
Mr. Simpson. Yeah, I would appreciate that. The second
thing, you want to get EPA involved in wildfires?
Mr. Cromar. Yeah, particularly----
Mr. Simpson. We are having a tough time getting the Forest
Service involved in wildfires. [Laughter.]
Mr. Cromar. Yeah. Any time you have an issue where there is
a split responsibility, so you have OSHA who studies the
facemasks and whether they work or not, and then the Department
of Interior deals with the management issues. But no one is
addressing the health impacts and the risk communication. And
because EPA has an expertise in the air health field, they are
a natural place to lead this multi-agency effort to address
wildfires. It is a big issue that is not being addressed, and
in our view, the EPA is the best place to house that effort.
Mr. Simpson. Well, it is a huge issue in the West.
Mr. Cromar. In the West, in the Southeast.
Mr. Simpson. I can't breathe in August in Idaho about half
the time.
Mr. Cromar. Yeah, and there is a precedent for this. In the
90s there was a big investment to study particle air pollution,
and they set up some centers to study it. And that is when we
really learned about these health impacts. We think that model
would work for wildfires as well, and we have some details on
how that could happen.
Mr. Simpson. A, we know all the smoke in the air from
wildfires is bad. It is not good to breathe it. The answer is
don't have wildfires. Other than that, the EPA could spend a
lot of money saying how bad it is, but I don't know what that
does for us other than we know we need to reduce the amount of
wildfires in the country.
Mr. Keogh. If I could just respond to that just for a
moment. One thing we can do----
[Laughter.]
Absolutely. No, no, one thing that we can do, a lot of what
the State and local agencies that have been on the front lines
of trying to communicate about wildfires have been doing is
trying to do things like place mobile monitors so we know where
the air is good and where it is bad. But we don't have that
many of those, the EBEM units that can be moved around. Improve
our ability to communicate with the public about when air
quality is impacted by these things, targeting communications
to people who can then take action to protect themselves,
figuring out what works and what kind of protective measures
work as well.
A lot of the State and local agencies, especially in States
like Idaho, Utah, California, and the like, out in the West in
particular, have really been doing great strides to try to put
together good strategies with the equipment and with the
knowledge base that they have got. Not to plug my ask again,
but catching them up for 15 years' worth of level funding would
really improve their ability to be partners with EPA in being
effectively responsive in those conditions.
Mr. Simpson. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Chair, I have more of a comment. So 15
years' level funding. We have seen more fires, if we are just
going to focus on air quality and fires, and less resources
being available for local communities, for cities, for States,
for our national government to understand its overall effect on
healthcare. I think, in and of itself, if you just figure
inflation, let alone, we are seeing more and more episodes of
this happening. It really speaks to you, looking at the
numbers.
Just for the record, I have asked for a larger amount of
money for this committee because of all the unmet needs. I know
that you dealt with it as chair, and that Ken did, and the rest
of us. We just haven't had a very substantial allocation, I
think, to do a lot of the work that we would like to do on both
sides of the aisle for many of these issues. So thank you.
Mr. Simpson. Well, I appreciate that, and I am not
disagreeing with what you all are saying. I am just trying to
envision what exactly it would be. I mean, every night I go
home, especially in August. You turn on the TV and the weather
station will tell you what the air quality is that day. We have
high schools canceling football games and colleges canceling
football games because of air quality. The answer to that is
put out wildfires before they become huge conflagrations, and
that is the Forest Service's responsibility.
I've seen too many times when you get several agencies
involved in something, nothing gets done because they all think
they are in charge. I would hate to see that become the case in
something like this. But I don't disagree with what you are
talking about in monitoring air quality. So, thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. So thanks very much. The next
panel. I am sorry. Did you have a question? You didn't go. You
have a question.
Mr. Joyce. No, I was just going to tell Mr. Keogh that this
is his moment.
Ms. McCollum. Well, do it on the record.
Mr. Joyce. This is your moment to plug your activities.
[Laughter.]
I am glad you are doing so while you are here. There is no
need to be embarrassed by it.
Ms. McCollum. Our next panel up, Mr. Chad Lord who used to
work in my office----
[Laughter.]
Healing our Waters Great Lakes Coalition, and Howard
Learner, executive director for Environmental Law and Policy
Center. Chad, did I give you a slight heart attack?
Mr. Lord. A little bit. [Laughter.]
Ms. McCollum. You are a two-person panel. So you are up and
the next one. You just stay there. So, Mr. Learner?
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY CENTER
WITNESS
HOWARD A. LEARNER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY
CENTER
Mr. Learner. Good morning. I am Howard Lerner. I am the
executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center.
Thank you, Chair McCollum and Ranking Member Joyce, for
inviting us to testify this morning.
We have worked for many years together to protect the Great
Lakes. We are engaged with many colleagues and public officials
in both creating, establishing, and building the Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative. We recognize, we commend this
subcommittee for the strong bipartisan support over the years
for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and to make it work
well.
And I will be making three points this morning. First, this
is a vitally important and successful program. It is a model
Federal program providing great benefits. It is working well on
the ground and on the waters. Second, the Appropriations
Committee should provide at least continued support of $300
million annually for the program as it has been doing over the
past years. Third, the committee should work to increase
funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to $475
million annually. That is the funding level the program began
with, and because of the problems and challenges, it is time to
come back to the original funding for the program.
As you understand, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
and the Great Lakes themselves face challenges: harmful algal
blooms in western Lake Erie, Lake Superior, and Lake Michigan,
and throughout the Great Lakes, and the impacts of climate
change that exacerbate the problems in the Great Lakes. The
Great Lakes are a global gem. They contain 21 percent of the
world's fresh water supply, safe drinking water for 42 million
people in the United States and Canada. They support a $7
billion fishing industry. They provide recreation, and they
draw in millions of tourists for everything from sports fishing
to other outdoor recreation. In short, if you live in the
Midwest, the Great Lakes are where you live. They are where you
work. It is where we play.
So let me turn, if I could, to my first point. The Great
Lakes Restoration Initiative is a commonsense program. It is
working well. It supports more than 4,000 projects to protect
shorelands and coastal wetlands. It has cleaned up settlements
in the St. Louis River area of concern in northern Minnesota,
and it is helping to clean up nutrient runoff in western Lake
Erie. It has funded and supported projects across the States to
improve water quality so that we have safe water to drink,
fisheries and aquatic habitats, and beaches across the lakes
have been restored for swimming. In other words, fishable and
swimmable in the Great Lakes.
For more than 25 years, there were plans to restore the
Great Lakes, but they were constrained by significant Federal
funding. The Initiative was a breakthrough. The program was
initially planned for $500 million annually, and a vision it
would add two existing programs. It has been working well.
Let me turn if I could to my second point. The full House
has consistently voted to appropriate $300 million of annual
funding with strong bipartisan support from this subcommittee,
from the full committee, even when the President's budget has
cut it back significantly. Hopefully this year and next we can
move beyond keeping the funding in place to the higher level of
funding where the program began and what is fully justified.
And that is my third point. This subcommittee should work
to increase funding to $475 million annually. That was the
original funding level. That money is useful. It is needed. The
needs are great, and as we have harmful algal blooms not just
in Lake Erie, but in Lake Superior, in Lake Michigan, the other
shallow water bays, we need to focus more resources on solving
that problem.
So last year the Senate proposed in the Water Resources
Development Act to increase funding up to $390 million in a
couple of years. This year and next, the House should seize the
leadership and the opportunity to move up to $475 million,
which is where the program began. Focus on toxic algal blooms
in the shallow water pays, the impact which scientists are
telling us about climate change on the Great Lakes, making
problems worse. We have a report coming out by a group of
leading Midwest University scientists on the impacts of climate
change and some of the solutions directed toward the Great
Lakes.
This is a successful program. It has been a model for
Federal and State and local cooperation. The time has come to
move the funding back to the right level. It is where we live,
work, and play. Thank you for inviting my testimony, and after
Chad, I would be pleased to address any questions you might
have.
[The statement of Mr. Learner follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Lord, welcome.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
HEALING OUR WATERS--GREAT LAKES COALITION
WITNESS
CHAD LORD, POLICY DIRECTOR, HEALING OUR WATERS--GREAT LAKES COALITION
Mr. Lord. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you, everyone, for
inviting us to testify today. My name is Chad Lord. I am the
policy director for the Healing Our Waters Great Lakes
Coalition. Thank you for the opportunity to share with you a
good story about what is happening because of the Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative, where Federal restoration investments
are benefiting the environment and economy.
Securing a strong plan to restore and protect the Great
Lakes and the funding to implement have been our coalition's
guiding principles since our inception. For 15 years we have
harnessed the collective power of more than 150 groups,
representing millions of people whose common goal is to restore
and protect one-fifth of the surface water on our planet and
the source of drinking water for more than 30 million
Americans.
As I said, we have a good story to tell and the story
involves you. Because of your support, we are cleaning up toxic
caught spots, restoring wetlands and habitat, controlling
invasive species, and addressing polluted farm runoff, setting
an example for the entire country. Problems that have plagued
the area for decades are now being addressed thanks to the
GLRI.
Consider this. Because of the GLRI, Michigan's Two Hearted
River has seen increased recreational and fishing opportunities
thanks to stabilized river banks. This work connected 35 miles
of river and reduced sediment pollution by more than 600 tons
per year. In Duluth, a Conservation Corps project improved
stream health and habitat while providing jobs for 14
unemployed or underemployed Duluth residents. The project
worked with 175 landowners to plant more than 18,000 trees and
shrubs, which improved water quality as well as property
values. Northpoint Marina beach in the Chicagoland area is
safer now for residents to swim in. In 2007 the beach was
closed for over three quarters of the swimming season due to
bacteria buildup from gulls. But by planting native plants and
grasses on the expanse of beach, the ecosystem is no longer
hospitable to these birds, and bacterial pollution has
decreased.
Not only are we seeing these kinds of ecological results,
the positive impacts from the GLRI on the regions' and Nation's
economic wellbeing is also clear. An economic report last fall
demonstrated that the GLRI's ecological investments are
resulting in significant economic ones as well. The study
showed that for every $1 invested through 2016 produces more
than $3 in economic activity region wide, and that will be
through 2036. The GLRI is creating new real estate and
commercial development, particularly in waterfront areas.
Water-based outdoor recreation is resurging, and tourism is
increasing across the region. Housing options and home values
are going up, and an increasing number of young people are
staying in or relocating to Great Lakes communities.
The report documented that cleaning up the Great Lakes
resulted in 27 new businesses opening since 2010 to serve
growing numbers of waterfront visitors to Ashtabula, Ohio. It
helped set the stage for opening a multimillion dollar
entertainment complex in Buffalo on an old industrial site. It
created the conditions that allowed a Detroit kayak outfitter
and tour company to see its business increase 500 percent since
2013.
Even with all these results, the Great Lakes face serious
threats. Nineteen U.S. areas of concern are still contaminated
with toxic sentiment. Harmful runoff from farm fields continues
to pollute our waters, habitat loss and aquatic invasive
species continue to damage our region's outdoor way of life,
and Asian carp are still swimming towards Lake Michigan. Many
of these threats disproportionately impact people that have
historically borne the brunt of environmental injustice, and
our changing climate is exacerbating all our region's problems.
This is why we need you to continue your support to protect
and restore the Great Lakes. Maintaining funding is necessary
to continue building on these results, and we are ready for
these investments with projects that are ready to break ground.
Local non-Federal partners are ready and willing to do their
fair share, but without GLRI funding, these local investments
could be left on the table. To keep restoration on track, we
hope the subcommittee will provide at least $300 million for
the GLRI again in fiscal year 2020.
The GLRI of course works best when both existing Federal
agencies and programs as well as the GLRI have the funding they
need to support each other. So we also urge you to maintain
base budgets and programs at EPA, the Department of the
Interior, and other agencies in order that the work we
undertake together is carried out as efficiently and
effectively as possible. Our work is producing results, but
serious threats remain. Cutting restoration funding now will
only make projects harder and more expensive the longer we
wait.
Thank you again for your support and the opportunity to
share our views with you today.
[The statement of Mr. Lord follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. Mr. Learner and Mr. Lord, you have
both stated our case very well. The Great Lakes are an
international treasure, an economic powerhouse, and the GLRI is
a model program for Federal, tribal, State, and local
cooperation. Protecting the Lakes is not a Republican or a
Democrat issue. Members from both sides of the political aisle
understand the important role the Lakes play in our lives and
understand the importance of protecting them for current and
future generations.
Despite the progress we are witnessing in the region, there
is still work to do to protect and restore the Great Lakes.
Asian carp are on the verge of doing to the Great Lakes what
they have done to the Ohio and Illinois river(s). Now is not
the time to cut carp out of the budget at Interior. We must
continue our efforts to prevent this invasive species from
devastating the $7 billion Great Lakes fishing industry that we
have.
Now, Mr. Lord, could you briefly describe the important
work being done by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S.
Geological Survey to address this threat?
Mr. Lord. Yes. Both agencies have a number of things they
are undertaking, coordinated through the Asian Carp Regional
Coordinating Committee, which was set up a number of years. For
example, the Fish and Wildlife Service works with local
partners, such as in Illinois, but also even the upper
Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys, to coordinate activities
that address and help manage fish populations throughout both
systems. So working with fishermen and women to do over fishing
and other types of activities, also monitoring activities and
that sort of thing.
USGS' role is a little different. They are more focused on
the research side of things, and so they are developing
technologies that will allow the managers at Fish and Wildlife
Service and Illinois Department of Natural Resources and other
State agencies to use new tools that will hopefully control
these fish. So things like I refer to as bio-bullets, which
only Asian carp will eat and then hopefully die, and other
types of activities. Apparently they are not very good to eat,
so I don't know. [Laughter.]
Ms. McCollum. You haven't tried them.
Mr. Lord. I have not tried them, no. But other technologies
like that. They have also developed different types of
monitoring. They are developing different types of monitoring
technologies with DNA and other types of technology that will
allow for better and more faster monitoring so we can monitor
the populations. And so all of those resources are being
developed for these things, and that honestly can be exported
to other parts of the country.
Mr. Joyce. One day I was getting on the elevator, and there
were three young ladies in there with their sushi for lunch. I
said, what do we have today, Asian carp, and they all started
laughing because they worked in Madam Chair's office. So they
knew exactly what Asian carp was. [Laughter.]
Mr. Learner, did you bring up algal blooms?
Mr. Learner. Yes.
Mr. Joyce. Algal blooms are not limited to the Great Lakes.
I was down in the Everglade, and they are having a huge
problem. God forbid, Lake Okeechobee ever breaches because it
would really devastate the Everglades as well.
Mr. Learner. As a matter of fact, there will be a meeting
latter part of March at the Wing Spread Conference Center in
Racine, Wisconsin, for the first time really bringing together
groups from the Everglades, the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay to
begin looking at it on a much more cross-regional basis. You
are exactly right.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. I yield back.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Simpson.
Mr. Simpson. I am not going to pretend to know more about
the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative than you two do.
[Laughter.]
So I just do what these guys say. [Laughter.]
Mr. Learner. On this one they are both. [Laughter.]
Mr. Lord. I would like to note something you said earlier
in terms of the coordination among Federal agencies. And one of
the highlights I always like to suggest for this is that there
is an orchestra leader. It is the U.S. EPA, but they don't do
it alone, and they help really work and try and coordinate the
goals and activities of the other U.S. Federal agencies.
And so from our perspective, you know, this is a model to
get to the issue that you raised earlier on fire, and that we
do think it does seem to be working pretty well, and I think
the GAO and other reports have borne that out. So I just wanted
to point that out that at least in this region, we are trying
to address some of the problems that you addressed for other
issues.
Mr. Simpson. Well, it is a really important issue. I will
tell you that when I came to Congress 21 years ago, 20 years
and 2 months ago, for about 4 years before that, they had been
relicensing a couple of dams on the Snake River.
Mr. Learner. Right.
Mr. Simpson. They are still relicensing them. You have got
the Forest Service. You have the BLM. You have the EPA. You
have all these agencies, and there is not one boss, and so
consequently, all they do is fight. One agency thinks this,
another agency thinks that, and consequently it never gets
done. It has taken 24 years so far to relicense them, and they
are not relicensed yet, and it cost 3 times as much money as it
did to build the dams. That is crazy.
Ms. McCollum. Well, that is one of the reasons why when
Asian carp became a topic here in Washington, DC, that we
worked really hard. I had some legislation to kind of
coordinate and have one group, and we didn't do that alone. All
the Great Lakes legislators worked on that together. Could I
ask you gentlemen just to comment on two things really quickly?
Mr. Lord, you mentioned some of the vibrance that has come
along, especially in the Duluth-St. Louis River area with the
clean-up. Talk about that for a second.
And then talk about climate change because we hear a lot
about climate change, and people don't think of the freshwater
of the Great Lakes. We have watched Lake Superior's level
drastically go up and down. There is a new map that was just in
the Star Tribune, the big paper in Minnesota just showing how
Minnesota could be prairie in a couple of decades, moving
towards prairie. And how is that going to affect the Great
Lakes? So if you could just give us a minute on revitalization,
the economy, and a minute on climate change because we are
going to drill down more on that. But people don't think of
climate change affecting the Great Lakes and affecting our
fresh drinking water.
Mr. Lord. Right. Yeah. So to start with Duluth, that is a
really good story to tell because it does point to the
partnerships that are created between the Federal agencies,
like the U.S. EPA and State and local partners. Minnesota
bonded for, I believe, $25 million which they are applying to
the clean-up project in the St. Louis area of concern, and they
are moving forward with that work. They have already completed
a number of projects, which has resulted in a number of new
hotels in the Duluth area, and they have a number of projects.
They have already identified the other projects lined up.
And those projects are dependent upon additional Federal
resources, as I think you know. And, you know, once they get
all that done they will continue to see the increased
recreational opportunities that are bringing tourism and other
businesses opportunities to the northern shore, that whole
coastal area up there in Minnesota. So it is a really great
story to tell on what is going on in Duluth.
And in terms of climate change, you know, as I think Mr.
Learner noted, you know, they are going to have their report
coming out in a couple of weeks. But what we have seen is that
because of the change in hydrologic cycles, you know, the Lakes
have fluctuated over time. But people generally think that
instead of the oceans rising, the Lakes will decline over time.
But not only that, the increase or the unpredictability of
precipitation, the heavier rains happening at different times
of the year, could all influence these harmful algal blooms,
for example. So with heavier rains, you have greater runoff.
Greater runoff could push more of those nutrients into our
waterways, and then combined with the heat that we would
anticipate because of the changing climate, we could see even
worse harmful algal blooms that we are already seeing.
And not only worse, but in different places. I think even
in Lake Superior now we are beginning to see these habs which
we haven't seen because Lake Superior generally has been too
cold to support them. And so we could expect that those kinds
of things would be likely to occur on a more frequent basis.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Learner.
Mr. Learner. Yeah, on the climate change issue, we have
convened some of the leading scientists from University of
Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, Ohio State, University of
Illinois, University of Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana,
Purdue, to come together and do the first recent comprehensive
assessment of the impact of climate change on the Great Lakes.
And it deals with public health, and infrastructure, and Fish
and Wildlife, and the regional economy. We will be releasing
that report March 21st, and we will be glad to provide to the
subcommittee members.
Two key points on climate change with regard to the
practical effects Mr. Lord was talking about. First of all,
higher and lower water levels. Lower water levels mean marinas,
intake valves, docks being stranded. Higher levels involve more
flooding. What the science on this seems to be is that the
impact of climate change and more extreme weather is more
deviations from the norm, if you will, summers in which water
levels are much higher when there have been wetter winters and
springs, and much lower when it is relatively low in terms of
precipitation in winter and spring. And it is hot in the summer
when there is more evaporation. What that means is all
shoreline-related activity is under a lot of stress.
When it comes to the algal blooms, overall hotter
temperatures, in effect, cook the nutrient runoffs, whether it
is Lake Erie or Lake Superior or Lake Michigan, Green Bay and
the shallow water bays. The science here is that climate change
will exacerbate the algal bloom problems. Simply put, when you
are dealing with a shallow water bay with relatively lower
water levels and more phosphorus and nutrients coming into the
bay, the hotter temperatures cook the water, more evaporation.
That leads to worse algal blooms. Climate change exacerbates
the problem.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Joyce and I have our work cut
out for us. As well as for the other regional water bodies that
this committee funds. Thank you very much.
Mr. Learner. You are welcome.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Joyce, do you want to introduce the next
panel?
Mr. Learner. We appreciate your leadership and your
support.
Mr. Joyce. The next group, please take your seats. Thank
you. We will start in order to try to stay close to schedule. I
recognize Ms. Kasey White for 5 minutes.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
WITNESS
KASEY WHITE, DIRECTOR OF GEOSCIENCE POLICY, THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
AMERICA
Ms. White. Good morning, Chairman McCollum, Ranking Member
Joyce. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today in
support of the U.S. Geological Survey's budget on behalf of the
Geological Society of America. GSA is a professional society
with 22,000 members from across the globe with the mission to
advance geoscience and discovery, service to society,
stewardship of the earth and the geoscience profession.
GSA applauds the work of the subcommittee to reject the
cuts proposed to the USGS in the Administration's fiscal year
2018 and 2019 budget, and instead provide increases for the
Agency. We thank the committee for their recognition of the
important work of the Survey to protect lives, property, and
national security.
GSA asks Congress to provide USGS with $1.2 billion in
appropriations for fiscal year 2020. GSA also asks Congress to
ensure that any proposed changes to the organizational
structure or location of the USGS and its staff are fully
vetted to ensure that the changes support, rather than hinder,
the ability of the USGS to serve the Nation with its research
and partnerships.
The USGS is one of the Nation's premier science agencies
with a distinctive capacity to engage truly interdisciplinary
teams of experts to gather data, conduct research, and develop
integrated decision support tools about our earth. In addition
to underpinning the science activities and decisions of the
many agencies within the Department of Interior, this research
is used by communities and businesses across the Nation to make
informed decisions regarding land use planning, emergency
response, natural resource management, engineering, and
education.
Bipartisan congressional and executive branch support
exists for USGS as shown by the advancement of recent
legislation, including the enactment of the National Earthquake
Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act in December 2018.
Soon the House will consider a lands package that includes a
hazards and mapping title that would establish a national
volcano early warning and monitoring system at the USGS, and
reauthorize the USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping
Program.
USGS research addresses many of society's greatest
challenges, for example natural hazards, including earthquakes,
hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and landslides, or a
major cause of fatalities and economic losses in 2018.
Decisionmakers in many sectors rely upon USGS data to respond
to these natural disasters. For example, USGS volcano
monitoring provides information to enable decisions that ensure
aviation safety. The USGS network of stream gauges is used by
the National Weather Service to issue flood and drought
warnings. USGS earth and space observations are necessary to
predict severe space weather events which affect the electric
power grid, satellite communications, and space-based position,
navigation, and timing systems. GSA urges Congress to support
efforts for the USGS to modernize and upgrade its natural
hazards monitoring and warning systems, including additional
high-quality typographic and other mapping and earthquake early
warning systems.
In 2017 President Trump signed an executive order entitled,
A Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of
Critical Materials that highlights the vulnerability created by
the Nation's reliance on foreign sources for many minerals. GSA
supports increases in mineral science research, information,
data collection, and analysis. GSA appreciates congressional
support for the new Three-Dimensional Mapping and Economic
Empowerment Program, or 3-DEEP, which will provide new
resources and leverage current data by building upon the
existing and successful 3D Elevation Mapping Program and the
National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program.
USGS research on climate change is used by local
policymakers and resource managers to make sound decisions
based on the best possible science, including key USGS research
on past changes to our climate. The Climate Adaptation Science
Centers provide scientific information necessary to anticipate,
monitor, and adapt to the effects of climate change at regional
and local levels, allowing communities to make smart, cost-
effective decisions. For example, the North Central Climate
Adaptation Science Center recently supported the development of
a new experimental tool on drought monitoring and warning
called the Landscape Evaporated Response Index, adding to the
USGS resources on understanding of surface water.
The land satellites have amassed the largest archive of
remotely-sensed data on the world, a tremendously important
resource for natural resource exploration, land use planning,
assessing water resources, and the impacts of natural disasters
in global agriculture. GSA supports interagency efforts to
ensure the continuation of this vital monitoring. All of these
important endeavors are supported by the core system sciences
facilities and science support, which provide critical
information, data, and infrastructure to underpin this
research.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify about the U.S.
Geological Survey. I would be happy to answer any questions.
[The statement of Ms. White follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. I appreciate it. Dr. Devlin, you are
recognized for 5 minutes.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
NATIONAL INSTITUTES FOR WATER RESOURCES
WITNESS
DAN DEVLIN, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL INSTITUTES FOR WATER RESOURCES
Mr. Devlin. Chair McCollum and Ranking Member Joyce, good
morning. I am Dan Devlin. I am a professor and director of the
Kansas Water Resources Institute located at Kansas State
University. Thank you for this opportunity to testify on behalf
of the National Institutes of Water Resources in support of the
Water Resources Research Act Program, a program funded as part
of the U.S. Geological Survey's budget.
I would to start by thanking the subcommittee for its
continued support for the Water Resources Research Act and
request that the subcommittee fund the program in fiscal year
2020 at $10 million. The Water Resources Research Act, enacted
in 1964, is designed to expand to provide more effective
coordination of the Nation's water research. The Act
establishes a water resources research institutes at lead
universities in each State, as well as for the District of
Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Federated
States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, and American Samoa.
Congress created the institutes to fulfill three main
objectives. First was to develop through research new
technology and more efficient methods for resolving local,
State, and national water resources challenges. Two, train
water scientists and engineers through on-the-job participation
and research; and three, facilitate water research coordination
and application of research results through dissemination of
information and technology transfers. Since 1964, the
institutes fulfill these objectives in partnership with the
U.S. Geological Survey.
Each institute is managed by a director in each State,
generally at the land grant university. The program is the only
Federally-mandated research network that focuses on applied
water resources research, education, training, and outreach.
The institutes partner with universities, local governments,
industry, and non-governmental organizations to help solve a
variety of regional water challenges. Each State contributes a
minimum of a 2 to 1 non-Federal to Federal match of funds, thus
ensuring that local and regional priorities are addressed and
the impact of Federal dollars is maximized. The institutes also
ensure coordination between State, regional, and national
interests by collaborating with 150 State agencies, 180 Federal
agencies, and more than 165 local and municipal offices.
The following are several examples of research conducted by
institutes across the country. My institute, the Kansas Water
Resources Institute, is an institute at Kansas State
University. Research projects being funded help determine why
and when conditions are ripe for harmful algal blooms to occur
in surface water reservoirs. Researchers are assessing how
different nutrient levels and forms affect the development of
harmful algal blooms, and they are also developing models that
will allow forecasting when conditions are favorable for
harmful algal blooms to occur. Results of this work will help
agencies predict harmful algal bloom formation and protect
human health.
Another example is at the Minnesota Water Resources Center,
who is supporting a team of researchers developing techniques
for nearly continuous monitoring of over 12,000 Minnesota lakes
using satellite imagery. Although Minnesota has a well-regarded
water monitoring program, only a small fraction of the State's
lakes are currently monitored author regular basis. The new
data will be high resolution and frequent for all lakes,
allowing agencies to target field monitoring where needed,
while also providing new data to manage aquatic habitats.
There are two grant components of the USGS Water Resources
Research Institutes Program. One is State water research
grants, which provide competitive seed opportunities for State
institutes that allow us to focus on State, local, and
community water resources. The other is the National
Competitive Grants Program that focuses on issues between USGS
and university scientists that focus on national priorities.
For fiscal year 2020, the National Institutes for Water
Resources recommends the subcommittee provide $10 million
dollars to the USGS for the Water Resources Research Institute
Program.
Thank you on behalf of all the institute directors for the
opportunity to testify and for the subcommittee's strong
support of the Water Resources Research Program.
[The statement of Mr. Devlin follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. I appreciate it. Now we will
recognize Mr. Palatiello.
Mr. Palatiello. Very good. Correct.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. You have 5 minutes to address us.
Thank you.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
JOHN M. PALATIELLO & ASSOCIATES, INC.
WITNESS
JOHN PALATIELLO, PARTNER, MILLER WENHOLD CAPITOL STRATEGIES, JOHN M.
PALATIELLO & ASSOCIATES, INC.
Mr. Palatiello. Thank you. Mr. Joyce, Madam Chair, I am
John Palatiello, and it is my pleasure to speak to you today on
behalf of the USGS 3DEP 3D Elevation Program. The 3DEP
coalition is comprised of a broad cross-section of
stakeholders, including over 35 organizations in surveying,
mapping, geospatial real estate, homebuilding, flood
management, emergency response, environment, science, mining
insurance, telecom, agriculture, infrastructure, and others.
What this should give you a bit of an insight into is the very
broad range of applications that the 3DEP Program supports.
3DEP is satisfying a growing demand for consistent, high-
quality, topographic data across the country, as I said, to
meet a wide range of applications. The USGS has identified more
than 600 applications of the data on that which has been
collected to date. These have included flood risk management,
infrastructure, landslides, and other hazards, a variety of
different water resources, both water supply and storm water
runoff, aviation safety, telecom, homeland security, emergency
response, precision agriculture, energy pipeline safety,
climate, and many others.
The 3DEP data promotes economic growth, facilitates
responsible environmental protection, resource development and
management, and assists with infrastructure improvement and
generally enhance the quality of life of all Americans. I
wanted to show you a couple of USGS posters that give you an
idea of how 3DEP is being used. This coincidently is in
Minnesota. This is the Red River on the border between
Minnesota and North Dakota, and it becomes a very effective
tool for both preparedness and response with regard to floods.
With regard to an infrastructure program that Congress may take
on, this becomes the underpinning for all infrastructure
management. This data becomes part of the planning, the design,
the construction, the operation, the maintenance of every piece
of infrastructure.
To put LIDAR in layman's terms, remember that the pointers
that we use in presentations. A LIDAR sensor is basically one
of those pointers that is sending millions of pulses per second
to the ground. It knows the altitude of the airplane, and it is
measuring the time it takes for that pulse to hit the ground
and register back up to the sensor. And as it goes along from
an aircraft, it is picking up that and picking up the height of
the mountains and the depth of the valleys, and gives you a
very modern version of the old traditional USGS topographic
maps.
The program was initiated with a vision of funding at $146
million per year. At that rate, the USGS estimated in the study
they did in partnership with the private sector that it could
remap the country on an every 7-year year cycle. This is where
we are thus far in the program that started in 2014. You can
see by the light green is through partnerships in 2018. The
lighter green is other forms of lot of LIDAR that may or may
not meet the national standard that USGS seeks. The gray is
lesser parts of LIDAR data that is available, I would note, in
particular, Ohio and Minnesota.
And particularly look at the public lands west. The USGS is
virtually the only Interior Department agency that is
contributing to this program. And so when you look at virtually
every interested party that will appear before you today and
every program and activity in which they have an interest,
LIDAR becomes the underpinning. It is the foundation data to
all of the land management infrastructure and other
applications that we will be discussing today.
There is a cooperative program. There are other agencies
that are contributing to 3DEP, down but it is still not meeting
the $146 million. FEMA is the largest contributor because the
data supports their Flood Mapping Program, but that is not a
consistent or reliable source of data from one year to the
next.
In our view, this is not a program that should be funded by
USGS going around and passing the hat. This is something that
should be funded for the interest of the country at large. With
that, I would will be happy to answer any questions. Thank you
for the opportunity.
[The statement of Mr. Palatiello follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you for your testimony. We will now hear
from Mr. Bardin.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY
WITNESS
DAVID JONAS BARDIN, INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY
Mr. Bardin. Good morning, Chair McCollum, Ranking Member
Joyce. I am David Jonas Bardin, and I very much appreciate the
chance to appear in person as your witness on two issues
involving USGS, their Geomagnetism Program, which should be
expanded, and the completion of the 3-Dimensional
Magnetotelluric Survey, which was started by the National
Science Foundation. Their contribution was finished last year,
and a group of agencies--the space weather agencies
collectively--have decided that the appropriate manager of that
program--it was NSF in the past--ought to be USGS, but that
depends on funding. So I am here to talk on funding for both of
those issues.
Let me start by thanking you from the bottom of my heart
for this subcommittee's actions and leadership in the last two
appropriations cycles as far as the USGS Geomagnetism Program.
God bless you. Now, we are hoping that we will see something in
the President's budget. When it comes, I just want to volunteer
now to work with your able staff on the details of that. But I
think what I am talking about today reflects a consensus of
national policy certainly on space weather and space weather
prediction as well as other related issues. I don't think there
is anything partisan. I don't think there is anything
particularistic. These agencies have gotten together. They have
come to their decision as to what is the best way to do it, and
I think that is what I am advocating for.
Your report last year in May pointed out that the
Geomagnetism Program of USGS is part of the U.S. National Space
Weather Program, an interagency collaboration that includes
programs in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
NASA, the Department of Defense, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, and the National Science
Foundation. The program provides data to these agencies, to oil
drilling service companies, to geophysical surveying companies,
and to electric transmission utilities. My personal interest
has been particularly with the electric power grid and
protecting it from solar storm events on the one hand and the
possibility, which we hope won't happen, of a high-altitude
nuclear explosion and the electromagnetic pulse that would
result from that.
The map at the end of my prepared testimony shows you where
our USGS magnetic observatories are. And, frankly, everybody
who has looked at this knows it is a huge, huge gap. We don't
have enough. Now, what is sufficient we can discuss, but
between Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Boulder, Colorado, and
the Stennis facility in Mississippi, we don't have anything. It
is where most Americans live, and then we have to go to Canada
to the Ottawa station in northern Ontario to make up for it. We
need more magnetic observatories, and we probably need other
kinds of magnetometer stations.
What is being provided by USGS is real-time, 24 hours a
day, accurate, quality information upgrading equipment, and it
is used for all kinds of different things, right? This time
asked me about the wandering North Magnetic Pole and that whole
issue, which is not part of my prepared testimony. We need more
stations, right.
I am advocating take the $1.9 million, which has been in
the line for the Geomagnetism Program, and raise it to $4
million. Keep in mind when I am saying that that the Air Force
has announced that it is going to withdraw, stop the $560,000
contribution which comes from their budget. So it is really not
as much of an increase as I am advocating as it seems. But NOAA
has responsibility for predicting space weather events for the
civilian economy and civilian agencies. The Air Force has it
for the whole defense establishment. The loss of this money is
a serious thing that I think your subcommittee ought to think
about. Frankly, I don't really understand where the Air Force
and defense establishment is going to get the data that they
are now getting from USGS, but that is a different question,
and perhaps other subcommittees ought to look into that.
Now finally, on the Geomagnetic Survey, two-thirds of the
country had been surveyed. One-third has not. Some of the
extreme hazardous response identified so far as in northern
Minnesota, and that gets American transmission companies
interested and involved, and in southern Maine that gets
Central Maine Power involved. But the entire southern tier,
starting with the panhandle of Florida all the way to most of
California and all of Texas and Oklahoma in between, we have no
data.
Now, there is a very exciting development and a high
priority for improving the models that use these 3D
magnetotelluric data, but it would be shocking if one-third of
the country can't do it. NOAA has told this committee and the
Senate Appropriations Committee that it won't be able to
provide accurate forecasts of storm weather unless the survey
is completed. Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Bardin follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. I certainly appreciate your testimony
today. I apologize because I was negligent in not telling you
about the 5-minute limitation before we started.
Mr. Bardin. Well, Mack had warned me. I apologize for
exceeding.
Mr. Joyce. Madam Chair, do you have any questions.
Ms. McCollum. I do, but I can yield to you.
Mr. Joyce. I always yield to the lady.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you both for your testimony, and I have
got it all marked up and we will follow up. But I have a couple
of questions on the mapping because some of the things that you
two gentlemen talked about are also occurring in other
committees with mapping and you mentioned the Air Force.
I am on the DOD's appropriation subcommittee, so I am going
to find out. I will talk to the Air Force about what is going
on with that and this committee will look into it because we
have to be frugal with every penny. So if there some way we can
use open source information and make sure that it is shared, we
are going to make sure that that happens. But you raised a good
point about making sure that NOAA has the information it needs,
NOAA is not under the jurisdiction of this subcommittee, we
would need to talk to our Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice,
and Science.
I would like to talk about the LIDAR data for a second. You
were very brave to hold up a map basically showing Mr. Joyce
and I having nothing been scanned. So Ohio and Minnesota are
big blanks on there. I am not going to count the Red River
Valley because I looked very carefully. It was more in the
Fargo area. So that kind of leads me to just a general question
about, there were decisions that were made that all of Alaska
has been mapped, and that other states have been mapped.
You don't have to tell us why our States are blank. Maybe
they are just perfect and they don't need to be mapped. But how
are decisions being made? And I know there are other
technologies out there kind of doing 3D. Can we get all the
mapping done with another technology and then does LIDAR have
something a little more unique where we need to pinpoint it and
use it in certain occasions? But for getting the overall
mapping done, are there other technologies that are out there.
Mr. Palatiello. First of all, great credit has to go to
USGS that when they launched this program they developed an
executive committee across the Federal government. And so there
is participation from other agencies. Additionally, each year
they go out with a broad agency announcement, a BAA, and it is
basically an invitation for State and local government, other
interested parties and stakeholders, to submit proposals for
cost sharing and cooperative mapping.
When those requirements come in from the other agencies,
from the State and local partners, that establishes the
priorities. So I don't know whether Minnesota or Ohio have
submitted proposals under the BAA, but what this map shows is
the progress of work based on that cooperative, strategic
approach and the input from the different constituent and
participating agencies.
Ms. McCollum. So the Department of Agriculture and others,
and we need to find out how much of the bill that they are
footing versus what we are footing on there, because you and I
both know we have a lot of pressures on the few dollars that we
do have. So LIDAR is done by plane. There are satellites. What
is the difference in costs between the two?
Mr. Palatiello. There is always a tradeoff between the
scale and resolution of the mapping and the altitude of the
sensor that you are using. So LIDAR is much more effective than
satellite imagery because you can get at a much higher
resolution much better scale of mapping. And what the 3DEP
Program did when USGS started to investigate this is they,
again, reached out to the stakeholders and said what is the
common denominator of data quality of scale and resolution that
would meet the greatest number of users and requirements. And
those were the standards that they established for 3DEP.
There is a different sensor called IFSAR that is used for
Alaska, and that is because of the terrain and the weather and
the difficulty in capturing that kind of data. So the IFSAR is
flown at a much higher altitude, but that is the only
exception. The rest of the country, the goal is a very
consistent data set across the entirety of the country.
So when you look at conventional photogrammetry, which is
mapping from aerial photographs, when you look at remote
sensing satellite imagery, when you look at all of the
different types of sensors and type of mapping that can be
done, the conclusion that USGS and its partners came to was
LIDAR at a consistent standard is the optimal solution for the
country.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Joyce, I think what I would
like to do is, talk to USGS and figure out what we need for our
committee, and being partners with other agencies, but that
everybody is contributing to it. Because the increases that are
talking about being needed, we need to make sure we are getting
the biggest bang out of that dollar for our committee, and that
we are not, you know, helping out others.
And I also think we need to bring in the DOD with USGS and
see if there is a blend. And I am going to be asking them how
much the cost of LIDAR is producing on a square-mile basis
versus some of these others, to hone down. I am not saying
LIDAR is not valuable, but we need to hone down and make sure
that this committee's funding for what we are getting out of
it, and that the other committees, whether it be FEMA or the
rest, that they are paying their fair share. So thank you.
Mr. Palatiello. Any help that you can lend towards our goal
is the GS number of $146 million. Obviously if you can fund the
entirety of that in your bill, we would be delighted. But if we
can get $146 million with contributions from different
agencies, we would be happy with that as well, too.
Ms. McCollum. Well, there was discussion when I was first
on this committee of taking some of it totally out. So I want
to make sure that we are cost effective in getting the mapping
that USGS needs. So thank you, Mr. Chair--excuse me--Mr. Joyce.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Joyce. The longer I sit here, the more I am rising in
this committee.
Ms. McCollum. Yeah. [Laughter.]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you all.
Ms. McCollum. Well, since it is public information, it is
all co-equal.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you all for the opportunity to listen to
the things that you have to say and to hear from you directly
about the resources necessary to continue to do the great work
you are doing. Thank you.
Mr. Bardin. Can you indulge just one half minute?
Ms. McCollum. We were supposed to be done, and we have
another panel. Thank you very much, though, sir.
Mr. Bardin. Thank you very much.
Ms. McCollum. If Mr. Cassidy for the National Trust for
Historic Prevention, Jim Lightenhizer.
Mr. Joyce. Lighthizer.
Ms. McCollum. Lighthizer. Boy, you have got that down, Mr.
Joyce, from your district. [Laughter.]
American Battlefield Trust, and Sara Capen from the
National Alliance of National Heritage Areas. So we will first
hear from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. If you
would introduce yourself for the record, please.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORICAL PRESERVATION
WITNESS
TOM CASSIDY, VICE PRESIDENT FOR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, NATIONAL TRUST
FOR HISTORICAL PRESERVATION
Mr. Cassidy. Thank you, Chair McCollum, also Ranking Member
Joyce.
Ms. McCollum. Microphone on?
Mr. Cassidy. Yes, now it is red. OK. Chair McCollum,
Ranking Member Joyce, members of the subcommittee, I appreciate
the opportunity to present the National Trust for Historic
Preservation's recommendation for fiscal year 2020
appropriations. My name is Tom Cassidy. I am the vice president
of government relations. The National Trust is a privately-
funded nonprofit organization chartered by Congress in 1949.
The most important words that I can convey to the
subcommittee are thank you. In recent years, the subcommittee
has made significant investments in key programs that bring our
shared history to life, and also investments that ensure the
story of all Americans are told. I will focus on only a few
programs addressed in my testimony.
First, the Historic Prevention is the principal source of
funding to implement the Nation's historic preservation
program. The Trust is enormously appreciative of last year's
historic funding level of $102.6 million. The remarkable growth
in HPF funding over recent years has largely been because of
increase in competitive grant programs. And thank you, Chair
McCollum, for your leadership in reviving the Save America's
Treasures Program.
I would also like to draw attention to three other HPF
programs. The first is the smallest. We are recommending a
million dollars for competitive grants for the survey and
nomination of properties associated with communities that are
currently under represented on the National Register and the
National Historic Landmarks. The committees began funding this
program in fiscal year 2015 at a half million dollars a year
when less than 8 percent of National Register and NHLs included
communities considered under represented, including African-
American, Latino, Native Americans, and women.
The program has been successful. For example, in fiscal
year 2015, the Minnesota Historic Society received a grant for
$60,000 to expand the stories told at Fort Snelling, to include
not only military history, but also significant stories about
Native Americans, African-Americans, and Japanese-Americans,
including the enslavement of Dred Scott to an Army officer back
in the 1830s.
Second, working with Congressman Clyburn and Congresswoman
Terri Sewell, we are recommending an enhancement and expansion
of the successful African-American Civil Rights Program, which
was funded at $14 and a half million, to an expanded under
represented Community Civil Rights Program funded at $30
million, to ensure that we have grants important to civil
rights for all Americans. And the third would be a new $5
million program of competitive grants to State and tribal
historic preservation officers to invest in 21st century GIS
mapping and digitization of historic resources.
As we see a tsunami of pressure rising to promote
infrastructure, such an investment would improve the
identification of historic resources at the very earliest
stages of project planning, leading both to the protection of
historic sites and also promoting more efficient delivery of
infrastructure projects.
We are also enormously appreciative of the committee's
commitment to the deferred maintenance needs of the National
Park Service, including the repair and rehabilitation and
cyclic maintenance programs. In 2019, these two accounts
received $110 million over fiscal year 2015 levels, an increase
of 62 percent. We urge the committee to continue these
investments, just as we also work to secure a dedicated funding
source as provided in the bipartisan Restore Our Parks and
Public Lands Act. We are grateful for the introduction of this
by Representatives Kilmer and Bishop and the co-sponsorship of
the chair and other members of the subcommittee.
It also related to mapping actually, and in part because if
you don't map it, you can't save it. And we recommend $20
million for the Bureau of Land Management's Cultural Resource
Management Program, an increase of $3 million over enacted
levels. The BLM oversees, it is nowhere near Minnesota nor
Ohio, but it oversees the largest, most diverse and,
importantly, scientifically important collection of historic
and cultural resources on Federal lands. Increased funding
would also support updated predictive modeling and data
analysis to increase the BLM's ability to have large-scale
planning.
And if I had another 50 seconds, I would say believe
whatever this man says. I used to vote for him and fund his
requests.
[The statement of Mr. Cassidy follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Lighthizer. That is pretty good.
Ms. McCollum. Happy to have you here today, sir, to talk
about the American Battlefield Trust.
Mr. Lighthizer. Thank you, Madam Chair.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
AMERICAN BATTLEFIELD TRUST
WITNESS
JIM LIGHTHIZER, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN BATTLEFIELD TRUST
Mr. Lighthizer. Madam Chair and Ranking Member Joyce, a
University of Dayton graduate, I might add. We went to the same
school about 60 years apart. [Laughter.]
But he got rich and famous. Anyway, I am president of the
American Battlefield Trust, and it is an honor to be here and a
pleasure.
Just two messages. One is thank you. Starting in 1998, the
United States Congress made a decision that an earmark, now and
authorized program, to fund the Battlefield Land Acquisition
Grant Program. And what is, it is authorized at $10 million,
and in the last 4 years have funded it at $10 million. It
authorizes the purchase of Civil War, Revolutionary War, and
War of 1812 battlefield acquisition by way of a Federal dollar
has to be matched by a dollar someplace else, usually the
private sector. It has been an incredibly efficient program.
I cannot think of another one as far as land acquisition
goes where the Federal government gets a bigger bang for their
buck because every Federal dollar has to be matched by a
dollar, and it usually ends up being $2, $3, $4. The land that
is saved, acquired, does not become the property of the United
States government, so you don't have to maintain it. So there
is another bonus to it. It is strictly from willing sellers. It
is a competitive program. It is administered by the National
Park Service, and it is allowed us to save over 32,000 acres of
American heritage.
And if you buy the idea that place-based teaching is
important, specifically going to taking to the places where
American history was created, where this country was created
and defined, it has been a remarkable program. And so I thank
you for the wisdom the Congress has shown in funding it as much
as they have over the years, and respectfully ask you consider
full funding this time as you have the last 4 years.
[The statement of Mr. Lighthizer follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Ms. Capen from the Alliance of the
National Heritage Areas.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
THE ALLIANCE OF NATIONAL HERITAGE AREAS
WITNESS
SARA CAPEN, CHAIR, THE ALLIANCE OF NATIONAL HERITAGE AREAS
Ms. Capen. Good morning. My name is Sara Capen. I am the
director of the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area and the
chair of the Alliance of National Heritage Areas, which is an
organization that represents the vast majority of authorized
National Heritage Areas.
National Heritage Areas are funded through the National
Recreation and Preservation account, and represent considerably
less than 1 percent of the total National Park Service budget.
I would like to begin by just thanking this committee for
supporting the National Heritage Area Program for the past
several years.
The National Heritage Area Program is one of the Department
of Interior's most cost-effective initiatives, and relying on a
public-private partnership in which every Federal dollar is
matched with an average of $5.50 in other public and private
funding, very similar to my colleague next to me. Often that
match to the Federal investment comes from the contributions of
volunteers who commit their time and expertise within
individual National Heritage Areas to support our programs,
maintain trails, and assist with community conservation
projects.
In 2017 alone, National Heritage Areas benefitted from over
38,000 volunteers, contributing over 800,000 hours for heritage
area projects, which was roughly a $19 million value.
We are designated by Congress. National Heritage Areas are
lived-in landscapes that tell nationally-important stories that
honor our Nation's diverse heritage through shared resources,
partnerships, and direct community involvement. National
Heritage Areas are catalysts in our communities. They are
located in vulnerable communities who have suffered economic
setbacks due to declining industries. Utilizing a grassroots,
community-driven approach, NHAs work with these communities to
build a new economic platform based on heritage tourism and
outdoor recreation that revitalizes the economy and instills
pride for the people who live there.
What makes National Heritage Areas different from other
programs is that people and partners who live within NHAs are
the key participants in the decision-making process. We work
directly with the people who live in the communities. National
Heritage Areas have direct impact and involvement with
communities like Akron, Ohio and Muscle Shoals, Alabama,
bringing the National Park Service mission out from behind the
enclaves of Federal lands, and directly to the people. Few
Federal programs epitomize the democratic principles our Nation
was built on like National Heritage Areas. National Heritage
Areas truly are of the people, by the people, and for the
people.
In addition to fostering collaboration within National
Heritage Areas, National Heritage Areas often collaborate with
each other to address shared history or collaborative landscape
conservation, and we work with our partners who are at the
table today. An example of this is the participation by a
majority of National Heritage Areas in Operation Pollination,
which actually began in the Midwest, which works with
volunteers, schools, and partners in our communities to address
declining pollinator populations through pledged supports that
raise awareness, commitment, and engagement to the issue. The
result of this multi-regional collaboration will be focused
attention on the pollinator crisis in hundreds of communities
across the United States.
While the Heritage Area Program currently models the type
of efficiency we need to see in more Federal programs, we
believe it can be modernized to better ensure long-term
sustainability and savings. As the attached chart demonstrates,
funding levels have not kept pace with the growth and
popularity of the program, and the chart explains it all right
there. So while we increased by a hundred percent, our funding
has not. It has actually been less than 50 percent. This has
resulted in significant underfunding of the program to
individual National Heritage Areas. It should be noted that
just recently the Senate passed S. 47, which added six new
National Heritage Areas, and this is going to further
exacerbate an already underfunded program.
To bring appropriations into alignment with the number of
congressionally-authorized National Heritage Areas, we are just
respectfully requesting an increase in funding to $32 million.
In closing, I hope that this committee will further support our
great work that we are doing in communities across the United
States.
[The statement of Ms. Capen follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you all for
being here today and for what you do. I certainly appreciate my
fellow Dayton Flyers and the work that he has done as well, as
a constituent. I want to thank you for being here, Ms. Capen.
The Ohio and Erie Canalway National Heritage Area helps
preserve the trails and towns that sprung up along the Ohio and
Erie Canal in the 19th and 20th centuries, promotes outdoor
recreation, and supports local jobs and economic opportunities
in northern Ohio.
Since receiving its national heritage area designation in
1996, the Ohio and Erie Canalway has leveraged more than $350
million in Federal, State, local, and private investments.
Those of us in Congress should promote public-private
initiatives like the National Heritage Area Program, and I will
continue to work with my colleagues to support this program. I
appreciate you testifying before this subcommittee today. I
yield back, Madam Chair.
Ms. Capen. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. I know there has been a lot of
interest about doing a heritage trail on the St. Croix. We need
a little more interest in Wisconsin, so anything you can do to
help us out with that would be great. Mr. Cassidy, your
testimony at the end just kind of took everything and brought
it together from national parks to just everything, deferred
maintenance of a lot of things that we will be talking about
more in this committee. But I would like you to touch on just
for a minute on the international component----
Mr. Cassidy. Yes.
Ms. McCollum [continuing]. And why that is important, why
this committee should be paying attention to it. If you would,
please.
Mr. Cassidy. So world heritage sites are sites around the
planet that recognize--I am coming into my memory--sites of
universal human value. Many of them are natural. Others are
historic, such as Independence Hall, Monticello, Statue of
Liberty. And the National Park Service Office of International
Affairs funds the U.S. participation in this program. We were
one of the leaders initially when it was stated.
So right now there are nominations moving forward that the
Park Service should be shepherding for World Heritage
designations that would support such things as Frank Lloyd
Wright homes, or civil rights, or Hopewell cultural Indian
mounds in the Ohio River Valley. So the Administration has
proposed very drastic cuts to this program last year. The
committee rejected that, and we would hope that you do that
again this year.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Well, thank you very much, and
thank you for being so patient and waiting because we were
running late. So thank you all very much for your testimony.
Mr. Joyce, the subcommittee is adjourned, and with that, I
thank everyone.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
AFTERNOON SESSION
----------
PUBLIC LANDS FOUNDATION
WITNESS
EDWARD W. SHEPARD, PRESIDENT, PUBLIC LANDS FOUNDATION
Ms. McCollum [presiding]. Good afternoon, and welcome back
to our second public witness hearing covering non-tribal
governmental programs under the jurisdiction of the Interior,
Environment Appropriations Subcommittee. This morning we have
heard great testimony, I just have to say, from a number of
advocates for the arts and the humanities. We discussed some
real critical environmental issues that are facing our Nation.
So this afternoon we are going to change our focus a little bit
on issues related to our public lands, and we will be hearing
from the remaining 20 witnesses.
Before I begin, I want to touch briefly on hearing
logistics. We have bills up on the floor. We have other
committees meeting, both appropriations and policy committees,
which our members are coming in and out of. Everybody has your
full testimony available to them. Mine is marked up with lots
of great notes on it, so no disrespect is to be felt at all by
people coming in and out.
What I will do is I will call each panel up. We have our
first panel already up here. And each witness will have 5
minutes to present their testimony. Now, we are going to use a
timer in order to be fair, and when the light turns yellow, it
means you have 1 minute remaining and you should be concluding
your remarks. When the light blinks red, one of us will gently
tap the gavel and ask the witness to conclude their remarks so
the next witness can begin. And as I said, 5 minutes goes
really fast, but we have your full testimony loaded with lots
of notes, and we know how to get back to you if we have any
questions.
There is very likely going to be votes called during the
hearing, so we will take a brief recess for members to vote.
And I hear, Mr. Joyce, it might be up to four votes in this
series.
Mr. Joyce. Wow.
Ms. McCollum. Yeah. So let's hope not a lot of votes are
asked for right away. We are going to come right back and we
will pick up where we left off. But I would ask witnesses to
stay close to the hearing rooms during the rest of these votes,
and we have two able-bodied staff members if you need to know
where to go for a quick cup of coffee that won't take you too
far off the beaten path. They are very happy to help you with
that.
I would like to remind people here in the hearing room that
the committee rules prohibit the use of cameras and audio
equipment during the hearing by individuals without House-
issued press credentials. And with that, I would like to turn
to my dear friend, Mr. Joyce, for any remarks he would like to
make.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, Madam Chair. I would just like to
reiterate what I said this morning. I look forward to working
with you during the fiscal year 2020 appropriations process to
evaluate the effectiveness of the programs discussed today and
make those difficult, but necessary, choices among competing
priorities in the Interior bill. I yield back.
Ms. McCollum. OK. And with that, we will start on our
testimony right away. We will start with Mr. Shepard, and if
you would introduce yourself.
Mr. Shepard. Thank you. Chairman McCollum, Ranking Member
Joyce, my name is Ed Shepard, and I am president of the Public
Lands Foundation. The PLF is a national nonprofit organization
comprised principally of retired BLM employees. Collectively,
our members have thousands of years of experience, expertise,
and knowledge in public land management. We don't know what
priorities are included in the President's budget for 2020, so
our statement represents the priorities of the Public Lands
Foundation.
PLF supports BLM and its programs, but we are independent
in our views and requests. The BLM manages the most diverse
landscapes in the Nation's portfolio, providing stewardship to
approximately 247 million acres of surface land, 700 million
acres of mineral estate. And these lands provide many social,
ecological, economic benefits to the people of the United
States. Economically, the country as a whole received revenues
in excess of $96 billion and 468,000 jobs in 2017. These lands
are vital to the rural communities throughout the West that
these lands are intermixed with.
PLF believes the BLM budget should prioritize programs,
provide for a healthy, resilient landscape, conservation of
species dependent on diverse habitats the BLM manages, economic
benefits to the Nation of rural communities dependent on BLM-
managed lands, all forms of energy production and associated
transmission infrastructure, and the safety of the public and
the communities these lands surround, including fire management
and active forest and rangeland management to reduce fire risk
and its severity.
PLF is supportive of budget requests that support the
sustainable and balanced development of traditional and
renewable energies, including solar, wind, and geothermal,
sometimes referred to as all-of-the-above energy development.
Adequate funding should be provided to do the necessary land
use planning, NEPA reviews, and inspections and compliance
monitoring.
Another priority of PLF is the management of diverse
habitats that BLM manages to provide for the conservation of
species. The sage brush steppe habitat is one of special
concern. This particular habitat covers wide swathes of BLM-
managed lands across several States that is home to the greater
sage grouse. This species has seen a population decline as the
use of public land has increased and habitat alteration from
wildfire and development has increased.
The BLM, in conjunction with other Federal agencies, has
worked with the affected State wildlife agencies to develop
plans to conserve the sage grouse and its habitat, and PLF
recommends that significant funding be provided to BLM to
continue to work in lockstep with State agencies. This work
will help reverse some of the losses from wildfire, weed
invasion, and development. The work will benefit not only sage
grouse, but hundreds of other species. It will also help to
maintain vibrant ranching communities dependent on these lands
and a thriving and growing outdoor recreation economy.
Another area of concern is over population of wild horses
and burros. Population on the range is past the critical point,
and it is doing irreparable harm to the land, vegetation, and
water resources, wildlife, livestock, and horses and burros
themselves. And the problems and the damage continues to grow.
The PLF has been working as part of a broad coalition of
diverse stakeholders looking for solutions, and we are
cautiously optimistic that a long-term, non-lethal solution can
be found, but it is going to take a significant investment.
This past summer and fall, we all watched the terrifying
and deadly wildfires in California and across the West. The
loss of life and the damage to property and resources is
unbelievable, and all studies seem to point to a continuation
of this problem and a need for action. There are many
communities across the West that are potentially the next
Paradise.
More aggressive active forest and rangeland management and
fuel reduction work needs to be done to address this. The
President and Secretary of Interior issued orders to do this,
and we are hoping that they will be included in the budget, but
we are asking that this subcommittee do what it can to help
fund those priorities.
We appreciate the hard choices that the subcommittee has to
make. Everybody wants money to solve a lot of challenges that
need to be faced that take a lot of funds, and we are
appreciative of your work. But these public lands are a good
investment, and we are hoping that you will consider those
because they are the lifeblood of the communities and provide a
lot of economic development to the country and to the local
counties in the West.
With that, I will be glad to answer any questions when you
are finished with the panel. Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Shepard follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Baker, the Society of American
Foresters.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FORESTERS
WITNESS
TERRY T. BAKER, CEO, SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FORESTERS
Mr. Baker. Good afternoon, Chairwoman McCollum and Ranking
Member Joyce. The more than 11,000 professional members of the
Society of American Foresters appreciate this opportunity to
share the Society's fiscal year 2020 priorities with you today.
As a former Federal employee who has recently accepted the SAF
CEO role in addition to being excited to be here with you
today, I have direct experience working to promote forest
resilience on our Nation's Federal lands.
Challenges exist, but if agencies are given the tools to
have the capacity for targeted investments that yield a
sustained return on investment, improvement opportunities
abound. Funded by Gifford Pinchot in 1900, SAF is the premiere
scientific and educational organization in the United States,
promoting scientific-based sustainable management and
stewardship of the Nation's public and private forests.
SAF always has more interest than may fit in 4 pages of
written testimony or 5 minutes before you today, but here are
the Society's fiscal year 2020 emphasis areas. Number one,
increase USFS forest and rangeland research to no less than
$310 million, with no less than $83 million for forest
inventory and analysis. Number two, increase pace and scale of
Federal forest management to improve forest health and reduce
wildfire risks. Number three, maintain funding for USFS State
and private forestry programs at or above the fiscal year 2019
funding levels. And number four, fund the Bureau of Land
Management public domain forestry and Oregon and California
railroad grant lands at no less than $10 and $113 million,
respectively.
In research, targeted Federal investments leveraged through
partnerships with universities and private/public consortiums
are critical to the future of forest health and sustainability.
Without this investment and USFS leadership, these needs would
not be fulfilled. Continuing the trend or reduced USFS R&D
budgets will result in knowledge gaps, missed opportunities,
poor management of resources at a time of unprecedented threat
from wildfire, drought, insects, disease, and invasive species,
as well as the U.S. ceding its position as a leader in forestry
research. SAF supports a funding level of $310 million for the
USFS R&D, with emphasis on prioritization of research projects
uniquely suited to R&D expertise, furthering Agency and partner
objectives.
In regard to forest health and resilience, SAF supports
continuous commitment to increasing the pace and scale of
management on Federal lands by setting aggressive, but
reasonable, targets for harvest, reforestation, risk
mitigation, and infrastructure improvements. SAF urges this
subcommittee to encourage use of all tools to meet and outpace
forest plan goals.
SAF is encouraged by the progress of the environmental
assessment and decision-making effort to streamline processes,
to improve forest and community resilience. We ask the
subcommittee to support this effort and insist on continued
focused on finding and implementing efficiencies.
In regards to State and private forestry, the urban and
community forestry, landscape scale restoration, forest
stewardship, and forest health management programs provide
important technical and financial assistance to private
landowners and the resources managers responsible for managing
more than 60 percent of America's forests. Cutting funding for
these programs would have profound adverse impacts on
communities, particularly rural communities, and will
jeopardize the benefit forest offer to all citizens of this
Nation. SAF recommends that these programs be at least
maintained at the fiscal year 2019 funding level of $337
million.
In regards to support of the Bureau of Land Management,
public domain forestry, and Oregon and California railroad
grant lands, SAF also asks this committee to extend the Forest
Ecosystem Health and Recovery Fund authorization beyond 2020,
and asks the subcommittee to also expand the 3,000 acre insect
and disease categorical exclusion through designation of the
Interior Secretary in coordination with the States to the BLM.
SAF supports $10 million for the Public Domain Forestry Program
and also the ONC Program.
Finally, for healthy forests to thrive, we need trained
professionals present to perform duties. A commitment to
consistency and budget and appropriations cycles would be a
tremendous help in securing that. Breaking the pattern of
unresolved funding bills and continuing resolutions would
improve the certainty resource managers need to meet the goals
set before them. They can better plan for the field seasons,
provide necessary direction and resource deployment to address
critical needs.
In previous spending bills, Congresswoman McCollum and
others have advocated for inclusion and reported language
recognizing the importance of participation of professional
societies for employee development. We appeal to this
subcommittee to consider adding similar language in the 2020
bill.
[The statement of Mr. Baker follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
Mr. Baker. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. OK. So you tell me how to say your name, and
then I will say it correctly.
Mr. Imbergamo. Imbergamo.
Ms. McCollum. Imbergamo, that is just like it looks.
Mr. Imbergamo. Just like it looks which you wouldn't
believe what it looks like to some people.
Ms. McCollum. Good to meet you, Mr. Imbergamo.
Mr. Imbergamo. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
FEDERAL FOREST RESOURCE COALITION
WITNESS
BILL IMBERGAMO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FEDERAL FOREST RESOURCE COALITION
Mr. Imbergamo. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman and Ranking
Member Joyce. My name is Bill Imbergamo. I am with the Federal
Force Resource Coalition, on behalf of my member companies and
our partners around the country who rely on the Forest Service
and BLM lands for our livelihoods, recreation, and water
supplies, I want to thank the subcommittee for your leadership
in addressing the challenges that face these important lands.
My members purchase, harvest, and process national forest
and BLM timber into products Americans use every day from
lumber, to paper, to biomass energy. And in addition to
supporting this budget, this subcommittee had displayed
leadership on such issues as expansion of stewardship
contracting and acting on the critically important fire
borrowing fix as part of last year's omnibus bill, as well as
fixes to the Good Neighbor Program and others.
These provisions have all given the Forest Service many,
but not all, of the tools it needs to increase the pace and
scale of forest management and engage in shared stewardship on
our national forests. Today we implore this subcommittee to
continue exercising leadership on the two issues that can do
the most to improve the health and vibrancy of our national
forests and the communities that rely on them.
First, as some of my colleagues here have referred to,
stable and timely appropriations are paramount to effective
management of our public lands. Simply put, managing a $6
billion a year enterprise requires a thoughtful investment
approach. Forest products companies plan and execute investment
strategies over dozens of years, and those amortization
schedules cover additional decades. Managing the national
forest and BLM lands requires at least that much foresight.
And while this subcommittee, and indeed this House, has
routinely completed its appropriations bills in a timely
fashion, ultimately the appropriations process has bogged down,
delaying final allocation of the budget to the field. In the
last decade, the Forest Service has been funded by more than 50
different funding measures, including continuing resolutions,
omnibus bills, and full-year CRs. In 4 of the last 10 years,
the final spending bill hasn't been adopted until at least
midway through the Federal fiscal year.
This approach has not yielded savings to the taxpayer, nor
has it helped increase forest management. It should go without
but for the sake of better forest management, Congress should
adopt timely appropriations bills by the start of a new Federal
fiscal year. Weeks or day-long CRs and shutdowns interrupt the
normal course of business as well as efforts to craft rules and
guidance for the very laws this Congress enacts. And we want to
do everything we can to help you return to regular order. Doing
so will help the Forest Service plan and execute long-term
forest management projects.
Second, you can help rebuild the rural infrastructure
needed to effectively manage our forests as well as provide
access for recreation and firefighting. By beginning to restore
the capital improvement and maintenance budget, you can go a
long way towards this goal. Funding to maintain, repair, and
replace aging roads has largely been flat since the 2013
sequester. Without the consolidation of the legacy roads and
trails line item in the fiscal year 2019 fiscal year, current
road funding would sit at about $178 million, or 21 percent,
below the unadjusted figure from a decade ago.
Failure to adequately fund roads leaves forests less
accessible and leaves forest values, including water quality,
at increased risk. My industry largely built the road system on
a national forest when the forest held a much larger timber
sale program. Even if they were double from where they are now,
that would still leave a significant unmet need for
construction and maintenance. We are seeking a 9 percent boost
in funding for the roads line item, and we hope that Congress
will include Forest Service roads as part of a rural
infrastructure package if and when an infrastructure bill moves
through this Congress.
We also urge you to adopt a 4.6 percent increase in the
timber program budget with a goal of a $4 billion board foot
timber sale program. NFS timber is vital to my members'
competitiveness and their ability to create jobs in our rural
communities, including some in your home State of Minnesota.
Congress should be aware that current forest plans contemplate
a timber sale program more than double the current level, and
my members all report to me that they are pressed for wood.
That demand can help pay for needed management and restoration
across much of the national forest system.
Lastly, we appreciate this House taking action to repay the
over $700 million in fire borrowing that took place during
fiscal year 2018, and we impress on your colleagues in the
other chamber to follow suit.
In conclusion, we appreciate the support the subcommittee
has provided to the Forest Service, and my members are willing
and able to compete for the increased timber outputs from that
Agency and the BLM. This competition can help the Forest
Service meet important land management challenges. Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Imbergamo follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Ms. Murdoch, American Forests.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
AMERICAN FORESTS
WITNESS
ALEXANDRA MURDOCH, VICE PRESIDENT OF POLICY, AMERICAN FORESTS
Ms. Murdoch. Thank you. Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking Member
Joyce, members of the subcommittee, thank you for the
opportunity to be here today. My name is Alex Murdoch, and I am
the vice president of policy for American Forests.
American Forests was established at a pivotal time in the
Nation's history, barely 10 years after the Civil War, during a
period of tremendous development and industrial expansion.
Forests were being cut down at an alarming rate to make way for
new farms, towns, and railways, and timber barons were
exploiting what seemed like an inexhaustible resource. Since
that time, we have advocated for using science to manage and
conserve our forest lands so they will be with us and work for
us for generations. We help developed the U.S. Forest Service
and the national forest system.
We have funded over 1,000 forest restoration projects
across the country. We have planted nearly 60 million trees,
and we have expanded the tree canopy in dozens of major cities
and urban areas. And we sincerely thank the committee for the
fiscal year 2019 funding levels which provide the Forest
Service with important tools and resources to manage all of our
Nation's forests.
Year after year, the Nation is witnessing loss and
destruction from wildfire at levels we have never seen before.
And our forests are struggling to adapt to a new normal of
extremes: extreme drought, low humidity, high winds, shortened
cold spells. And these extremes produce dramatic tree mortality
and high-intensity wildfire in the West, and changing tree
species composition and declining forest health in the East. To
adapt forests to this new normal will often require more active
forest management, including harvesting dead and dying trees,
reforestation, reintroducing controlled fire, and other
measures. More active forest management will require increased
Federal and private investment and a level of effort sufficient
to halt this crisis.
Consider California's forests where over 147 million trees
have died since 2010, with roughly 85 percent of those located
in Sierra Nevada. The best hope for sustaining forests like
those in the Sierra will be to thin areas with dead and
declining trees while restoring more resilient forests and
using controlled burns more frequently. But it is not only in
western forests. In southeastern forests we see a changing
mixture of tree species in response to prolonged drought, and
in New England we see dangerous forest pests reaching farther
north due to a changing climate.
The fire funding fix was a critical step forward. It will
free up Federal resources to support forest restoration on
America's national forests. But to adapt forests to this new
normal, we must do much more, yet Federal funding for forestry
assistance programs has declined over the past 15 years.
Adjusting for inflation, fiscal year 2018 funding levels were
32 percent lower than fiscal year 2004 levels. So today we
respectfully ask the committee to reverse this trend. In our
written testimony we have identified six Forest Service
programs and levels of funding we believe are critical to
addressing this crisis.
The Forest Service is a critical partner and steward of our
Nation's forests, and if we act quickly and work together, we
can help our forests adapt to the new normal, and then they
will be with us and work for us for generations. Thank you.
[The statement of Ms. Murdoch follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Well, I certainly appreciate all of your
testimony today, and I agree with you. There is only a finite
amount of resources we have here, but I am sure that we will
allocate them effectively. Thank you. I yield back, Madam
Chair.
Ms. McCollum. Ms. Pingree.
Ms. Pingree. Sorry. I came in late and missed some of your
testimony, but I will look forward to reading it. And thank you
for the work you are doing and certainly for highlighting the
importance of sustainable forests and some of the challenges we
have, wildfires and also you mentioned New England, invasive
species and bugs that we don't want to see there anymore. That
we don't want to see moving in. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Amodei.
Mr. Amodei. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am not a guy who says
more money is the answer to everything, but I am also the guy
who says I think the last resource administration was the Teddy
Roosevelt Administration. So that is a very bipartisan
criticism. [Laughter.]
And I appreciate your testimony. It is confounding,
especially in the part of the Nation that I am from where the
Federal government is the majority landowner, that its
stewardship of its estate and the resources there, and not all
of them are forest lands, although thank you for mentioning the
Sierra Nevada. And the chair has been there and the ranking
member will get an up close and personal look at the Sierras
this weekend. And the vice chair was supposed to come with the
chair to visit the sage hen folks, but that is not in the
forest. But anyhow, we will get that fixed up.
Ms. McCollum. They don't show up. [Laughter.]
Mr. Amodei. And I guess the most frustrating part is this.
What we spend on natural resources as a part of the Federal
budget is not extravagant or even a lot, and yet we continue to
watch the funding trends go down. And so it is not like
somebody is going to have to do without to even level that, God
forbid, increase it. And the benefits paid in terms of
relatively modest increases in the context of the Federal
budget is, as you folks have pointed out, is phenomenal.
And so I look forward, Madam Chair, under your leadership
to seeing what we do about those agencies and giving them some
money to do some serious management of the Federal estate and
the private estates in the eastern part of the country. Thank
you, and I yield back.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Ms. Pingree and I both serve on
the Agriculture subcommittee, and you have a lot more expertise
in that than I do for your years of service. But one thing that
has come up a lot in the testimony that you will see when you
refresh it again is there is a lot of talk about some of the
language that was in the recent ag bill that was passed, the
policy bill. Maybe we can take a look and see if we can do some
forestry work together on that jointly. So I look forward to,
that is part of my learning curve now being on the Ag
subcommittee, and one of the reasons I wanted to get on it was
the interface between the Forest Service and being on both
committees.
I would like to just get a few thoughts from you on Forest
resiliency and water quality. Sometimes people don't think of
forests and waters going together. In northern Minnesota, we
think of forests and waters around Voyager's National Park and
around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, of going
together. The Forest Service owns what is on top of the soil,
but then we deal with another group below the soil. And so I
think understanding the impact on that between water and the
forest health and the quality of water is something we need to
focus on more.
But in the interest of time, I am going to narrow this down
a little more and talk about climate change, or the new normal,
or sea level rise, or whatever anybody wants to call it. We
have to deal with what is in front of us. You mentioned forest
pests. Fire has come up again. There was a startling map that
was on one of the front sections of the Star Tribune paper in
Minneapolis, Minnesota's paper. Pioneer Press is St. Paul's.
But this was a big map of what Minnesota looks like now with
our forests and what Minnesota could look like in 2050.
We are no longer a forest State. So what are your
organizations talking about, scientific information that is out
there, what is radically going to change? I mean, we need to
work on roads, I agree with that. There are lots of things we
need to do, but if we don't get our research right on climate
change and what it is doing with pests, and how we are watching
the prairie come into Minnesota, what happens with our forests?
Are there things that this committee should be looking at? If
you could just give us one or two indicators of how much more
money and research. We need to be addressing climate change? If
you feel comfortable talking about it--I know some folks
don't--and you might have a personal opinion, but you are here
representing an organization. I will start with you.
Ms. Murdoch. I will just point to in our testimony the
Forest and Rangeland Research Program. There is an incredible
amount of research being done now through the climate hubs and
the other areas of the Forest Service where they have this data
and this information for decision-making purposes. But using
that data and plugging that into programs, we need the
translation from theory to practice where we have enough assets
within the Forest Service to begin to get practices on the
lands they are following that are preparing forests for the
future climates that they will be encountering.
So it is this terrible feedback loop where if you have the
data but you can't use it, you can't use it, and then you
continue to see problems on the landscape that you can't plan
for. And we would like to reverse that trend by making sure
that the research line item is fully and strongly funded, and
then there are also implementation funds available so that that
data can be used.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
Mr. Imbergamo. We don't really touch on this in our
testimony, but I can tell you that, you know, in other parts of
the country that are more weight constrained, in a lot of cases
the Forest Service has the most overstocked forest stands. And
you have got 3 to 400 trees per acre and forests that are
adapted to have 80 to a hundred trees per acre. And, you know,
that is an artifact of past management decisions and aggressive
fire suppression.
And that what leads to in the case of forest fires, you
know, pretty significant carbon emissions. I think we need
better research on what those emissions actually amount to, and
then we also need to help those communities prepare by getting
those forests adapted, frankly, to the climate they evolved in
and to the climate that they are going to face. A lot of water
authorities in the West have already dealt with this where they
knew they had an overstocked watershed. They were unable to get
it managed, and then the watershed burned, and it cost the
water authority and the rate payers a significant amount of
money to try to repair all that damage.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Baker.
Mr. Baker. Sure thing. I think in our written testimony we
go in depth about the importance of the research programs that
are basically the foundation as the U.S. Forest Service R&D
Program. Also the Forest Inventory Analysis Program, and I
think both of those programs are critical to at least creating
the baseline data that infer a lot of the questions that you
brought forward.
Having worked in the West and worked in Colorado recently
where Mr. Imbergamo talked about the impacts to water
companies, this is a reality. And I agree with you, it is one
that is a big challenge. But the strong funding of research and
the ability to at least have the baseline foundation. And
through the forest inventory analysis, that actually gives us
the ability to say where we are seeing changes. You know, are
insects spreading, how fast are they spreading, you know, to at
least create a timeline and a projection of how we can try to
get in front of them and what are the tools that we can get in
front of them with, or how prairies are moving into forested
areas.
So the dedication and funding at the levels we requested or
even at higher levels would be significant in maintaining that
work so that we can at least have the baseline data to get in
front of some of these things.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard. Building and maintaining resiliency in the
forests really answers both the climate change and the water
issues. As has already been spoken to, a resilient forest at
the right species, at the right stocking levels releases a lot
of water into the system, and also reduces the risk and the
severity of wildfires when they do hit, and they are going to
hit. We are not going to stop wildfires, but when they do
strike we need to have an opportunity to manage those fires, to
suppress those fires, and keep the damage on the ground the
least amount possible, you know, and provide for the ecological
needs of the forests out there. So resiliency is, I think, our
forests need a number of things, climate change and water and
air and carbon.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Shepard, just a quick follow-up on your
written testimony. I don't where the situation lies right now
with Acting Secretary Bernhardt's confirmation and moving
forward. As we know, at one point Secretary Zinke was looking
at doing a massive reorganization. In your testimony, if I am
reading this right, only 3 percent--3 percent--of the workforce
at BLM is in DC, and it kind of fluctuates in and out, going in
and out. If you would talk about the DC workforce for a second
to make sure that I understand it correctly. I have heard
different things from different people.
Mr. Shepard. The number is somewhere around 3 percent, and
of course it changes almost daily. But primarily, the functions
for BLM in the Washington office is budget, policy, oversight,
working with the Hill, working with other stakeholders like
folks at the table here. And those belong in the Washington
area, in our view with the PLF. We don't support moving the
organization west. We have most of the folks in the West now.
The decision-making authority rests in the West.
Ms. McCollum. OK.
Mr. Shepard. And we need to maintain the structure we have
here. That is not to say that some people couldn't be moved
west, but for the majority, I think it ought to be left here.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Thank you very much. OK. We will
have the next panel come up.
Mr. Joyce. Good afternoon. We appreciate your being here
today. We will start and recognize Ms. Onley for 5 minutes.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
WITNESS
KAMERAN ONLEY, DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
Ms. Onley. Thank you very much for the opportunity to
submit recommendations for fiscal year 2020. My name is Kameran
Onley, and I lead the U.S. government relations team for the
Nature Conservancy.
The Nature Conservancy is an international nonprofit
conservation organization working around the world to protect
ecologically-important lands and waters for nature and people.
We would first like to thank those on the subcommittee who have
worked with the Conservancy on policy initiatives and on-the-
ground efforts over the years.
Chairwoman McCollum, you are a long-time champion of the
Land and Water Conservation Fund, and we appreciate your
advocacy for LWCF dollars to facilitate the buyout of State
school trust lands in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Those
purchases have helped make this iconic recreation area enjoyed
by visitors from around the globe healthier, stronger, and
whole.
And just this past August, you, Ranking Member Joyce,
visited our Grand River Conservation campus in Ohio. We are
grateful for the time you took to see some of our work
restoring habitat and improving water quality around Lake Erie,
and to talk to us about the threats to the Great Lakes. These
are just two examples of the many partnerships we have had with
members of the subcommittee, partnerships that are essential to
continuing the kind of conservation work our country needs, and
we look forward to working with all of you in the years ahead.
As we enter into this budget cycle and another year of
challenging fiscal environment, our budget recommendations
reflect a balanced approached and funding levels consistent
with fiscal year 2018 and fiscal year 2019 funding levels. Our
written testimony details our full budget recommendations, but
I will highlight just a few examples of important opportunities
for effective conservation investment.
We are poised to celebrate the House's expected passage
today of permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water
Conservation Fund. This is a momentous achievement for the
long-term preservation of our country's most pristine
landscapes, and we thank those on the subcommittee for their
steadfast support for the America's Best Conservation Program
permanent.
With LWCF's future secured, we must now look how to best
fund it. The Conservancy supports $600 million in discretionary
appropriations for LWCF's fiscal year 2020. The Land and Water
Conservation Fund has strong bipartisan support, and we look
forward to working with this subcommittee and the authorizing
subcommittees to find a permanent funding solution for LWCF.
We also strongly support funding for habitat and wildlife
conservation programs, like the Cooperative Endangered Species
Fund and State and tribal wildlife grants. These and other
investments are essential to ensuring strategic action to
prevent species from being listed as threatened or endangered.
Notably, the Conservancy requests continued investment to
restore and conserve sage grouse habitat and greater sage
grouse across Federal, State, tribal, and private lands.
We need these resources to implement on-the-ground projects
and facilitate partnerships and science necessary for effective
conservation. We hope that all our work together can avoid the
need to list the sage grouse. We are also supporting funding
practical innovative climate solutions to create an energy
future that is cleaner, more secure, and gives consumers
greater energy choice.
Investing in nature brings strong returns for our security,
the economy, and our communities and our families. The
Conservancy is focused on supporting programs and investment
that ensure economic and environmental benefits are enhanced
today and made sustainable for tomorrow.
I will close by thanking the subcommittee for its support
of the fire funding fix in the omnibus appropriations bill last
year. The passage of this much-needed funding solution means
that dollars appropriated by the subcommittee can be used for
their intended purposes and not to be drained to fight
catastrophic wildfires in the upcoming fire season. Our forest
management funding request seeks to reinvest savings resulting
from a fire fix, which would reduce the future of wildfire
risk. By investing in strategies, like the proactive hazardous
fuels and restoration treatments, we can leave forests in a
more natural condition resilient to wildfires.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to submit the Nature
Conservancy's recommendations for fiscal year 2020
appropriations. Thank you.
[The statement of Ms. Onley follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, and I believe we had President Drake
from Ohio State on that tour as well.
Ms. Onley. Yes. We would love to take any of you to lots of
great areas around the country.
Mr. Joyce. And a bunch of OSU kids, too. They showed them
the projects as well.
Ms. Onley. Oh, nice. Nice. Good. Thank you.
Mr. Joyce. So I appreciate it. Mr. Dinsmore, you have 5
minutes.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
MINNESOTA CONSERVATION FEDERATION
WITNESS
JASON DINSMORE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MINNESOTA CONSERVATION FEDERATION
Mr. Dinsmore. Wonderful. Thank you. Madam Chair, Ranking
Member Joyce, honorable members of the subcommittee, my name is
Jason Dinsmore, and I am the executive director of Minnesota
Conservation Federation. I am a resident of Rochester,
Minnesota. I am also a licensed attorney, small business owner,
husband, father of two wonderful boys, hunter, angler, camper,
enthusiastic enjoyer of the out-of-the doors, and a public land
owner.
Ms. McCollum. Minnesotan.
Mr. Dinsmore. And a Minnesotan, yes. [Laughter.]
Not by birth, but by choice. Thank you for the opportunity
to present this testimony in support of the Land and Water
Conservation Fund in the fiscal year 2020 Interior
appropriations bill. Few things are more important to the
Nation's booming $412 billion outdoor recreation economy than
publicly-accessible land and water. Without an easy way to
reach the woods, waters, and wildlife, the 49 percent of the
U.S. population that participates in outdoor recreation would
be left uncertain where or when they would be able to swim in a
lake, fly a kite in a local park, chase grouse in a national
forest, or pursue their preferred way of connecting to the out-
of-doors. As a result, they simply will participate less.
Our Nation's public lands ensure the democracy of hunting,
fishing, trapping, and outdoor recreation. Everyone who wants
to has a place to do so. Regardless of class, culture,
socioeconomic status, or any other societal bucket you find
yourself within, you have access to and are truly an owner of
millions of acres of publicly-accessible land. This vast
network of lands and waters and the economy it supports depend
on the State and Federal programs, like LWCF.
Strong funding for LWCF is paramount to keeping our
thriving outdoor recreation economy and our heritage alive.
Conserving our natural resources while meeting the present-day
needs and challenges put upon them is a daunting task for us
all. To succeed, all stakeholders--forestry, farming, private
landowners, and public users--must work together to take on
this challenge, balancing population growth and development
pressure to keep pace with conservation needs and demands for
access to the outdoors.
The LWCF encourages voluntary conservation partnerships
with private landowners to keep working lands working, forests
growing, and ranching and production. LWCF helps meet the
climate challenge and brings needed funding to rural areas. For
every dollar spent or invested through LWCF, $4 are returned to
the local economy.
The LWCF is essential to water, land, and wildlife, whether
in a national park keeping our natural history alive, or having
a wildlife refuge for natural reproduction of fish and
wildlife. It has helped protect at-risk species, including
pollinators, as well as habitat for fish, wildlife, and fur
bearers.
In addition to the permanent reauthorization being voted on
in the House this very day, I respectfully ask the committee to
provide increased funding for LWCF in the fiscal year 2020
Interior appropriations bill. It is imperative that Congress
provide long-term funding security for the LWCF, ensuring that
the asset-for-asset promise made to the American people to
reinvest their offshore energy revenues and land and water
conservation is honored.
Although LWCF is authorized for up to $900 million per
year, it has rarely reached half of its potential funding level
in the recent years while remaining funds have been diverted
elsewhere. I understand the financial constraints facing our
Nation today, but I also believe that we can't afford to lose
the conservation opportunities that LWCF addresses and the
activity it interjects into local and state economies. I
respectfully ask that you support an appropriation of $600
million a year for LWCF in fiscal year 2020.
Two-thirds of the program's authorized funding level, it
represents a careful investment that spreads our limited
resources wisely across urgent and diverse priorities. It also
makes real progress toward the goal of fully funding this
critical program. Last year, about $40 million of recently-
appropriated U.S. Forest Service LWCF acquisition funds were
borrowed to pay for wildlife costs. Fire borrowing is not a new
concept. In the past years, the annual appropriations included
a chunk of funds to repay Forest Service accounts, including
LWCF.
We want to thank the House for including the funds and the
authority to repay U.S. Forest Service accounts, including
LWCF, as part of the supplemental appropriations bill that was
passed in the House in late January, and hope this subcommittee
can work with its Senate counterparts to make sure a solution
is worked out. Minnesota LWCF lands and opportunities are
counting on it.
One such project that is pending, LWCF funding is vital for
the Superior National Forest to continue its multi-phased
Minnesota School Trust Fund's project, the chairwoman is well
aware of, which helps resolve the decades-old land management
issue resulting from more than 80,000 acres of State School
Trust lands being imbedded within Superior National Forest's
BWCA, Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness. Embraced by local
governments, conservationists, school districts, and timber
companies, the project is being implemented by the Conservation
Fund through a unique solution that will secure more than
40,000 acres for sustainable timber harvesting and increased
School Trust revenue while protecting 50,000 acres within the
BWCA for enhanced hiking, canoeing, camping, and fishing
opportunities.
Madam Chair, honorable members of the subcommittee, I
reiterate our support for the Land and Water Conservation Fund
in the fiscal year 2020 Interior appropriations bill, and thank
you for your time and attention to this important matter.
[The statement of Mr. Dinsmore follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, sir. I appreciate your testimony.
Lastly, Mr. Ring, you have 5 minutes to address this committee.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
COALITION TO PROTECT AMERICA'S NATIONAL PARKS
WITNESS
RICHARD RING, EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEMBER, COALITION TO PROTECT AMERICA'S
NATIONAL PARKS
Mr. Ring. Thank you. Representative McCollum,
Representative Joyce, and members of the committee, thank you
for the opportunity to appear before you today on behalf of the
Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, and to share our
views on the fiscal year 2020 budget for the National Park
Service. I have served on the executive council of the
Coalition for the past 5 years, and I retired from the National
Park Service in 2004 after 35 years of Federal experience, 33
with the National Park Service where I worked for 20 years as a
park superintendent and for 4 years as an associate director of
the Service.
The coalition has more than 1,600 members with more than
35,000 years of experience in managing and protecting national
parks. As you know, national parks host hundreds of millions of
visitors annually who come to enjoy the spectacular natural
scenic and cultural resources that the parks preserve. The
National Park Service also touches the lives of even more of
our citizens through a number of partnership grants and
technical assistance programs.
This work would not be possible without regular annual
appropriations from Congress to support over 23,000 employees
and 400,000 volunteers who are dedicated to preservation and
guiding the enjoyment of these special places. The Coalition is
relieved that the 2019 budget for the National Park Service was
finally enacted after the long Federal government shutdown. We
are particularly pleased to see that Congress rejected the
large budget cuts presented by the Administration and instead
produced a bipartisan Department of Interior Appropriations Act
as part of the consolidated Appropriations Act which provided
$3.22 billion for the National Park Service.
It is somewhat unusual to be appearing before the
subcommittee to discuss the upcoming fiscal year 2020 and
National Park Service budget without having a proposed budget
from the Administration to review. Thus, our request will be
based on the recently-enacted appropriations bill of fiscal
year 2019.
We continue to hear so much discussion about the
maintenance of the National Park Service that we worry that the
deferred maintenance backlog may be the only issue facing the
NPS that is getting attention from members of Congress and the
public. Parks still suffer from significant reductions in
staffing over the past decade due to decreased annual
appropriations over that period of time.
To put this in perspective, appropriations for the National
Park Service were $3.27 billion in fiscal year 2009, a full 10
years ago. That is just $53 million more than was just
appropriated in fiscal year 2019. Over that time, inflation
increased by $17.3 percent. The NPS would need essentially
$3.84 billion in appropriations this year just to stay even
with inflation.
In addition, appropriations have also been spread thinner
as Congress continues to increase the responsibilities given to
the National Park Service through the addition of new parks and
programs. Over the past 10 years, NPS has been directed to
manage 27 new parks, five more national trails, five new wild
and scenic rivers, and to coordinate assistance for three new
affiliated areas and nine National Heritage Areas along with
eight grant programs.
Park visitation remains very high with 331 million people
visiting the parks in 2016, having an estimated impact of $18.2
billion in direct economic benefit to local gateway
communities, and almost double that when you add indirect
economic impacts as well. Effectively managing the demands that
the Park Service is placed with is proving more and more
challenging with funding that has not kept up with the Park
Service's costs. Thus, the Coalition requests that the
committee consider increasing the Park Service's budget by at
least $565 million to bring the fiscal year 2020 NPS back
towards the levels of service the Agency had in 2009.
I have several other points, but I see I have run my time,
and I would be happy to continue to work with the committee and
answer any questions you may have.
[The statement of Mr. Ring follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. We appreciate your sticking to the
time. There are obviously many people waiting behind you. Madam
Chair, do you have any questions?
Ms. McCollum. One of the comments that was in some of the
testimony goes to the reason why we need to preserve, protect,
and enhance is, when it comes to forest properties, it was like
they compete to be second homes. We certainly saw a lot of that
happen in northern Minnesota when I was in the state house
around Lake Vermillion, and, therefore, we came up with a way
to make sure there was public access on Lake Vermillion. And I
watched that in the metropolitan area just growing up where
farmland became primary homes. So the work that you do as
conservancy is really important, and I just wanted to just
highlight that.
The other thing I am glad you talked about is the Park
backlog and the maintenance backlog and everything that is
going on. You know, I would just like to remind people that the
Arlington Memorial Bridge is part of the National Park System
that is being repaired. And there was a lot of give and take,
back and forth between two States. Not two States. One State
and the District of Columbia about how that was going to
happen. That was a real thoughtful move that the Department of
Transportation had by making that bridge part of the National
Park System.
And so we have bridges like that all across the country,
and so I think we ought to be real good friend with the folks
over in Transportation appropriations and see if we can work
out a bridge swap so we have some more money for national park
land. With that, Mr. Joyce, I will let you go to the other
committee members.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. Mr. Amodei, any questions?
Mr. Amodei. Yeah, I had some until that intimidating
comments from the chair. Let me gather my wits about me for a
minute. [Laughter.]
I don't think I had anything to do with that, but I feel
guilty for some reason. [Laughter.]
Ms. McCollum. What is your other committee? [Laughter.]
Mr. Amodei. I don't know right now. I can't tell you. I
appreciate hearing the comments, and especially from the Nature
Conservancy. And you mentioned my bird with a face only a
mother could love, the sage hen as I call it in Nevada,
although I know members of this committee have said, well, how
do they reproduce if they are all hens, but that is for a
different meeting.
So let me just tell you this. I am very open-minded to the
funding request that you folks have all proposed, but kind of
being experienced with bridges, here is an experience with this
committee. A couple of cycles ago, giving Interior $65 million
for sage hen habitat, you know, I mean, it all started out as
habitat loss and fragmentation. And the Federal government
hadn't asked for anything, and they were going to look for
other people which is fine, but they hadn't asked Congress.
Congress gave them $64 million. We followed it up a year
later, and $35 million of it, according to the Bureau of Land
Management, stayed inside the beltway. And it is a frustrating
thing to talk about habitat loss and restoration. And by the
way, that was preceded by fiscal years where there were 10
figures worth of study money getting to the point where there
were solutions. So it is not like, hey, we didn't really know
what the problem was there. It is, like, well, you never stop
learning, but to have the majority of the money stay inside the
beltway when you are talking about habitat loss and
fragmentation was phenomenally frustrating, at least to me.
So as we talk about whether it is parks, whether it is
wilderness, whether it is endangered species, I mean, I am kind
of thinking one of the things we need to look at is we've got
to start building some fences around that money. And I am not
talking about defense money. I am talking about resource money.
So I would just add that for when the time comes to say, well,
if we really want to do something for parks or we really want
to, you know, for the maintenance backlog or whatever it is
for, that probably as a function of our experiences, we ought
to take a look at what has been done with the money so far and
where we are down the road with respect to the resource.
And so if I can, I would like to follow up with you and say
where do you think we are at on this because in a State that
burned 10 million acres over the last 20 years, it is like, you
know, that restoration stuff is kind of important, as important
in sage brush country as it is in forest country. So we will
look forward to working together. I yield back, Mr. Ranking
Member.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you for yet another lesson.
Mr. Amodei. It is a gift. [Laughter.]
Mr. Joyce. Ms. Pingree.
Ms. Pingree. Thank you all for your work and your testimony
today. Obviously in the State of Maine, we care deeply about
our relationship with the Nature Conservancy and conservation
organizations, and we love our parks. So thank you for your
work and the Park Service.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. Mr. Kilmer, any questions at this
time?
Mr. Kilmer. I will keep it very brief. First, I just want
to thank the Nature Conservancy for its partnership in
Washington State. We are very grateful for that. And then, Mr.
Ring, I just want to appreciate the point that you made. As we
try to address the maintenance backlog as later today the House
takes up a bill that broadens more parks and heritage areas,
ensuring that there is funding for staffing and programmatic
support for the NPS, I think, is really important. I appreciate
you making that point.
Mr. Joyce. Great. Thank you all for being here today. I
appreciate your testimony.
Ms. Pingree. Welcome. I have the pleasure of introducing
the next panel. I know we are just trying to confuse you all
today which direction to look at. And we are very pleased to
start with Randy Petzel----
Mr. Petzel. Petzel.
Ms. Pingree. There you go, from the Refuge Friends,
Incorporated. Thank you very much for being here today.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
REFUGE FRIENDS, INC.
WITNESS
ROBERT (RANDY) PETZEL, PRESIDENT, REFUGE FRIENDS, INC.
Mr. Petzel. Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking Member Joyce, and
members of the committee, I want to thank you for the
opportunity to testify. I am Randy Petzel, president of the
Refuge Friends, Incorporated, which is the friends
organizations that is affiliated with Minnesota Valley National
Wildlife Refuge.
In the midst of 4 million people down the road from the
largest shopping mall in America, a neighboring major
international airport sits a critical piece of Minnesota
wilderness. The Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge was
created in 1976 to provide habitat for a large number of
migratory water fowl, fish, and other wildlife species
threatened by industrial and commercial development, and to
provide environmental education, wildlife recreational
opportunities, and interpretive programming for Twin Cities
residents. Considered one of the premiere urban refuges in the
National Wildlife System, the 14,000-acre refuge is part of
corridor of land and water that stretches for 70 miles along
the Minnesota River.
St. Paul, Minneapolis, and the surrounding suburbs
represent a rich diversity of cultures with a rapidly-growing
population of color, expected to make up at least 4-percent of
the population in 2040. Yet refuge visitation does not reflect
this diversity. Unless refuges, like Minnesota Valley, welcome
communities of color and identify barriers to participation,
the future of conservation is at risk. Personal connection and
experience with nature is the foundation from which a
conservation ethic is built for future generations.
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge also provides a
superior environmental education environment in the Twin
Cities. Through partnership and training programs, the refuge
served over 9,000 students and teachers in fiscal year 2018.
Refuge staff provided expert outdoor lessons for students,
trained dozens of new teachers in the skills of teaching
students outdoors, and mentored recent college graduates to
become the next generation of environmental educators.
The resource needs of the refuge system at large are
largely reflected locally at Minnesota Valley, and I would like
to highlight a few examples. Law enforcement. The refuge has
only one wildlife officer, and he is shared with a neighboring
refuge covering much of the State of Minnesota. In addition,
this one officer has been detailed to the southern border for 6
weeks in the last 6 months. During these times, the natural
resources of the refuge and the safety of our visitors are
compromised. Previously, the refuge had enough resources to
fund three officers, and the demands of the urban population
are only growing.
Operation and maintenance funds. Minnesota Valley, like all
refuges in the system, is poorly underfunded. It is actually
estimated that nationally we are receiving only 50 percent of
the needed operation and maintenance money. The visitor center
in Bloomington is an aging resource. It is extremely valuable
to our community. Important updates, including new doors,
upgraded security cameras, solar lights, the parking repairs to
our wheelchair lift and elevators are all outside of our
present maintenance budget.
Finally, urban program. We are connecting with a multitude
of cultural and civic groups to engage with new audiences.
Partnerships with local artists, art education nonprofits, and
cultural organizations connect nature, art, and culture in an
annual eco-arts fest, which the refuge hosts, incorporating
perspectives from Hispanic, Somali, and Karen communities.
English language learner hikes led by bilingual staff and local
interns introduce new visitors to the unfamiliar habitats of
the wildlife refuge.
These unique approaches and partnerships are just the tip
of the iceberg. However, Minnesota Valley has only three-
fourths of an employee focused on urban outreach. If the vision
of providing urban refuges is reinstated, this is a program
that began in 2012 with 14 refuges, only 4 have been funded so
far. And we are hopeful that Minnesota Valley may be the next
in line for that extra funding.
Finally, this country's 567 wildlife refuges are a national
treasure. They provide clean air and water, a haven for
wildlife, and a place for people to connect with nature. At
this time when America's children are suffering from too few
outdoor opportunities, the work at the Minnesota Valley
Wildlife Refuge and refuges around the country is especially
important. I urge you to provide adequate maintenance and
operation funding, law enforcement funding, and urban funding
so these refuges throughout our system can survive and thrive
in the 21st century.
[The statement of Mr. Petzel follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you very much for your testimony. Mr.
Micka from the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE ALLIANCE
WITNESS
RICHARD G. MICKA, CHAIR, INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE ALLIANCE
Mr. Micka. Thank you, ma'am. Acting Chair Pingree,
Chairwoman McCollum, and Ranking Member Joyce, and members of
the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on
public witness day. My name is Richard Micka. I am chairman of
the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance, which is a
nonprofit friends organization for the Detroit River
International Wildlife Refuge, which is the only international
wildlife refuge in the country. We support the mission of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge is carved
out of critical pieces of habitat along the lower Detroit River
and the western shore of Lake Erie. There are nearly 6,200 of
critically-important habitat now preserved or waiting to be
restored within the refuge boundary, lands owned or
cooperatively managed with the Nature Conservancy and the Lake
Erie Metro Park, and extending from the Ohio-Michigan line
north to Detroit along I-75.
This bolsters roughly 8,000 additional acres of natural
holdings of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources as
5,000 acres of conservation lands coordinated with Canadian
partners and Ducks Unlimited. Our flagship, the refuge's Humbug
Marsh, is a Ramsar wetland of international importance, and is
ranked as globally impaired habitat.
There is a transformation occurring in Detroit that is a
model for urban wildlife corridors across the Nation. Detroit
was ground zero in the Industrial Revolution. We helped build
the Nation, and then created infrastructure which helped win
World War II, but then times got bad. Our people in the
environment suffered. Everyone realized we couldn't continue to
pollute our precious waters in the past. Our coastlines are
worth more than realized. The Clean Water Act, sponsored by our
very own congressman, the late John Dingell, Jr., provided the
impetus to preserve natural areas in a coastal zone in the
waters of the United States.
Detroit is rapidly becoming a mecca for urban wildlife and
environmental justice, a sustainable, healthy community for
all. With additional investments, we will go even further.
Remediation projects under the Great Lakes Restoration
Initiative continue to clean up areas of concern, such as the
Detroit River. Riverine bottom lines are being reclaimed,
especially in the conservation crescent on the south end of
Rose Hill, which borders the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Since 2010, the Federal government--you folks--have spent
over $2 and a half billion cleaning up the Great Lakes. Now it
behooves us to transform these resources into useful urban
amenities, many of which can sustain migratory water fowl. In
addition to investment of $400,000 in coastal wetlands and
habitat along with $350,000 for programmatic support and
$250,000 to provide the much-needed assistance in opening the
refuge gateway with a world-class fishing pier and a visitors
center, all in an effort to offer additional public access and
quality recreational experiences that are the hallmark of the
National Wildlife Refuge System and the National Wildlife
Refuge Association.
Today, 80 percent of all U.S. citizens live in an urban
area. Many residents are disconnected from the natural world,
and the metropolitan Detroit area is no exception. That is why
it is so exciting to see the growth and development of the
Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge and how it is
making natural experience a part of every (off audio) lifetime
of adventure. Ever since I was old enough to be outside alone,
I have cared about the environment around us. The great
outdoors has a way of mesmerizing you. Once exposed to it,
there is no turning back.
Being alone in nature is very special. It is just you, the
wind, the water, and the waves. Then all of a sudden you
realize that you are not alone. There are other life forms all
around you and a vast expanse of openness. What an awe-
inspiring feeling. I only hope that what I am doing here today
will enable others to share in this experience. My presentation
is a tribute to the late, great John D. Dingell, Jr. who loved
the great outdoors. Here I am. [Laughter.]
[The statement of Mr. Micka follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Micka. Dead on.
Ms. Pingree. Thank you for your testimony.
Mr. Micka. Thank you. Yeah, he was a wonderful guy.
Ms. Pingree. I will tell Representative Dingell you were
here.
Mr. Micka. Yeah, the history. Yeah, thanks.
Ms. Pingree. Ms. Brouwer.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE ASSOCIATION
WITNESS
CAROLINE BROUWER, DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, NATIONAL WILDLIFE
REFUGE ASSOCIATION
Ms. Brouwer. Hi. Good afternoon. Chairwoman McCollum,
Ranking Member Joyce, and members of the subcommittee, my name
is Caroline Brouwer, and I am the director of government
affairs for the National Wildlife Refuge Association. I
appreciate the invitation to testify today on behalf of the
Refuge Association and our members and supporters, particularly
the funds groups who do such amazing work on the ground. In
addition to Randy and Richard who have testified today, Kimmy
Fitzhugh is here as well. She is representing the Friends of
Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge who are 2019 Friends Group
of the Year.
The Refuge Association was started 43 years ago by retired
refuge staff who wanted to start a group to advocate on behalf
of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Today the Refuge System
consists of 100 million acres of land across 562 units in all
50 States, and with an additional 750 million acres in five
marine monuments in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. If the
refuge system were a country, it would be the size of India.
We thank you for your support for funding of the Refuge
System. Operations and maintenance funding has increased
incrementally over the last 9 years down from a high in 2010 of
$503 million, and a particularly low point in our funding
history of $453 million in 2013. O&M funding is now sitting at
$488 million, and I am here to ask you or a major increase.
The Refuge Association chairs a coalition of conservation,
sporting, ocean, and advocacy groups called CARE, the
Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement. This coalition
consists of all of the major national groups who work on refuge
issues: the Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, Safari Club
International, Defenders of Wildlife, the Wilderness Society.
There are 23 of us total, and we have been working together
since 1995.
The Refuge Association and CARE beat a steady drumbeat. The
Refuge System needs $900 million a year to even be competitive.
The reality is that the Refuge System is at a breaking point
financially. Morale is low, especially after this government
shutdown. Individual refuges have lost perhaps half of their
staff, and many, many refuges have closed and unstaffed or have
a staffer from their complex swinging by every week or so just
to check on the property. At this point, I suspect that no
refuges are fully staffed, and rare minority or even close to
having a decent level of staffing.
Everything in the Refuge System is underfunded. For
example, and Randy talked about this a little bit as well, law
enforcement levels are sitting at 130 to 150 field officers
total, and that is for 567 refuge units and 850 million acres
of land and water. Even just considering the land acres, this
means that on average, each Federal wildlife officer is
responsible for three-quarters of a million acres.
Five States and four territories have no Federal wildlife
officer on the ground, including New York and your home State
of Ohio. Nine States have only one Federal wildlife officer,
including Idaho and Ms. Lawrence who is a member of the
subcommittee, her home State of Michigan. We all know that
Detroit to the UP is not really the greatest commute. There are
a total of around 255 full-time equivalent refuge law
enforcement staff across the country. A study that was
completed several years ago by the chiefs of police stated that
the refuge system needs 1,149 full-time Federal wildlife
officers. This means that refuge law enforcement is working at
22 percent of their needed staffing levels, and this is
unsustainable.
Wildlife refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge system
average almost $5 in economic return for every $1 appropriated.
By far, the biggest challenge facing Refuge System today is the
completely inadequate budgets that fail to cover the cost of
maintaining this incredibly rich and diverse wildlife habitats
that make up the system. The funding gap that has arisen due to
low budget allocations over the last decade has degraded
critical wildlife habitat and imperiled important species. We
must change this trajectory.
We ask that you make $900 million in funding Refuge system
O&M your goal. In meeting that goal, we are requesting O&M
funding for 2020 of $586 million. Yes, that is a request of $98
million over current 2019 levels. It is a very big ask, but it
also absolutely essential.
So what do you get for your extra $98 million? We will
allow the Refuge System to ramp up the number of Federal
wildlife officers, increasing their safety and efficiency. You
will get a build out of the Urban Program that is bringing kids
in urban areas out to wildlife refuges either within their city
limits or close to it. You will get more environmental
education programs connecting classrooms to the outdoors. You
will allow staff to do basic infrastructure maintenance,
maintain wildlife habitat with prescribed burns, and to focus
on biology, the bread and butter or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
If you help us meet this goal, we all win: the wildlife
that depend on these lands, bird watchers, hunters, anglers,
kids, local hotel and vendors, and folks who just like to go
tromping through the woods. I don't make this ask lightly, and
I appreciate your consideration. I am happy to answer any
questions you have.
[The statement of Ms. Brouwer follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you all very much for your testimony,
and thank you for talking to us about the importance of these
wildlife refuges. We care about them deeply in the State of
Maine, and your remarks about how underfunded they are is quite
alarming. I hope that the committee is able to be supportive.
So, Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. I appreciate all of your testimony.
As I was doing research one time to give a talk about the Great
Lakes, the assets of the Great Lakes and how many people come
just to fish, I was amazed at how many people come to watch
birds.
Voice. Bird watching is number one.
Ms. McCollum. Number one.
Mr. Joyce. Right. But then when we were going out on a boat
under my predecessor, Steve LaTourette, on the Ashtabula River,
and it was actually removed from the areas of concern that day.
They were doing rehab. They were also putting in things to help
bring birds back every year. So I am just, you know, junior,
not an ornithologist. I put out bird seed in the winter, but it
is amazing when you talk to the people up there how it is
drawing people from all over the world to come different times
of the year to see the Great Lakes. So I appreciate your input
on that. [Laughter.]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you.
Ms. Pingree. We cleared that up. [Laughter.]
Ms. Pingree. Mr. Kilmer, did you have any questions or
thoughts?
Mr. Kilmer. No.
Ms. Pingree. Thank you. Mr. Amodei.
Mr. Amodei. I yield back.
Ms. Pingree. All right. I yield back to the chair, and if
she has any questions, she can close it out.
Ms. McCollum. I just have some direction to staff. We are
looking at this in some other areas where the question is
whether we can't hire staff or we haven't hired staff. So I
want to look especially in law enforcement where we are on that
because sometimes we have noticed that there are positions that
have gone vacant and haven't even been posted to be filled. And
that is a concern of mine.
As Mr. Petzel was pointing out, one of the last times--it
wasn't the last time, I go to the refuge quite a bit--I was
talking to our law enforcement officer. And he gave me an
example of probably what happened in the last year, but the
same thing happened the year before. When the hurricanes came
through Texas, our law enforcement officer was down there
giving backup and support, as well as should be, but then we
are down to zero officers at our refuge.
So there is a difference between lending somebody out over
and over again because they have families. This isn't
necessarily what they had signed up for. So we need to figure
out which is coming first, we can't hire or we aren't hiring,
or maybe it become a combination of both. So I thank you all
for your testimony. Thank you very much.
Voice. Thank you. I appreciate it.
Ms. McCollum. So the next panel is in for a real treat. We
are going to let Mr. Amodei from Nevada introduce. Well, people
from the bold north and from wet areas. Do you want the gavel?
Do we trust you with that?
Mr. Amodei. No, Madam Chair, let's not get carried away.
Ms. McCollum. OK. [Laughter.]
I fully agree, so----
Mr. Amodei. Let's walk before we run, with your permission.
Ms. McCollum. Yeah. So our next two panelists, please come
up.
Mr. Amodei. Mr. Kolton and Ms. Hoskins, although I don't
know if I want to introduce anybody that is affiliated in any
way, shape, or form with Don Young, but I guess since you
scheduled it, I will go with the wisdom of the chair.
Ms. McCollum. I am sure Mr. Young is listening to you.
Mr. Amodei. I am sure he is, too, and, therefore, please
send me get well soon cards at your convenience.
Mr. Kolton, executive director, Alaska Wilderness League.
The floor is yours for 5 minutes.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
ALASKA WILDERNESS LEAGUE
WITNESS
ADAM KOLTON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALASKA WILDERNESS LEAGUE
Mr. Kolton. Thanks so much. My name is Adam Kolton. I am
the executive director of Alaska Wilderness League, which is
the only national organization devoted exclusively Alaska
wilderness conservation. Madam Chairwoman, Ranking Member
Joyce, other members of the committee, we are here, unlike a
lot of the other witnesses today, not to ask for a single
penny. We are concerned about something that the government is
spending money on right now, and that is this mad rush to drill
in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the largest and wildest
place left in America, America's most iconic national wildlife
refuge.
We remember how we got here. In the Tax Act that was passed
in 2017, there was a provision tucked in. It was the only
offset in the entire Tax Act, an offset of $1 billion for a
bill that cost $1.5 trillion. We recognize there is a
difference of opinion, perhaps different perspectives about
whether to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. But we think that there ought to be agreement that what
the Administration is doing is a huge mistake and needs to be
stopped.
The Tax Act, the promises that were made, the law itself
provided for 4 years for the Administration to undertake a
thoughtful, more careful process if you are going to do this,
but the Administration is rushing to do this in half the time.
So, in fact, the acting director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service testified before the Senate that it would be a 4- to 5-
year process, but, again, there is a rush to do this in a way
that isn't in keeping with the law or the promises that were
made at the time.
Moreover, if the goal is to generate revenue as an offset
for the Tax Act, we are concerned the Administration now seems
unconcerned with any revenue generation whatsoever. For
example, to get the $1 billion for the Federal treasury the
Administration purports this would generate, you would have to
have a lease sale with minimum bids of $2,750 per acre.
Normally in Alaska, we are seeing if there are minimum bids at
all, they are in the $12 to $15
So there is no indication whatsoever from the
Administration that there is a desire to have minimum bids.
What we are seeing is a desire to create new facts on the
ground. The senior senator from Alaska has made clear this. She
has been publicly quoted as saying that we have to do this
quickly because if you can get the leases held, the mineral
rights held, they are harder to challenge.
Finally, in the context of the Tax Act, there was a
commitment made to have adequate consultation with the
indigenous peoples that might be affected by oil and gas
drilling. But the 7,000 to 8,000 Gwich'in Athabaskan that live
in 15 villages in northeast Alaska and northwest Canada are not
adequately being consulted with. And, in fact, the
Administration is denying the basics subsistence consultation
under the Alaska National Interests Lands Conservation Act to
Arctic Village, and other Gwich'in villages in Alaska. And we
find this fairly alarming since 80 percent of the diet of some
of these Gwich'in villages comes from the porcupine caribou
herd that calves on the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge. It
is one of the largest land migrations on the planet.
Again, I know you are dealing with many different issues of
requests for funding, and I know it is not an easy thing to
halt something that the Administration is doing in the context
of a budget appropriations measure. But it is urgent that the
committee consider this because this isn't in keeping with the
law. It is not keeping with the promises that were made. And,
again, I think both sides of the aisle should agree that even
if you are against drilling, there are concerns about the
precedent this sets for other wildlife refuge, other protected
landscapes. If you would like to see it done, surely you would
like to see it done in a way that is more protective of the
resources, the indigenous cultures, and not have a mad rush to
drill in a reckless fashion that won't generate the revenue
that was promised.
So we respectfully request that the committee consider
precluding any funding for this mad rush to lease, drill the
wildest place left in America, the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Kolton follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Amodei. Thank you for your testimony, Mr. Kolton. Diane
Hoskins, campaign director, Oceana.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
OCEANA
WITNESS
DIANE HOSKINS, CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR, OCEANA
Ms. Hoskins. Thank you. Good afternoon. Thank you,
Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking Member Joyce, and members of the
committee, for the opportunity to testify. My name is Diane
Hoskins, and I am a campaign director with Oceana. We are the
largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to
ocean conservation. I am here to speak in opposition to opening
new areas to offshore drilling and the draft 5-year program for
offshore oil and gas leasing that is currently under
development right now by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
in the Department of Interior.
As you know, the 5-year program governs when and where BOEM
can offer offshore drilling leases to the oil and gas industry.
The current 2017 to 2022 program, which was recently finalized,
rightly protected the Atlantic, Pacific, Eastern Gulf of
Mexico, and much of the Arctic from new offshore drilling.
Under the President's direction, the Administration is
developing an unnecessary plan to undo those protections for
coastal communities and ocean wildlife.
The draft 2019 to 2024 program released early last year
proposes to massively expand offshore drilling to areas
currently off limits to drilling and leasing. The new program
is not needed because the current 5-year program already goes
through 2022. With tight budgets, this is one area the
committee could pull back resources.
Communities up and down the East and West Coast strongly
oppose the expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling and
exploration. Exploration plans threaten the continued
prosperity of coastal communities, and the States whose
economies are inextricably linked to a healthy ocean and clean
oil-free beaches. In response to plans to expand drilling,
Republicans and Democrats along the East and West Coast are
united against the plan to expand drilling.
As of today, opposition and concern has been expressed by
every single East and West Coast governor, more than 330
municipalities, over 2,100 elected officials from local, State,
and Federal levels from both parties, more than 46,000
businesses that depend on clean beaches and a healthy ocean,
the Department of Defense, Air Force, NASA, the Florida Defense
Task Force, as well as regional fishery management councils
from New England, South Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, and the
Pacific, alongside numerous other commercial and recreational
fishing interests.
Offshore drilling and exploration proposals pose a direct
threat to tourism, recreation, and fishing industries that
depend on a healthy ocean. Along the Atlantic, Pacific, and
Gulf Coast of Florida, healthy oceans support over 2.6 million
American jobs and roughly $180 billion in GDP, making them
major drivers of coastal economies.
We know that fisheries are protected and properly managed.
These jobs can be sustained for generations to come. This is in
direct contrast to the limited supply of undiscovered
economically recoverable oil and gas in the areas proposed for
expansion. Oil and gas are finite resources, so when the oil
runs out, so do the jobs. We also know that when they drill,
they spill.
The BP Deep Water Horizon blowout highlights how a single
accident can lead to the loss of human life, devastate marine
ecosystems, and cause tens of billions of dollars in economic
damage. The disaster killed 11 rig workers, spilled more than
200 million gallons of oil, fouled thousands of miles of
coastline, endangered public health, and killed thousands of
birds, dolphins, and fish. In another example of misguided
priorities, just yesterday it was reported that Interior's
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, BSEE, has been
handing out hundreds of offshore drilling safety waivers to the
very requirements that were put in place as a response to the
failures leading up to the BP Deep Water Horizon blowout
disaster.
There are far too few safety measures currently in place,
and Interior's resources should be spent on implementing
current safety measures on the books rather than circumventing
the rules that were established through a rigorous public
process. Expanded offshore drilling will never produce enough
oil to offset the risk of its devastating consequences. As the
committee considers their priorities for fiscal year 2020
Interior Environment Appropriations Act, we encourage the
members to ensure that the limited resources for BOEM and BSEE
are not wasted on attempts to expand offshore drilling to new
areas, and toss aside the far too few safety measures that are
designed to protect workers and their environment. The current
drilling plan already goes through 2022, and the new plan is
not wanted or necessary.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
[The statement of Ms. Hoskins follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Amodei. Thank you for your testimony. Madam Chair,
questions?
Ms. McCollum. I just want to for the record make sure,
because I looked at your written testimony, Mr. Kolton, make
sure that, because you said it a little differently, so I am
quoting from your written testimony. So in the tax cuts
provision that you were talking about where they used the
opening of ANWR to balance the tax cuts. The Agency would have
to, and I am quoting. ``The Agency would have to set minimum
bids of $2,750 per acre. This is more than 100 times the
average lease bid on Alaska's North Slope.'' And then you go on
to say, ``With no promises from BLM that they will set a
minimum bid for lease.''
So they came up with a calculation, but the law doesn't
have a minimum bid in it. Is that correct?
Mr. Kolton. There is nothing about a minimum bid in the
law, and you are right, I didn't state it as artfully as I
might have. BLM isn't typically having minimum bids in the
North Slope. It is just that we are seeing average bid amounts
generating, you know, $5, $25 an acre. They have the authority.
The Agency has the authority to set minimum bids, so there has
been no indication in the process that there is a desired
interest to have any minimum bids whatsoever in this process.
Ms. McCollum. And then, sir, Mr. Edward Shepard, the
president of Public Lands Foundation, in his written testimony,
and he shorthanded it when he spoke to us, in his testimony, he
goes on to say about the EIS and ANWR, ``There is sufficient
time to complete an appropriate level of review and analysis of
the 1002 area. Overall impacts to ANWR and the Arctic coastal
plains as a deadline for conducting lease is more than 5 years
away.'' It goes on to say, ``Funding provided in 2020 should be
limited to gathering additional resources and wildlife
information to support further review and analysis of oil and
gas leaking impacts.''
You said in your testimony, if I heard you correctly, and
that is why I want to have this opportunity to ask you, that
they are rushing through this. They obviously have the amount
of time, and now I have heard this from two different
testimonies. Could you tell me why you feel that they are
rushing through this when they have this timeline that should
be more than adequate for them to do what they need to do. Can
you give us some examples, please?
Mr. Kolton. Well, again, the Administration testified
before the Tax Act passed that this would be a 4- to 5-year
process. The law says that within 10 years there would be two
lease sales, the first of which need to happen within 4 years,
but they are trying to do the first lease sale within 2 years.
The senior senator from Alaska has spoken publicly to the
effect that it is important to have the lease sale as quickly
as possible to create new facts on the ground, I am
paraphrasing, but more or less before there is a potential
shift in politics that would make it more difficult to execute
on this.
This is wildly unpopular what is being done. Two-thirds of
Americans oppose it. The majority of Republicans oppose
drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge according to a
Yale survey recently. So why is being rushed? Why does it cut
corners? We have never seen in the history of the National
Environmental Policy Act an environmental review that is
happening this quickly for this complex and important an area.
There is nothing precedent to do with this.
For polar bears in the United States, largest international
migratory birds, international treaties, home to 200 species.
You know, I could go and on about the values that are at stake.
This should be a much longer, more deliberate process. There is
no new science that is being done. The EIS, the draft EIS, that
has been produced is riddled with mistakes, riddled with
errors.
Ms. McCollum. OK.
Mr. Kolton. Yeah.
Ms. McCollum. I would just think if you were doing
something as controversial as this, you would want to make sure
you created the least amount of controversy building up into
it. So I thank you, and that gives me some things to look into
later. With that, Mr. Amodei, I will let you call on other
members.
Mr. Amodei. Mr. Ranking Member, questions?
Mr. Joyce. No, thank you.
Mr. Amodei. Thank you for being brief. Madam Vice Chair.
Ms. Pingree. I will be very brief, but thank you for your
testimony about Alaska and raising that alarm, and appreciate
your work on the oceans. I think I may be the only person
represented in the room who represents a district on the ocean.
And I am very pleased that our entire congressional delegation
of all parties, Republican, Democrat, and Independent, have
opposed offshore drilling and are very determined to make sure
that it doesn't move forward in our State. Thank you for the
work you are doing.
Ms. Brouwer. Thank you.
Mr. Amodei. Madam Chair, I yield back to you for the next
panel.
Ms. McCollum. You did a great job.
Mr. Amodei. Thank you very much for letting me play----
Ms. McCollum. Thank you so much for your testimony. So we
have the next panel coming up, Robin Kemper, Charlie Wiplinger,
Lisa Biondo. I am not saying it right. Lisa can help me here.
Voice. Lia.
Ms. Biondo. Biondo.
Ms. McCollum. Lia, oh. Society for Range Management. Mr.
Amodei is waiting to hear. [Laughter.]
There could be votes going off in the next few minutes. We
will let you get your testimony moving forward. Ms. Kemper from
the American Society of Civil Engineers.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS
WITNESS
ROBIN A. KEMPER, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS
Ms. Kemper. Chair McCollum, Ranking Member Joyce, and
members of the subcommittee, thank you so much for having me
here and be able to talk to you about the long-term strategic
investment of our Nation's infrastructure. My name is Robin A.
Kemper, and I am a licensed professional engineer and the 2019
president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a
professional engineering society with over 150,000 members.
Many of you are familiar with ASCE's infrastructure report
card that we release every 4 years which evaluates and reports
on the condition and performance of American infrastructure in
the familiar form of a school report card. Infrastructure is
the backbone of our economy, yet ASCE's 2017 report card had a
grade of D plus. And we determined that the investment gap of
$2 trillion will be happening over the next 10 years. And our
failure to act economic study found that the Nation's
deteriorating infrastructure and growing investment deficit
hurts our Nation's economy.
Failing to invest by 2025 carries enormous economic costs
to the tune of $4 trillion in lost GDP and 2.5 million lost
jobs in just 2025 alone. And it is also costing every family
$3,400 a year in disposable income.
Our major infrastructure category in need of robust funding
is our Nation's drinking water and wastewater systems, which
have an investment gap of $105 billion by 2025. Fortunately,
there are funding and financing mechanisms, if fully
appropriated, that could help close this gap. The Clean Water
and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds each play a vital role
in providing much-needed investments in State and local
wastewater and drinking infrastructure.
So our first ask of the subcommittee is to triple the
amount of annual appropriations to the State Revolving Fund
Programs. We also request the subcommittee approve a million
dollars to the EPA for its drinking water needs survey and
assessment and its clean watersheds in each survey so that
Congress, the EPA, and State have the necessary data needed to
determine the water infrastructure needs of communities around
the Nation.
Two other critical programs ASCE supports are the Water
Infrastructure Finance and Innovation, or WIFIA Program, and
the Securing Required Funding for Water Infrastructure Now, or
SRF WIN Act. These programs are innovative financing tools that
when fully funded have the potential to leverage limited
Federal resources and encourage greater private sector
participation in our Nation's drinking water and wastewater
infrastructure. So our second ask is to fund the WIFIA Program
at no less than the fiscal year 2019's enacted level of $86
million, and to fully fund the SRF WIN Act Program at its full
fiscal year 2020 funding at $5 million.
Another vital category in ASCE's report card is public
parks. Decades-long under investment has resulted in large
backlogs of deferred maintenance, ultimately threatening the
safety of these systems and the surround communities' economic
stability. In fact, the National Park Service has a $12 billion
deferred maintenance backlog, including infrastructure projects
related to eroding trails, visitor centers, roads, and water
systems. So our third ask is to provide at least $2 billion to
help address the National Park Service's growing deferred
maintenance backlog.
And finally, ASCE supports the U.S. Geological Survey's
National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program and streamgaging
programs. The NEHRP Program is the source of a hundred new
technologies and standards that are used by design
professionals, such as myself, every day to mitigate risks and
save lives, protect property, and reduce adverse economic
impacts. USGS's streamgaging program provides consistent,
scientifically reliable data that is essential for flood risk
assessments, water supply planning, and water quality
appraisals. So our fourth ask is to fund the NEHRP and
streamgaging programs, both critical risk mitigation tools, at
$75 million and $100.5 million, respectively.
In closing, ASCE believes our Nation must prioritize
investments in our infrastructure systems, strategic, robust,
and sustained investments through long-term, reliable Federal
funding, and through the use of alternative financing
mechanisms can help close this infrastructure gap. Thank you
for holding this very important hearing, and ASCE looks forward
to working with the subcommittee to find solutions to our
infrastructure's investment needs. And I look forward to taking
your questions. Thank you very much.
[The statement of Ms. Kemper follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Wiplinger, I noticed here that
you are a plane pilot, but you also served on Flemings Fields
which is South St. Paul's Airport Advisory Committee. So later
on you are going to have to tell me if you ever tried to land
anything on the Mississippi River. Sir, the time is yours for 5
minutes.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
RECREATIONAL AVIATION FOUNDATION
WITNESS
CHARLIE WIPLINGER, RECREATIONAL AVIATION FOUNDATION
Mr. Wiplinger. Thank you. I am glad I am not the only
engineer up here. We tend to be introverts and not very good at
this public speaking thing.
So my name is Chuck Wiplinger. I am the president of a
company up in South St. Paul, Minnesota. We make floats so
aircraft land on water more than once. We also have a wildfire
fighting product called the fire boss. I am here today to talk
about my friends at the Recreational Aviation Foundation, the
RAF, and help their story. They were created 15 years ago, and
to help tell their story, I have got 5 numbers that we are
going to walk through today, and you can write them down and
follow along if you like: 500 million, 400, 10,000, 4, and
$2.5.
So to get right into it, 500 million acres, no dollar sign
in front of this one. We are doing good. That is how many acres
that the BLM and the Forest Service manage each year. On these
500 million acres are 400-plus landing strips. They are grass
patches that serve as a landing strip, less than a half mile in
length. They are very important to us and to the public in
general.
Ten thousand is the next number, and that is the number of
RAF volunteers that help maintain these strips and partner with
the land managers and the Forest Service and BLM. And these
10,000 folks rally behind four key missions: access, safety,
history, and service. These strips provide access to 600,000
pilots potentially, and if they bring passengers with them,
that must multiplies upwards.
We are all users of these public lands. We love to go
camping, hiking, all the normal things that everyone else does.
They are in hard-to-reach locations without roads where it
might be unfeasible to put a road in as well. Safety. If we are
flying one of our airplanes over those 500 million acres, we
have 400 sites to land on if something goes wrong. Also that is
400 sites that the general public that happens to be enjoying
the land can be evacuated from should they need medical
assistance, injury, other natural disasters.
History. They are all very historical sites, many of them
created after the turn of the 20th century to help fight
wildfires with the Forest Service. And today they give us
access to historical sites, like Moose Creek, Idaho, which is
where Gifford Pinchot created the first ranger station, and
Missouri Break, Montana, where it is very close to the trail of
Lewis and Clark.
So and the last thing is service. We are very fortunate to
be able to fly into these areas. We recognize that, and we want
to give service to other people--the handicapped, the elderly,
our wounded warriors--and also people that need medical
assistance and just support in those parks. We have a story of
one volunteer who landed one evening with his son and were
quickly approached by rafters. This was on the Selway River.
And they hauled the poor woman who was in her first trimester
of pregnancy out to a hospital in Montana because she was
having pregnancy issues. She lost that child, but she had the
necessary medical procedures done to be able to have two
additional children, and is very thankful for these airstrips
and the people that use them.
So the last number, $2.5. We are asking that you continue
to support the budget to the tune of $750,000 that you have set
aside in the past to maintain these airfields. We want to
continue to partner with the Forest Service to maintain these
airfields. And we are going to ask that you create a BLM
budget, Bureau of Land Management budget, to the same magnitude
so they can have a budget to work from to maintain these
airfields, and we will gladly partner with them. That is about
$2.50 for each of the 600,000 pilots that fly in our airspace
today.
Pilots get labeled a cheap bunch. I am one of them. I don't
think any one of us would complain too badly about $2.50 of our
tax dollars to maintain these airstrips. Well, I can think of
two guys. I am willing to pay for one of them today if I need
to. And my friend, John McKenna, here probably covered the
other guys I am sure. So thank you. I look forward to your
questions.
[The statement of Mr. Wiplinger follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. And now we are going to hear from the Society
of Range Management. Ms. Biondo.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
SOCIETY FOR RANGE MANAGEMENT
WITNESS
LIA BIONDO, WASHINGTON, DC LIAISON, SOCIETY FOR RANGE MANAGEMENT
Ms. Biondo. Good afternoon. Lia Biondo with the Society for
Range Management. Thank you for the opportunity to provide
testimony today.
Established in 1948, the Society for Range Management is
the professional scientific society and conservation
organization whose members are concerned with study,
conserving, managing, and sustaining the varied resources of
range lands, which comprise nearly half the land in the world.
Specifically today, we would like to address the ability of
Federal agencies to implement active land and resource
management.
Of the mere 26 position statements that SRM has adopted
since its founding in 1948, two focus on the management of wild
horses and burros on range lands. The Society believes in the
practice and enhancement of multiple use values of range lands
while maintaining basic soil, water, and vegetation resources.
The Society supports wild horse and burro use of range lands in
accordance with the Wild and Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act
of 1971. The law specifies management to provide a thriving
ecological balance.
SRM interprets this to mean that long-term sustainability
and productivity must be the primary consideration in devising
legislation and policy for management planning and
administration for range lands, including establishment of
proper numbers and management levels for wild horses and
burros.
Range land health standards and guidelines are equally
appropriate for all herbivores. Wild horse and burrow
populations increase rapidly, and their numbers commonly expand
beyond herd management areas and exceed ecological care and
capacity unless excess animals are regularly removed. Adoption
programs and sanctuaries for excess horses have only been
partially successful. Overstocking results in deterioration of
vegetation, soils, and watersheds and leaves the potential for
expansion of invasive species. Serious conflicts with wildlife,
endangered species, domestic livestock, and other uses of range
lands have resulted.
The Federal government must implement more effective
methods to manage and control populations of wild horses and
burros. SRM supports changes in laws, policies, and
administration to effectively and economically manage wild
horse and burros to maintain healthy populations, reduce
conflicts with other uses, and maintain long-term successfully
of range and resources. One such change would be to lift the
amendment introduced by West Virginia representative, Nick
Rahall, in 2005 that states, ``Appropriations shall not be made
available for the destruction of healthy, unadopted wild horses
and burros.''
SRM is also concerned with the lack of accountability in
the use of taxpayer funds included in Division A, Title 1,
Section 109, which states, ``The secretary of interior may
enter into multiyear cooperative agreements with nonprofit
organizations and other entities for the long-term care and
maintenance of excess wild free-roaming horses and burros.''
According to the BLM's 2018 report to Congress, the Agency
contracts with 39 private landowners primarily located in Iowa,
Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma to handle the long-term care and
maintenance of over 35 horses. Unfortunately, the U.S. taxpayer
has no assurance that the private land supporting these 35,000
horses are in a state of sound range land health, condition,
and ecological status.
We believe that the above section should be amended to
include the sentiment that excess animals should be contracted
to a private landowner or entity in an ecologically appropriate
region with stocking rates and range land health conditions
accredited by a certified professional in range management.
This third party approval by a CPRM would certify that the
private landowner is implementing sound management practices,
and is not degrading the productive soils of the Midwest by
overstocking wild horses and burros.
SRM has continued to work with our community of
professional societies to push for congressional support of
Federal employees participating in and being active in the
continuing education programs provided by professional
societies. Active participation must include travel to related
conferences and workshops. On a related note, we just wrapped
up our 2019 annual meeting Gateway to Prairie in St. Paul,
Minnesota. We had over a thousand attendees, 450 of which were
students from tribal and land grant universities competing in
range and plant ID competitions.
If Congress wants land management agencies to be best
suited to deal with the high priority issues, including, but
not limited to, fire management and prevention, species and
habitat improvement along with implementing successful
strategies that address climate variations, it is even more
imperative that land management agency personnel have access to
the latest research along with updates from the field and the
training and techniques to implement practices. We are pleased
with House report language and fiscal year 2018 appropriations
that confirmed Congress' support of professional society-
related activities. We request that this congressional intent
continues to be demonstrated with a greater emphasis placed on
the importance of Federal employee involvement in professional
societies.
In closing, we appreciate the opportunity today to provide
testimony.
[The statement of Ms. Biondo follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Members, votes have started. There are four
votes, a previous question and then a vote on a rule. Are there
any questions? Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Wiplinger, on behalf
of Congressman Mike Simpson of Idaho, who can barely walk right
now or otherwise he would be here, thank you for being here to
testify on behalf of the Recreational Aviation Foundation. We
appreciate the work you do to highlight the importance of
maintaining back country airstrips. The simple fact is that
these airstrips save lives, and for that reason are worth the
small investment needed to maintain them. Thanks again for
being here today.''
Mr. Wiplinger. Thank you.
Mr. Joyce. I have no further questions. I can testify to
the fact that he was very ill when he got here this morning
from his bad knee.
Ms. McCollum. Yes. He showed up, and we hope he is
comfortable.
Mr. Joyce. Yeah.
Ms. McCollum. I would like to thank you all for your
testimony. Thank you for always being up here and reminding us
that we have to take care of what we have in order to build a
brighter future for everybody to enjoy in the future. I have
been only two of those airfields. I know I have seen more of
them over my opportunities to be out in park and range areas.
And I know how important they are not only to what you were
saying for people who fly recreationally, who enjoy them, but
people do know you can get a pilot, and they figure out how to
call and who has a plane and who can get in. So I know your
folks do a lot of great work.
Mr. Wiplinger. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. And we are trying to get the range management
right, and it is good to know that you are reaching out to the
future, too. So how many youth were out there?
Ms. Biondo. We had about 450 students, and they compete in
range and plant ID competitions.
Ms. McCollum. Four hundred and fifty students.
Ms. Biondo. Four hundred and fifty students, yep.
Ms. McCollum. Wow. And a mix of tribal and non-tribal?
Ms. Biondo. Absolutely, yep. Yep. Also from Canada and
Mexico. We do have an international component, too.
Ms. McCollum. Oh, that is great. That is great. Well, thank
you all for your testimony. For those of you who are on the
other two panels, we are going to excuse ourselves to vote
because we wouldn't have an opportunity to hear everything all
at once. We should be back quickly, and so for now we are
recessed until the call of the chair after votes.
[Recess.]
Ms. McCollum. Welcome back. We are now going to hear from
our panel. We have Michael Mace, director of Animal Collections
and Strategy, the San Diego Zoo Global, and Steve Holmer, vice
president of policy for American Bird Conservatory. So Mr.
Mace.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
SAN DIEGO ZOO GLOBAL
WITNESS
MICHAEL MACE, DIRECTOR OF ANIMAL COLLECTIONS & STRATEGY, SAN DIEGO ZOO
GLOBAL
Mr. Mace. Thank you. Thank you, Chairwoman McCollum and
Ranking Member Joyce. We want to thank the subcommittee today
for the opportunity to testify in support of funding for
endangered species recovery and the New Recovery Challenge
Grant Program as you enter into the 2020 appropriations
process. My name is Michael Mace, and I am the director of San
Diego Zoo Global as the director of collections and strategy.
And I have been involved with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service recovery programs for decades.
San Diego Zoo Global is a long-time leader in endangered
species recovery around the world. Our Institute for
Conservation Research houses one of the largest zoo-based
multidisciplinary research teams with more than 150 researchers
and staff who are leading experts in their field. We carry out
carefully-tailored species recovery plans and partner with
United States Fish and Wildlife Service and with other
dedicated partners. To date, we have bred more than 165
endangered species, and more than 40 of those endangered
species released back into the wild in their native habitats.
One of our key recovery programs is the California condor,
a coordinated public/private partnership that a species once
condemned to extinction. Partnering with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, State agencies, the Peregrine Fund, Oregon
Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo, and Ventana Wildlife Society, and several
other partners together, we have provided critical genetic
management and breeding, and rearing, and release to recover
the condor. A total, once at only 22 condors in the world,
today is now around 500.
While significant progress has been made to save a species
like condors from extinction, the fight to fully recover the
species is not over. As a result of investigational degradation
and threats from contaminants, such as lead, condors in the
wild are only sustainable with costly human intervention,
including population management, tracking, medical testing and
treatment for lead exposure. Together our non-profit partners
spend roughly $3.6 million annually in privately-raised dollars
to sustain this program.
To assist in mitigating these costs, the condor partners,
Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service work with the appropriations staff and the fantastic
subcommittee to establish the Recovery Challenge Grant Program
in fiscal year 2018. This new program was a landmark and
recognized the critically-important role of nonprofit partners
with the Service for endangered species recovery efforts.
Through a merit-based matching grants process, it provides
funding in a more commensurate manner to support organizations
implementing the highest priority recovery actions identified
by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Recovery Challenge Grant
requires a substantial 50/50 match, a match in which we have
gone above and beyond historically. The program also provides
matching grants to many other longstanding priority
partnerships outside of the condor, such as the Northern
Aplomado Falcon, the whooping crane, and Stellar's Eider. In
fiscal year 2018, the condor partners were thankful to have
received four grants from this program in total of $1.5
million. This funding enabled us to provide the critical
scientific expertise and on-ground experience essential to
recover the condor.
Another example of a successful recovery partnership led by
San Diego Zoo Global is our Hawaiian Endangered Bird
Conservation Program. This is a three-way partnership operated
in collaboration with Fish and Wildlife Service and the State
of Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife. Since its
inception in 1993, more than a thousand birds from 16 species
have hatched, and approximately 800 of those from 10 species
have been released into the wild. The most notable of those is
the 'Alala, or Hawaiian crow. Once extinct in the wild, today
there are now 19 flying free.
One major takeaway from San Diego Global's experience in
recovery is that endangered species recovery is truly a shared
responsibility. Our partners have made significant investments
to keep going. However, Federal funding for Endangered Species
Act programs has not kept pace with needs. The creation of the
Recovery Challenge Grant Program has been an incredibly
important step in that right direction.
As the committee develops the fiscal year 2020 Interior,
Environment appropriations bill, we urge you to continue to
provide robust funding for endangered species recovery and
prioritize longstanding recovery efforts in which existing
resources and partner expertise can be most effectively
leveraged. Specifically, we request an increase to the
Endangered Species Act recovery to $100 million and a request
to increase the funding for the Recovery Challenge Grant to $8
million. This funding will enable us critically to recover
partnerships to sustain our work, so together with U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service we can realize the goal of full recovery
condors and many other critically-endangered species.
We do thank you sincerely for your support and effort in
this process.
[The statement of Mr. Mace follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Holmer.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY
WITNESS
STEVE HOLMER, VICE PRESIDENT OF POLICY, AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY
Mr. Holmer. Thank you for this opportunity to testify.
American Bird Conservancy respectfully asks the committee to
increase U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bird Conservation
programs. We area mid-sized bird conservation group that works
to conserve birds in their habitats throughout the America's.
We have about 80 people on staff, including three foresters who
work in the State of Minnesota working to recover habitat for
the Golden-wing warbler. We have found that birds are a key
indicator of environmental health and provide many benefits to
our environment and the economy, including billions of dollars
each year from wildlife watching.
Unfortunately, the 2016 State of the Birds Report produced
by government and agency scientists found that one-third of all
migratory bird species are in decline and in need of
conservation action. With the support of Congress, we believe
we have the tools needed to reverse these declines.
Specifically, we request an across-the-board funding increase
for the Neo-Tropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, migratory
bird joint ventures, State and tribal wildlife grants, and the
North American Wetlands Conservation Act to promote the
conservation of at-risk bird species.
International reserves protecting migratory bird wintering
grounds have been made possible by NMBCA grants. It is really
one of the few sources of funding for overseas work. The
program has been funded at $3.9 million in recent years, but
the lands package up today includes reauthorization at $6.5
million, and we believe that the program should be fully funded
at $6.5 million.
The migratory bird joint ventures, which are conservation
committees in reach region of the country, are now carrying out
projects to provide habitat and boost population numbers of
species of concern, such as the Cerulean warbler. Both the
Central Hardwoods and Appalachian Mountain joint ventures are
conducting forest restoration projects to benefit this species.
We believe the migratory bird joint ventures, or JVs, have
become a critical nexus capable of carrying out an expanded
bird conservation program. Funding has been flat or declining
over the past 7 years, and the JV management board had
identified $19.9 million as the necessary amount to carry out
their mission, and we urge funding be increased to that level.
Thanks to NAWCA and wetland conservation, water fowl have
been making an amazing comeback and are now thriving. We ask
that NAWCA be increased to $50 million, and for State and
tribal wildlife grants we request $70 million. To address
several further threats, one of you which you just heard about,
the risk of extinction to Hawaiian birds and preventing the
spread of harmful invasive species. We urge that the Endangered
Species Recovery State of the Birds activities be increased to
$5 million from the current $3 million level, and a $10 million
increase for early detection and control of invasive species.
These funding recommendations are endorsed by National Audubon
Society, Cornel Lab of Ornithology, and over 100 other bird
conservation organizations.
American Bird Conservancy also asks the committee to please
oppose harmful policy riders that would erode the Endangered
Species Act, including listing exemptions to the greater sage
grouse or other species. Other past riders to drop, including
requiring EPA to treat air emissions from forests biomass as
carbon neutral, prohibiting EPA from requiring Clean Water Act
permits in certain circumstances, and prohibiting funding to
regulate lead content of ammunition or fishing tackle.
Solutions are also urgently needed to both address climate
change and ensure the conservation of birds in their habitats.
We have developed a Bird Smart Wind Energy Program and a new
report that carefully details how we can build wind energy
while avoiding and minimizing impacts to birds. Another key
climate solution, and analyzing all the impacts to birds, would
be to further incentivize solar installations in the already-
developed landscape, such as rooftops, parking lots, and brown
fields. This will further accelerate the growth of renewable
energy, possibly create wealth in blighted areas, and also
lower the risk of collisions and electrocutions to birds posed
by the construction of new power lines. We estimate as many as
30 million birds a year die from collisions and electrocutions
form power lines, so it is a significant threat that currently
is not fully and adequately mitigated.
Protection of existing carbon stores, such as the old
growth forests of the Pacific Northwest and Tsongass National
Forest, is another key climate solution. The 20-year monitoring
reports of the Northwest Forest Plan found that it is
recovering old growth forests and improving water quality, and
another study confirms the plan has turned the northwest
forests from a carbon source to a carbon sink, an important
climate change success story.
Forests sequester about 11 percent of our annual carbon
emissions, so it is essential we prevent forest loss and
protect the mature and old growth forests that store the most
carbon per acre. In addition, logging is itself a major source
of emissions that managers need to start fully accounting for
and considering in management decisions. We recommend expanding
programs that help keep forests as forests, such as Forest
Legacy, as well as the successful Legacy Roads Program, to
improve water quality. To address fire risks, we recommend
providing direct grants to homeowners and businesses to protect
and retrofit their structures and also to carry out defensible
space work.
Thank you very much for this opportunity. I would be happy
to answer any questions.
[The statement of Mr. Holmer follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you for being here today. I appreciate
what you do, and I apologize for being a little late on my
return, but I don't have any questions at this time. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. OK. So one thing that I would like to focus
on, and I would use my State as an example of a pretty shocking
graphic, and I wish I would have brought it down with me, is
what is going to happen with Minnesota's trees and forests and
pines. It is going to look radically different. Why are we
seeing some of the creep of prairie? We are seeing invasive
species come in and put a lot of our trees at great stress and
great risk.
So one of the questions that I asked an earlier panel is
with some of the research that is going on, you are trying to
bring species back. But preventing the species from becoming
stressed in the first place--and it's ok if you don't have an
answer for me--if there are things that you can point to that
we can talk to the Forest Service about for research for bird
habitat, that would be greatly appreciated. If you have a
comment now, that would be fine.
The other thing is you kept talking about invasive species
being a stressor, and so the first thing that comes to mind is
what is happening to the trees, and I don't know what you
gentlemen might have met by ``invasive species as a stressor.''
If you could elaborate on that a little bit.
Mr. Holmer. Sure. OK. I'll jump in there. Yeah, there is
quite a lot that we could do working with the Forest Service in
terms of doing restoration on forests. And our organization is
engaged in active forest restoration, so we do see a legitimate
role there. But we do also see that science needs to be an
essential guidepost for that work, and so we are strong
supporters of full NEPA analysis for forest management
projects. We do believe that there needs to be more investments
in the forest. We still have a large road maintenance backlog,
for example, in the National Forest System. And in some regions
water quality, such as the Northwest, is still a major issue
where there is a tremendous amount of watershed restoration
work and job creation that could be happening to address those
needs in those areas.
In regard to invasive species, I was thinking about some
other critters, like feral pigs and snakes----
Ms. McCollum. Oh yeah.
Mr. Holmer [continuing]. In the Everglades which have now
proven to be a huge hazard for birds. We do have programs that
do monitor and control, and it is really is the initial attack.
When we find that there is a problem, we need to get on it
really fast. And so that is why we are asking for the $10
million increase for that part of the DOI program.
Mr. Mace. One of the things that comes to mind is just how
delicate these ecosystems are, and when you imbalance them, you
have all these cascading of events that occur that you
described: invasive species moving in, forests lost. Our
Institute for Conservation Research, when we are doing a
reintroduction program, sometimes it involves habitat
restoration at a botanical level with plants, or it might be a
species that co-dependent on another, like the presence of
ground squirrels and burrowing owls.
So doing that analysis early on to determine what those
primary factors is key, but also we realize that we not living
in an environment that is of its normal anymore, that it is a
changing environment, and we are sharing space with all these
amazing creatures and with all these wonderful plants. But that
is why we have to make sure that we try to keep these
ecosystems as normalized and balanced as it possibly can be
done.
Ms. McCollum. So with the international bird migration, we
have partners with Canada and some of our partner countries,
Central and Latin America, Mexico, too, and that includes
pollinators as partners. You know the international programs
always look at being cut, and I think people get birds. I mean,
we even have the term for people in Minnesota. We call them
snow birds when they go down South, right? [Laughter.]
People get birds going out there. Our international
partners, are they feeling some of the same stress? We just
went through a global environmental discussion about what to do
about climate change, and then we had the global shock to our
economies back 10 years ago. Can you tell me how our partners
are faring and what you think our fair share should be in some
of these international monitoring programs?
Mr. Holmer. Sure. Well, you know, in terms of bird
conservation, things are going very well with our partners in
Canada and south of the border. The NMBCA is the essential
matching grant program that provides for projects in these
areas. And so those projects and that process has been working
great.
And just to put in another plug for the migratory bird
joint ventures. They actually extend into Canada and down into
Mexico, and it is really a habitat-based approach. So, for
example, in the State of Minnesota, based on your geography, on
the west side of the State you have the Prairie Pothole joint
venture, and on the east side, the Upper Miss River-Great Lakes
joint venture. And I think that, you know, getting back to your
question on forests, we are going to have to keep a very close
eye on the ecosystems.
I have seen some studies that show that forests could
actually help slow things down in terms of by maintaining
moisture and stability on a part of the landscape. So I think
that there is, you know, hope that things aren't going to just
be immediately lost, but, again, it is going to take a lot of
careful monitoring, and we think that the joint ventures are
actually a great vehicle to be looking at how habitats are
faring.
Mr. Mace. And many of these species of birds are critical
in the maintenance of these landscapes. They are seed
dispersers. They are pollinators. Some plants won't even
germinate without passing through the gastrointestinal tract of
a bird. So this is where that cascade of events can go out of
control when this ecosystem is imbalanced.
Ms. McCollum. We have got another panel behind you, but you
have all waited. You are going to get a little extra attention
then. So when we are talking about identifing and the public,
birding is just taken off the chart, and birders come in all
different shape, size, and ranges. What are some of the things
that when you are engaging with the public that they are
looking forward to seeing or having happen in either our
national parks, in our open spaces, or in urban settings to be
better birders? I have people come up and ask me about this,
believe it or not, in Minnesota because I worked on a birding
trail at one time. So are you hearing feedback in your surveys?
Mr. Holmer. Well, we are and it is kind of a quandary for
us because are trying to mobilize the birders, and yet we are
finding that they like the backyard birds, you know, the things
that they are going to see. So when we talk about some of these
more far-flung species, they don't always connect to them.
So we are actually, you know, trying to engage people a
little bit more in terms of where they live, and we do have a
number of programs of dealing with urban areas. Collisions with
windows, for example, is a major issue, and there is
legislation, the Bird Safe Buildings Act, that could help us
address that issue. So we are trying to get people to realize
that even, you know, what is happening in their community.
Planting enough trees in urban areas is another good solution
that can both improve energy efficiency for buildings, but also
provide habitat within our cities.
And then my last question, and it is very controversial
dealing with getting the lead out, so to speak. But that seems
to be a leading indicator for harming condors from your
testimony. Where are the condors getting the lead from?
Mr. Mace. From sport hunting. So when hunters go out and do
sport hunting, sometimes they leave part of the animal behind.
Ms. McCollum. Right.
Mr. Mace. And condors being a scavenging species go down
and consume what is left, and they incidentally take the lead
in that way. With regards to lead, if you just look at lead as
a toxin in the environment, and it isn't just condors. It is
anything that scavenges a carcass. But if you look at it in the
context of just being a toxin, we have lead in paint, and we
found out that our children were chewing on their cribs and
their toys, and we decided as a community to take it out of the
product. We had it in gasoline, and we removed it because of
its toxic properties.
The same is true with lead ammunition. There is alternative
ammunition that allows for sport hunting to continue at every
level that it is now, yet it is an alternate that is non-toxic
when consumed by other animals, and sometimes people. Sometimes
people are taking lead in incidentally from sport hunting.
Ms. McCollum. OK. Thank you both very much, gentlemen.
Mr. Mace. Thank you.
Mr. Holmer. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Do you have anything?
Mr. Mace. Thank you for your time.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Joyce, I will let you introduce the last
panel, and thank you so very much for waiting. We really
appreciate it. I think they might be waiting for you to call
them up. [Laughter.]
Voice. (Off audio.)
He will let you know. You can sit in any order you want.
David will take good care of you.
Mr. Joyce. Welcome. Thank you all for being here, and, like
the wedding feast at Canaan, we saved the best for last, right?
[Laughter.]
We intend to follow this list here, and you all will be
given 5 minutes to address what is left of our committee, but
the most important person, is obviously the chairwoman. We will
start with Mrs. Ziemian?
Ms. Ziemian. Yes.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. You have your 5 minutes.
Ms. Ziemian. Thank you.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
HUMANE SOCIETY LEGISLATIVE FUND
WITNESS
JOCELYN ZIEMIAN, SENIOR LEGISLATIVE SPECIALIST, FEDERAL AFFAIRS, HUMANE
SOCIETY LEGISLATIVE FUND
Ms. Ziemian. Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking Member Joyce,
members of the subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to
testify. My name is Jocelyn Ziemian, and I am senior
legislative specialist at the Humane Society Legislative Fund.
I am here to talk about the Fish and Wildlife Service's
International Wildlife Conservation Council, or IWCC. We
request the subcommittee to block out funding for the IWCC in
fiscal year 2020.
The IWCC was created in 2017, per its charter, to advise
the Federal government on increasing public awareness
``regarding the conservation, wildlife law enforcement, and
economic benefits that results from United States citizens
traveling to foreign nations to engage in hunting,'' and on
``the benefits international hunting has on foreign wildlife
and habitat conservation, anti-poaching and illegal wildlife
trafficking programs, and other ways in which international
hunting benefits human populations in these areas.''
The IWCC was established under the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, or FACA. This statute stipulates that advisory
committees be established only when essential and their number
kept to a minimum. Advisory committees also must be in the
public interest in connection with the agency's mandate.
Finally, the advisory committee's membership must be balanced
in terms of the points of view represented and must not be
inappropriately influenced by any special interest.
The IWCC violates FACA's criteria in multiple ways. The
council is not essential, not in the public interest, and is
not balanced or protected from undue influence of special
interests. As such, the IWCC is not a responsible use of
American taxpayers' money.
For starters, the IWCC is not essential. In 2013, the
Service created a Wildlife Trafficking Advisory Council to
fight illicit wildlife trade and to improve enforcement of
wildlife trade laws. He Council played a key role in government
response to the wildlife trafficking crisis, but in September
2017, the Council was deemed inessential and was discontinued.
However, just a few months later the Service created the IWCC
to consider some of the very same topics.
Another advisory committee, called the Hunting and Shooting
Sports Conservation Council, addresses matters in the IWCC's
purview, such as expanding access to hunting and shooting on
public and private lands, and encouraging partnerships among
sporting organizations, the public, and various government
entities.
The IWCC is also inessential in a broader statutory
context. The Council's duties include recommending the removal
of barriers to importing legally-hunted wildlife and
recommending ways to streamline or expedite import permits
processing. Yet through the Endangered Species Act, parties can
apply for import permits that aim to demonstrate trophy
hunting's benefit and can comment on permit applications in
foreign species listing petitions. So there is no need for an
advisory council for these purposes.
Second, Federal advisory committees should serve the public
interest by helping the Federal government gather balanced
information through an open public input process. But the IWCC
doesn't comply with that either. In fact, the IWCC's very
purpose is inconsistent with the public interest. The IWCC
seeks to promote international trophy hunting and to relax
restrictions for importing trophies of ESA-listed species,
presuming as incontrovertible fact that trophy hunting promotes
wildlife conservation.
But this is a controversial, hotly-debated subject with
ample scientific evidence to the contrary. Yet the Council's
own goals preclude objective investigation and airing of these
ideas.
On a more basic level, at the IWCC's first meeting, my
organization witnessed the Service giving this Council's
members a presentation in the vein of wildlife conservation
101. If the Council needed this lesson, they don't have the
expertise to advise the government on the world's most pressing
conservation problems.
The IWCC also violates FACA's requirement that advisory
committees be objective and outside undue influence from
special interests. Almost all of the Council's non-governmental
members come from the hunting world: professional and celebrity
hunters, the hunting tourism industry, and the firearms and
ammunition lobby. These people have financial, personal, or
other vested interests in reducing restrictions on
international hunting. This makes them unfit to advise the
government on conservation. In short, the IWCC fails to meet
FACA's own criteria for advisory committees.
Once again, the Humane Society Legislative Fund urges the
subcommittee to block any funding for the International
Wildlife Conservation Council.
[The statement of Ms. Ziemian follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. I am sorry. Thank you very much for your
testimony. I apologize. [Laughter.]
Ms. Wall, you have 5 minutes to address us.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE
WITNESS
KATE WALL, SENIOR LEGISLATIVE MANAGER, INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL
WELFARE
Ms. Wall. Thank you. Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking Member
Joyce, thank you so much for the opportunity to offer testimony
today. My name is Kate Wall. I am a senior legislative manager
with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, or IFAW. IFAW
has 17 offices globally and works in more than 40 countries
around the world. Recognizing the unbreakable link between
animals and human wellbeing, we support and empower communities
to co-exist with and value native wildlife, and help those
communities to develop tools to protect their wild heritage.
It is more crucial than ever to prioritize environmental
protection and conservation efforts. Wildlife and wild lands
are in peril around the world. Climate change and habitat
destruction threaten wildlife ecosystems and the very fabric of
this planet we call home. Trafficking in wildlife and wildlife
parts and products remains the fourth most lucrative criminal
enterprise in the world, and scientists warn that species are
disappearing so fast that evolution cannot keep up.
However, at IFAW we see reasons for hope. If we invest
wisely now, we can stem the tide of extinction. And the good
news is that many of the programs that are best able to address
today's grim challenges fall within the jurisdiction of this
subcommittee. In my written testimony, I highlighted several
important initiatives, but in the interest of time I will focus
on just three of those here today.
First, IFAW urges this subcommittee to consider the health
of wildlife and the environment in all of its actions. No
federally-supported construction project, including disaster
remediation projects, should be exempt from such fundamental
laws as the Endangered Species Act and the National
Environmental Policy Act. These reviews allow construction
projects to move forward while ensuring full disclosure of
outcome, informed decision-making, and risk mitigation. There
has been a distressing trend to exempt projects from NEPA, ESA,
and other environmental reviews, and we urge the subcommittee
to reverse this trend by denying funding for any plan that
waives NEPA or the ESA.
Second, as Congress moves to address our aging
infrastructure, we have an opportunity to invest in
environmental safeguards and conservation innovations that will
ensure American wellbeing and security and create jobs and
prosperity for citizens of today and for many future
generations. Natural areas on public lands provide numerous
valuable ecosystem services to the American people, including
clean, drinkable water, flood control, soil stabilization,
climate regulation, wildlife habitat, and recreational
opportunities.
National forests contain more than 7 times as many miles of
roadway as the interstate highway system, some 7,000 bridges
and over 1,700 dams. Efforts must be made to repair or, in some
cases, remove infrastructure that poses a threat to ecosystems
and the public interest. IFAW urges this subcommittee to
prioritize funding for infrastructure projects within your
jurisdiction that rely on sustainable or natural materials to
increase infrastructure resiliency and longevity, reintroduce
or preserve native flora, implement natural alternatives, like
wetland, dune restoration, and natural vegetation buffers, and
reduce wildlife conflicts using wildlife corridors and
crossings.
We also encourage fully funding implementation of the
Endangered Species Act. In spite of years of relatively flat
funding, our Nation's most important conservation law remains
effective and has been successful in protecting 99 percent of
listed species. These species, both domestic and worldwide, are
integral parts of our ecosystem. While they face ever-mounting
pressures, funding for the ESA has not kept pace with the need.
IFAW urges the subcommittee to direct the CRS to provide a
report on funding levels necessary for Fish and Wildlife
Service to fully implement the ESA. In the meantime, we ask the
subcommittee to increase funding for ESA programs at a rate
commensurate with increases to defense spending in order to
better reflect the increasing need of imperiled species.
IFAW also thanks this subcommittee for its effort to fend
appropriation riders in past bills and asks that any riders
aimed at undermining the ESA be excluded from the fiscal year
2020 act. Likewise, we request a significant increase in
funding for the Multinational Species Conservation Fund. I will
not repeat here the praises and justifications for these funds
that you will hear from others and that was in my written
testimony. I will just say that now is the time to invest more
fully in conserving the species they protect.
A recent report warns that unless we take action, climate
change will render the Bengal tiger extinct from the Indian and
Bangladesh mangrove forests within the next 50 years. Action is
needed now, an IFAW requests that $18 million be appropriated
for the MSCF for fiscal year 2020.
In closing, thank you for the opportunity to share IFAW's
priority requests and conservation efforts in the fiscal year
2020 Interior and Environment Appropriations Act. Thank you.
[The statement of Ms. Wall follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you very much. Ms. Aylward.
Ms. Aylward. Aylward.
Mr. Joyce. Aylward.
Ms. Aylward. Yep.
Mr. Joyce. OK.
----------
Tuesday, February 26, 2019.
BRONX ZOO-BASED WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY
WITNESS
KELLY AYLWARD, WASHINGTON OFFICE DIRECTOR, BRONX ZOO-BASED WILDLIFE
CONSERVATION SOCIETY
Ms. Aylward. Hi. I am the Washington office director for
the Bronx Zoo-Based Wildlife Conservation Society. Good to see
you.
Mr. Joyce. Nice to see you. You have 5 minutes to address
us.
Ms. Aylward. Thank you. Thank you, Chairwoman McCollum, and
Ranking Member Joyce, and members of the subcommittee for the
opportunity to testify in support of funding for the fiscal
year 2020 Interior approps bill. I am going to focus on four
key accounts: the Multinational Species Conservation Fund at
Fish and Wildlife Service, the International Affairs Office at
Fish and Wildlife Service, the Office of Law Enforcement at
Fish and Wildlife Service, the Cooperative Landscape
Conservation Program at Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as
the Forest Service international programs.
Just by way of background, WCS was founded with the help of
Teddy Roosevelt back in 1895 with the mission of saving
wildlife and wild places worldwide. Today we manage the largest
network of urban wildlife parks led by our flagship, the Bronx
Zoo. And globally our goal is to conserve the world's largest
wild places, focusing on 16 priority regions that are home to
about 50 percent of the world's biodiversity. We have offices
in almost 60 countries and manage more than 200 million acres
of protected areas around the world, employing more than 4,000
staff, including 200 Ph.D.s and 100 veterinarians.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank Chairwoman
McCollum for her leadership as co-chair on the International
Conservation Caucus, and welcome our newest co-chair, Mr.
Joyce, and look forward to working with you more on issues with
the International Conservation Caucus. And as such, you know
more than most members that U.S. investments in international
conservation deliver more than just the species saved and the
habitats protected. These investments also increase capacity in
other nations to respond to extreme weather, to droughts,
wildfires, and to build governance in these developing nations.
That is why WCS and our partners have just launched the
Natural Security Campaign, nationalsecurity.us. And the
campaign is intended to demonstrate that investments in
international conservation by the U.S. can help prevent global
conflicts, reduce international crime, and guard against
natural disasters. In fact, we have a briefing on Thursday at
noon in the House Foreign Affairs Committee room, 2200. If you
are available, we would love to have you. Stop by.
The Multinational Species Funds. Tigers, rhinos, African
nation elephants, great apes, and marine turtles face constant
danger from poaching, habitat loss, and other serious concerns.
The Multinational Species Funds have helped to sustain wildlife
populations by controlling poaching, reducing human wildlife
conflicts, and protecting essential habitats. These programs
consistently leverage 2 to 4 times as much matching funds from
organizations like WCS, foreign governments, local NGOs, and
foundations.
One Great Ape Award that WCS received in fiscal year in
fiscal year 2017 is supporting a 5-year project to secure
cross-river gorilla populations in Nigeria and Cameroon. WCS is
protecting intact old growth forests that are home to the
remaining 300 gorillas and a number of forest-dependent
communities by establishing an effective network of core
protected areas and corridors, linking habitats between the two
countries. Despite the pressure form Chinese developers and the
provincial government's interest in building what they are
calling a superhighway through this critical habitat.
So WCS is grateful that the committee has appropriated
$11.6 million for the programs in fiscal year 2019, which was
an increase of $500,000, the first we have seen in at least 3
years. And I urge at least $15 million in fiscal year 2020 for
these programs as the threats still remain very strong.
I will also mention that the lands package being considered
on the House floor includes the Wild Act, which would
reauthorize the Multinational Species Funds and expand the
marine turtle conservation to freshwater turtles and tortoises.
So an increase in funding would also help these freshwater
turtles and tortoises to receive funding immediately.
The International Affairs Office at Fish and Wildlife
Service is able to address funding that are not eligible,
species that are not eligible under the Multinational Species
Funds, like jaguars and leopards. And so we are glad to see
that the funding for the International Affairs was level with
fiscal year 2018 funding and fiscal year 2019, and we would
like to see an increase to $18 million in fiscal year 2010.
The Office of Law Enforcement at Fish and Wildlife Service,
an essential core group of folks both domestic law enforcement
as well as international, they are often on the front lines of
implementing the strategy to combat wildlife trafficking, both
domestically and internationally. There are 11 attached places
in U.S. missions and embassies overseas, and so this funding is
essential to keep those coordinated efforts going. We would
like to see an increase in funding in fiscal year 2020 to $85
million, and that increase could also cover two additional Fish
and Wildlife Service law enforcement attaches in key transit
points in trafficking.
The Forest Service Program addresses illegal logging which
causes about a billion-dollar loss to the U.S. timber industry
every year and about 200,000 jobs, which is responsible for
about 15 to 30 of all timber by volume. We would like to see an
increase of at least $10 million to the Forest--is that over? I
am sorry. I thought it was counting down. [Laughter.]
Ms. Aylward. I apologize.
[The statement of Ms. Aylward follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. I didn't give them the gavel. I am sorry.
Ms. Aylward. My apologies.
Ms. McCollum. I was going to throw it across at him.
Mr. Joyce. Mr. Amodei and I can't be trusted with the
gavel. [Laughter.]
Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Ms. McCollum. You went last, so, you know, being a couple
seconds over is not----
Mr. Joyce. We figure we are wrapping it up.
Ms. Aylward. I had this big close.
Mr. Joyce. Go ahead. If you had a brilliant close, give us
the last paragraph.
Ms. Aylward. It is in the written testimony. [Laughter.]
Mr. Joyce. Madam Chair, do you have any questions?
Ms. McCollum. Yeah. I think there is a theme here that I
have heard a little bit throughout, and I think you went back
to it, and that has to do with U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Whether
it is here or abroad, they tend to be the super American agency
that everybody wants to partner with because the way that they
partner at home, they kind of take that set of ethics and
interaction with them when they go into country. And so they
work in partnership. They are like how do we solve a problem.
They just really get down to it with the discussion, how they
interact with communities and that.
So you all touched a little bit and other folks about how
we get a big value for our dollar on that. But on the other
side of that, too, whether it is having international logging
or illicit trophy hunting, is Customs at airports and that. And
one of the things that a lot of us have been talking about,
whether it is national security or just lawbreakers is U.S.
Customs enforcement.
If you would take a second, and you have got it in your
testimony, but just reiterate to this subcommittee again how
powerful it is to have Fish and Wildlife not only working with
Customs here at our airports, and doing things to make sure
that we are protecting everything from sea life to land
creatures and those who fly in the air, as to what happens
internationally. Because part of that is a conversation I am
going to have to have with the chair--and she knows it is
coming--of Homeland Security. I have been talking a lot about
invasive species, timber, and other things like that. So
anything you want to add as far as Customs enforcement, and
U.S. Fish and Wildlife International?
Ms. Aylward. Sure. Thank you, Chairwoman. Can you hear me?
I think the Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement
is essential. They do partner with Border and Customs officials
as well as USDA. There is a lot of overlapping jurisdictions
that make it somewhat confusing, but it is essential as we see
an increase the illegal trade in wildlife and timber and
wildlife parts into the U.S. To, you know, fully fund those
programs, but also work for the best amount of integration.
I know overseas, the attaches are very involved an
integrated into the embassies and missions. They work closely
with the Department of Justice attaches that actually prosecute
cases overseas. And in countries like Vietnam, for example, WCS
works very closely, like, with their cytees agencies, and this
is exactly what we are doing. We are bringing together the
customs and border patrols, their fish and wildlife service,
their parks folks, and cross-training them so that they can
comply with international laws, like the Convention on
International Threatened and Endangered Species.
And then we are taking it a step further and we are looking
at where is a lot of trade from Vietnam coming from, and WCS
has programs in Mozambique in Africa. And so we are doing
similar to what both National Parks, Forest Service, and Fish
and Wildlife Service. We are doing exchanges of experts so that
they can build those networks and know each other on each side
of the trade chain, but then also learn the expertise and
understanding of what is happening in Vietnam as well as in
Mozambique, and even share intel.
So we are involved in Mozambique and found that there was
someone who was arrested for trafficking in ivory, I believe,
and thought that was a low-level person. In communication with
Vietnam, we realized they were actually like a kingpin, but he
was portraying himself as just a mule. These types of exchanges
of information, building relationships, and then also technical
expertise is what is going to help address this severe problem.
Ms. Wall. Yes, thank you. Just to briefly echo what Kelly
said, we also in our written testimony requested an increase to
the Office of Law Enforcement. We think that it is critical to
maintaining U.S. global leadership in the conservation and
wildlife trafficking arena. The attaches, in particular, are
extremely useful in providing training and on-the-ground
support in countries that have significant poaching crises, and
maybe trying to export wildlife and wildlife products illegally
to the United States and elsewhere in the world.
We would like to see funding increased to $85 million in
fiscal year 2020 in order to support those efforts. And as I
say, cement the global leadership that we have seen have a
cascade effect, to echo someone's earlier comments, on the
global stage in combatting illegal wildlife trafficking and
poaching.
Ms. McCollum. You told us a program you don't like. Is
there a program you think that is effective? [Laughter.]
You delivered your message very articulately. Thank you. Is
there something that the Humane Society out of some of the
programming? You had to sit through and listen through a lot of
the testimony. Is there anything that you are just like we are
getting it right, we should do more of it?
Ms. Ziemian. Well, we absolutely support the Multinational
Species Conservation Fund, the Law Enforcement, Office of
International Affairs. We are up there with them as well.
Ms. McCollum. Well, thank you, and thank you so much for
your patience. Your testimony is important. We are so glad that
we got to have our public witness day today. Anything you would
like to add before we adjourn?
Mr. Joyce. I want to thank you for the acknowledgement of
my being elevated to co-chair of the ICCF Caucus along with
Madam Chair, Henry Cueller and Jeff Fortenberry. It was an eye-
opening experience the first time I had the opportunity to go
to Botswana, and see the things that are going on there. It is
one thing to hear about them. It is another thing to see them
on television. It is quite another thing to be there firsthand.
I am glad to see the progress that is being made over
there. The information that you received about them actually
doing a census of the elephants and the increase we are seeing.
Now if we only could get them to continue to migrate along
the--I cannot pronounce the name of that river for the life of
me.
Voice. Okavango.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. Okavango. [Laughter.]
Ms. McCollum. A lot of vowels.
Mr. Joyce. Yeah, continue the migration, that would be
great as well. But all of you, thank you for what you are
doing. I have no questions at this time.
Ms. McCollum. And with that, this meeting is adjourned.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
TESTIMONY OF INTERESTED INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS
----------
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF URBAN INDIAN HEALTH
WITNESS
MAUREEN ROSETTE, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF URBAN INDIAN HEALTH
Ms. McCollum [presiding]. A very warm good morning on a
brisk day here in Washington, DC. Welcome to the first day of
the public witness hearings on tribal government under the
jurisdiction of the Interior, Environment Appropriations
Subcommittee. I always look forward to this time of year as it
provides us--all of us here--to see and hear from leaders,
mentors, and, in many cases, friends over the years as you
testify about the needs of Indian Country and what work we need
to do here in Congress.
This year in Congress we have had some new additions and
elections. So we are very excited for the Native American
Caucus, with Tom Cole and Congresswoman Deb Haaland leading
that, along with Congresswoman Sharice Davids being part of the
Native American Caucus. I have a new title now with my gray
hair as chair emeritus----
[Laughter.]
And I am very happy to have my two tribally-enrolled
sisters overtake the leadership of that Caucus. So they have
been given copies of the testimony. We are in constant contact.
They are on other committee assignments, and so I am just, as
you know, very pleased about that.
I am pleased that you are here, distinguished leaders that
are elected and non-elected tribal leaders because you play
such an important role in advancing native issues. This year in
hopes of having a more in-depth focus on issues facing Indian
Country, we have organized this a little differently. We
organized it into topics: healthcare, land trust, natural
resource management including climate change, public safety and
justice, education, tribal government, and human services
needs.
Now, this is the first time the subcommittee will be
holding hearings organized by topics, and we want to hear your
feedback on how this works once the hearings have concluded.
But this came about in part because we had tribes coming by
geography and trying to hit every single topic, and then when
issues of suicide or criminal justice came up, we weren't able
to really feel that we could ask questions and keep something
flowing. We do want your feedback on this as this is your
hearing. So let us know what changes or accommodations we need
to make next year.
We will begin hearing from witnesses on healthcare needs
that are facing Native Americans. The Federal government
entered into guaranteeing healthcare with their treaties to our
Native American brothers and sisters, and my visits to tribal
communities across the Nation have shown me just how we are
failing, and failing greatly, at meeting our treaty
responsibilities. Congress must not take our treaty and trust
responsibilities lightly. Congress needs to figure out how we
can best fulfill our duty given the limited funds with which we
have to work, and how to make those funds grow and work more
effectively for you.
In the recent month-long Trump shutdown, this issue was
even more urgent as healthcare facilities were closed or scaled
back services, thus impacting those who need healthcare the
most. The shutdown illustrated the importance of providing
funds to Indian Country in some form of advance, and that is
why I am pleased to be leading a bipartisan bill in the House
to authorize advanced appropriations for the Indian Health
Services and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. And Mr. Young and I
are on each other's bills, complementary. He has been working
along with some other people about mandatory funding. So as we
figure out together how to fully meet the needs of the Native
Americans, I believe the least we can do is provide some
certainty to lessen the impacts should there be another
shutdown. We are all hoping that there isn't.
I am eager to hear more about your priorities, and I look
forward to our discussions on these issues because your
testimony is going to inform us as we begin working together on
the 2020 appropriations bill. Now, Mr. Joyce and I are going to
go over the hearing logistics, and then I am going to turn the
meeting over to him for some topics.
We are going to have panels of witnesses. The first panel
is up here. One panel at a time. Each witness will have 5
minutes to present their testimony, and we are going to use a
tracker because we want to be fair to everyone to track the
time. When the light turns yellow, the witnesses have 1 minute
remaining to conclude their remarks. When the light blinks red,
I am going to lightly tap, and I really ask you to conclude
your remarks so that our next witness can begin and everybody
has equal time in which to present their testimony.
We have your full written statements, and they will be
introduced to the record. And so, please do not feel pressured
to cover everything. I have read all the testimony for today,
and I have it all marked up. So believe me, if we don't get to
your question, we are going to get back to you with more
questions.
So I would like to remind people in the hearing room that
we prohibit the use of cameras and audio equipment during the
hearing by individuals without a House-issued press credential
or a staff ID. And as I mentioned, members will be coming to
and from. Mr. Kilmer, I told them I saw you running through the
Capitol earlier today. So when this meeting concludes, we will
adjourn and we will reconvene at 1:00 for the afternoon
hearing.
So I am happy to yield to my friend and colleague, Mr.
Joyce, for his remarks.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for
continuing these important hearings to get input from our
tribal leaders on a wide array of programs under this
subcommittee's jurisdiction. I would like to extend a warm
welcome to the distinguished tribal elders and leaders that are
testifying today and in the audience.
I am humbled to be sitting here today in my capacity as
ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. I know that most
of you have traveled a long way to be here this week. I am from
the northeast corner of what is now Ohio, but was once the land
of Seneca and others.
Like many colleagues in Congress, I recognize that
upholding the tribal trust obligation is a responsibility
shared by all members of Congress regardless of their
congressional district. I also recognize that the Federal
government still has a long way to go before it is fully
meeting its trust and treaty obligations. That is why my
position on the Appropriations Committee is a great honor, but
also a heavy responsibility. Fortunately, I have a great friend
and partner in Chairwoman McCollum, and it is my sincere hope
that together we will continue the hard work of our
predecessors for more than a decade to increase the Federal
commitment to meeting those trust and treaty obligations.
I look forward to listening and learning from the testimony
today and working with my chair and the rest of my colleagues
in the days ahead to do what we can in the next fiscal year. I
yield back.
Ms. McCollum. Well said, Mr. Joyce. We work on this
nonpartisanly, not even bipartisanly, when it comes to Native
American issues. Mr. Kilmer, any opening remarks?
Mr. Kilmer. No.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Simpson.
Mr. Simpson. No.
Ms. McCollum. Well, we have our first panel up here. We
have the National Council of Urban Indian Health, Urban Indian
Health Institute, the Northwest Portland Board Area Indian
Health Board, and the Seattle Indian Health Board. So if you
would please at the beginning of your testimony introduce
yourself and your organization. And let's start with the
National Council of Urban Indian Health, please.
Ms. Rosette. Good morning. My name is Maureen Rosette, and
I am a citizen of the Chippewa Cree Nation in Rocky Boy,
Montana. I am also the President of the National Council of
Urban Indian Health, which represents the 42 urban Indian
health care programs across the county who provide high-
quality, culturally-competent care to urban Indians, who
constitute up to 70 to 78 percent of all American Indians/
Alaska Natives.
Thank you to the chair and ranking member for holding this
public witness hearing and hope this year is the year we will
truly see funding level changes. My testimony today will mainly
focus on the Indian Health Services. I first mentioned the
urban Indian topic. That term refers to any American Indian and
Alaska Native who is not living on a reservation, either
permanently or temporarily for a variety of reasons, but often
because of the Federal government's forced relocation policies
or in search of economic or educational opportunities.
Congress has long recognized that the Federal government's
obligation to provide health care for American Indian/Alaska
Native people follows them off of reservation. Recently, the
CMS, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, made a decision
regarding the Arizona 1115 waiver, to use the narrowest
definition possible of American Indian/Alaska Native for
Medicaid work requirements. This is despite the fact that
Congress stated that the purpose of the Indian Healthcare
Improvement Act was to ensure the highest possible health
status for Indians and urban Indians and to provide all
necessary resources to affect that policy. CMS ignored
centuries of law and extremely narrowed the American Indian/
Alaska Native definition, which will hinder access to care
across the country and further burden an already overwhelmed
and underfunded Indian health service system.
I would like to start by thanking you and offering my deep
appreciation for the subcommittee's strong leadership and
continued support for Indian healthcare.
NCUIH has several recommendations for the fiscal year 2020.
One is to increase the urban Indian line item for IHS. Less
than 1 percent of the IHS budget is set aside for urban
Indians, our urban Indian programs. And as you may or may not
know, up to 70 percent of American Indian/Alaska Natives are
urban. Urban Indian health programs do not have access to other
line items throughout the IHS budget. The 42 urban Indian
health programs operate with 1 percent of IHS budget funding,
which is approximately $51.3 million. Thank you for the $2
million increase to our line item. However, we do not believe
that the solution is to take money from the tribes to address
the unmet needs of urban Indians. Rather, IHS' overall budget
must be increased in order to allow the Agency to, among other
things, better serve American Indian/Alaska Native people who
live in all areas.
Tribes have requested our line item to increase to at least
$81 million, which we are eternally grateful for. We would
request that the IHS increase our line item to at least 2
percent, which would be about $116 million. While this is just
a sliver of the money Congress appropriates yearly, it would
make a significant difference in our communities.
Presently, urban Indian health programs and their staff are
forced to deal with incredibly tight budgets. In this last
shutdown, two of our programs had to completely shut down.
Three of them had to reduce hours as well as lay off staff. Six
programs had reported that they would only be able to stay open
for an additional 30 days. Our UIHPs go to great lengths to
provide care in Indian Country. Some of them even had to take
personal liens on their homes to assist with their facilities.
Congress cannot continue to let this happen and must create
true parity for urban Indian health programs.
We have a program in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for instance,
where we have a homeless crisis for American Indian/Alaska
Native people, many of whom suffer from diseases, addiction,
and other serious health complications associated with
homelessness. Increased funding is needed to combat the
senseless deaths of vulnerable urban Indian communities. Our
programs are in need of real funding to tackle these issues.
In addition, IHS is currently considering moving its
behavioral health initiative from grants to direct distribution
through Indian Self Determination Education and Assistance Act,
contracts and compacts, for which UIHPs, urban Indian health
programs, are not eligible. Urban Indian organizations
currently only receive $5.9 million in these grants, which fund
vital behavioral health services. As a whole, by inadequately
funding IHS, Congress has put the Federal government in clear
violation of the trust responsibility to provide healthcare to
all American and Alaska Native people. We know the lawmakers on
this subcommittee have fought for more IHS funding, and NCUIH
wishes to express our profound thanks for those efforts.
We would also like to provide IHS from funding
uncertainties. As I stated more than once, the funding for
UIHPs is severely limited. When that funding is delayed or cut
off in the event of funding uncertainties, such as government
shutdowns, UIHPs suffer greatly. It is for this reason, IHS and
Indian health programs must receive advanced appropriations.
According to a survey of UIHPs and the rising frequency of
shutdowns and funding delays, many UIHPs have begun to set
aside funding in the event of a further shutdown. This is
funding that we actually need for our programs. We shouldn't
have to worry about further shutdowns. We also would like to
recommend that----
Ms. McCollum. I have to----
Ms. Rosette. OK.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
Ms. Rosette. All right. Thank you.
[The statement of Ms. Rosette follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Ms. Echo-Hawk.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
URBAN INDIAN HEALTH INSTITUTE
WITNESS
ABIGAIL ECHO-HAWK, DIRECTOR, URBAN INDIAN HEALTH INSTITUTE
Ms. Echo-Hawk. Good morning, and I want to thank you, Madam
Chair and Ranking Member Joyce, and also acknowledge
Representative Kilmer who has such strong support of our
organization in Washington with our urban Indians and our
tribes. Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you.
My name is Abigail Echo-Hawk. I am a citizen of the Pawnee
Nation of Oklahoma, and I am the chief research officer of the
Seattle Indian Health. In that role I direct the Urban Indian
Health Institute, which is one of 12 tribal epidemiology
centers located across the United States.
The tribal epidemiology centers are tasked with ensuring
that the health needs and the health resiliencies of American
Indians and Alaska Natives are represented through evaluation,
data collection, and research. This was an effort that was
driven by tribal leadership, and we are directed by tribal
leaders for our tribal nations. We fulfill a very unique need
here in the country because often when we talk about research
and data, what we hear is that we don't have data. This
information doesn't exist. All you have is a few individual
stories, but we need the data in order to make these informed
decisions.
It is our role to ensure that our tribal communities and
our urban Indian communities have this information. However, we
are woefully underfunded. And, in fact, I am directed to use
the $341 approximately that is given across all of the 12
tribal epidemiology centers to cover more than 70 percent of
the population, and that is because the Urban Indian Health
Institute represents the needs of all urban Indians living
across the country.
I specifically serve the organizations that Maureen
represents, along with more than 20 others that provide social
services, elder care, diabetes care, and youth services of more
than 62 organizations in 28 States and more than 130 different
counties across the United States, with less than $400,000.
What does this mean? When we talk about evidence-based
practices and the practices that we are supposed to implement
within our tribal clinics, the evidence that is gathered for
these practices don't actually represent us. So when research
is done, American Indians and Alaska Natives are very rarely
included. So practices that we are supposed to do in diabetes
management and preventing cancer and obesity, those practices
actually don't have our evidence in them. And if they were
going to work, they would have worked by now. So we are forcing
these interventions that were never meant for our people, yet
that is what we are being asked by the government and the
States and our counties to implement with our people.
That is the reason organizations like the Urban Indian
Health Institute and the tribal epidemiology centers are so
important to the work that we do. We answer to the needs of our
community, and very often we do that underfunded.
I want to share with you two particular things that we have
been doing at the Urban Indian Health Institute, one on sexual
violence. We released a report in Seattle that talked to 148
native women living in that city who had been affected by
sexual violence. And what we found was a 94 percent
victimization rate. That means 94 percent of these women have
been sexually assaulted in their lifetime, and more than half
of them had been sexually assaulted more than once in their
lifetime.
Along with that, what we found were corresponding health
issues, such as suicidality. More than 42 percent of them had
attempted suicide in their lifetime. High instances of alcohol
misuse and opioid misuse. We are not battling an opiate
epidemic. We are battling a trauma epidemic, and if we were to
take away all the opiates, people would treat themselves with
heroin, with methamphetamines, with alcohol. What it takes is
research like the work that we are doing at the Urban Indian
Health Institute.
In my personal opinion, I believe our study is one of the
very first ones that actually found the correct rates of sexual
violence within our communities. There are stories where our
women sit around and we don't talk about how do we prevent our
women from being raped. We talk about what do we do after they
are raped. That is the conversation our communities are having,
and yet this data for the very first time is coming out of a
little organization that had no money, and we self-funded that
project in order to bring those to light.
And, in fact, when we look at VAWA dollars, none of the
VAWA dollars flow to organizations like the Seattle Indian
Health Board because they go to the counties. And so we are not
actually getting dollars to provide culturally-attuned care to
our women who are victims of sexual assault and domestic
violence. And so that is one of the instances of how those
dollars aren't reaching the urban Indian communities.
In addition, we have been doing work on missing and
murdered indigenous women. We conducted the very first study on
71 cities across the United States, and we found high instances
of missing and murdered native women. And, in fact, our
communities have been calling for a study like this to be done.
The Department of Justice and the FBI said that I couldn't be
done, that it would take too much money. I did it with less
than $20,000 that, again, self-funded out of our organization.
And we created a groundbreaking study that is the very first of
its kind.
What I found, though, is I can't tell you the rate of
missing and murdered indigenous women, and that is because the
police departments aren't collecting race and ethnicity. We
found police departments that weren't collecting it at all, or
if their police did not collect it, they automatically default
you to white within their data systems.
What is interesting about both of these studies is they
were led by indigenous students that we support here at the
Seattle Indian Health Board and the Urban Indian Institute. We
are building tribal health capacity by supporting students and
doing this work unfunded. It is a necessary thing for public
safety for us to continue to address these issues and its
impact on health on our women and our communities. Thank you.
[The statement of Ms. Echo-Hawk follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you very much. Mr. Joseph.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
NORTHWEST PORTLAND AREA INDIAN HEALTH BOARD
WITNESS
ANDREW C. JOSEPH, CHAIRMAN, NORTHWEST PORTLAND AREA INDIAN HEALTH BOARD
Mr. Joseph. Good morning, Chairwoman McCollum and Ranking
Member Joyce, and members of the subcommittee. [Speaking native
language] is my name. I am Andy Joseph, Jr., the Vice Chair on
the Colville Confederated Tribes, and Chair of the Northwest
Portland Area Indian Health Board. Thank you for this
opportunity to highlight some of the recommendations I have
made in my written testimony.
As a tribal leader committed to advocating for healthcare
of our people, I make these requests for our seven generations
and ancestors and our chiefs who signed treaties with the
United States, and sacrificed land, resources, and more than I
can imagine. What I can imagine is that someday I will come
before the Creator and the chiefs, and they will ask me if I
asked for everything that we were promised, and I will tell
them, yes, I asked for everything. So I ask this subcommittee
to consider these promises, binding, legal obligations. And our
chiefs, the upheld their end of the deal, and so must the
United States and this Congress.
With this in mind, I make these requests. We ask the
subcommittee to commit to full funding IHS. I serve as the
Portland area representative and co-chair of the National
Budget Formulation Workgroup. I recommend that the subcommittee
fully fund IHS phased over 12 years to get IHS up to $36.8
billion. We request that IHS be funded at $7 billion in fiscal
year 2020 with annual increases thereafter, and get IHS up to
full funding.
The fundamental budget principle for the Northwest Tribes
is that the basic healthcare program must be preserved by
Congress which can be done by ensuring that population growth
and medical inflation for current services are always funded,
and that program increases occur annually. I have said this
before and others before me. IHS is between 50 to 70 percent
underfunded, and this must change.
In fiscal year 2019, IHS received an overall increase of
$162 million, or 3.4 percent, above 2018 enacted level for
program and services, not including the increase for mandatory
contract support costs of $104 million. We estimate medical
inflation and population growth for fiscal year 2019 at $268
million, and with only $162 increase for program services there
is a $106 million shortfall. We are concerned with that in the
fiscal year 2018 programmatic funding, Indian Self-
Determination and Educational Assistance Act, 105(l) leases.
105(l) leases were funded at $25 million in fiscal year 2018,
and estimated at $39 million in 2019. While we agree that
tribes should be funded for these leases, additional funds must
be appropriated for this purpose and not taken out of increases
for IHS and tribal facilities. With no IHS, our tribal
hospitals in the Portland area and Northwest Tribes rely on PRC
program to purchase all specialty inpatient care.
PRC increases have been inadequate for Northwest Tribes,
and particularly detrimental because of flat funding in fiscal
year 2016. More tribes would benefit from increased PRC than
appropriation to Indian Healthcare Improvement Funds for fiscal
year 2020. We recommend a PRC program increase of at least $50
million.
Another area of great need is behavioral health. A special
behavioral health pilot program was funded at $10 million in
fiscal year 2019. Northwest Tribes support the pilot. However,
Northwest Tribes recommend the option for tribal shares instead
of grant awards for fiscal year 2020. We recommend that the
Special Behavior Pilot Program for Indians be funded at $150
million with an option for tribal shares, and an additional $5
million made available to area boards, tribal epidemiology
centers, and technical assistance to tribes.
Northwest Tribes do not support funding for new healthcare
facilities construction until the IHS priority system is
changed. The Northwest Tribes would not see any of this funding
for at least 20 years from now. Instead, for fiscal year 2020,
we recommend a program increase of $25 million for small
ambulatory programs with funding for staffing packages,
increases for joint venture construction programs. In the past
few years, the Northwest Tribes have been in a forefront
training place in dental health aide therapists in Oregon and
Washington with more students graduating this year, including
from Idaho.
I guess I will answer any questions when they get done. You
have my written testimony, and thank you for this opportunity.
[The statement of Mr. Joseph follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There is so much to
say, and that is why we organized to do a healthcare panel so
we can dig into it deep this morning. Please.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
SEATTLE INDIAN HEALTH BOARD
WITNESS
ESTHER LUCERO, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SEATTLE INDIAN HEALTH BOARD
Ms. Lucero. Good morning, Madam Chair. It is wonderful to
see you.
Ms. McCollum. Same here.
Ms. Lucero. Ranking Member Joyce, I am meeting you for the
first time. Representative Kilmer, I think I missed you
yesterday, but I am happy to see you today. And Representative
Simpson, I have never met you, so I am happy to meet you today.
My name is Esther Lucero, and I am the CEO for the Seattle
Indian Health Board. I am Dine on my mom's side, and I am
Latina on my dad's side. And I am the third generation in my
family to live in an urban environment, so quite frankly, my
entire life experience has been in an urban environment.
The Seattle Indian Health Board is an urban Indian health
program funded obviously, and we are also a federally-qualified
health center, and that means that we see everybody. And
despite the fact that we are smack in the middle of Seattle, we
still maintain a patient population that stays between about 65
and 70 percent American Indian and Alaska Native.
One of the things that is unique about us, you met Abigail
Echo-Haw, who I am incredibly proud of, and through her
leadership on the work related to missing and murdered
indigenous women, we have the Urban Indian Health Institute.
And so I wanted to build upon what Abigail just said, and I
wanted to let you know that the Urban Indian Health Institute
is funded through IHS for just under $400,000 a year. So keep
that in perspective, right?
We have 12 tribal epicenters across the Nation, and we are
asking for a $24 million line item ask to support the tribal
task. If you break that down, that is about $2 million per
tribal epicenter. That will allow us to build upon this work
related to missing and murdered indigenous women, not just for
us, but also for our tribal partners.
You know, I am incredibly privileged to be in the State of
Washington where we have leaders like Andy Joseph that I can
learn from every single day. And so I want to remind everybody
that we are a continuum of care, right? And so when I think
about our tribal partners, we pick up where our tribal partners
leave off in the urban environment, and we support our tribal
members, right?
So I just wanted to say that we have had incredible growth
this year, and, Representative McCollum, I think you will be
really happy to hear that in addition to our family medicine
residency practice, we have actually built out an MSW practicum
program because we are treating these dips with parity. Well,
the other discipline we are treating with parity is traditional
Indian medicine.
So we actually built out a traditional Indian medicine
apprentice program, and I will tell you that we have had our
encounters increase from 150 encounters for traditional Indian
medicine per month to 800 encounters per month. We have also
been successful in securing a managed care organization who has
agreed to pay for traditional Indian medicine as a value-added
benefit. I share this with you because the Seattle Indian
Health Board for the very first time is building out an
integrated system of care that is not only inclusive of
behavioral health and primary care, but also is centered on
traditional Indian medicine. And our new model incorporates
dental as well. And we have mobilized our human services so
that they can be on call to support those service needs when it
comes to homelessness like Maureen mentioned. And so we are
very proud of that. It is called indigenous knowledge informed
systems of care. It is a strength-based model.
Now, I am sharing that with you because are asking for a
$95 million line item increase for the urban Indian health
programs. We are grateful that there was a $60 million
recommendation out of this committee. I mean, you all are rock
stars when it comes to supporting us. However, when it got to
the Senate, we ended up with about $2 million, right? So we are
asking for a continued effort to increase that line item.
Now, when we are trying to implement new systems that are
integrated, innovative systems, we have to address the
infrastructure needs, right? So we have to change our data
systems so they can speak to one other. We have to address
facilities changes because it is very hard to build out an
empanelment system with these old buildings that we have had
since the 1970s. And so if we are going to put these teams of
practitioners together, we have to redesign, and we need
support with that.
So we are modeling ourselves after the aggressive approach
that we are taking through the Northwest Portland Indian Health
Board and the leadership of our tribes, and we are increasing
that to ask you to invest in infrastructure. Urban Indian
health programs have never had the ability to do that. Now, I
know this is possible because HRSA actually did it this year.
For the very first time, HRSA through a mental health expansion
grant included infrastructure dollars. I was surprised to see
it, but also excited. So let's think about that as a model,
right?
So I will just share that with you that we are still
continuing to fight for 100 percent FMAP, and someday I won't
have to say that. But today I am saying it, and I am saying it
because in the State of Washington, through the leadership of
the American Indian Health Commission, we have been able to
develop an innovative bill. So we have a Washington Indian
healthcare improvement bill that is in the State right now
moving through committee through the leadership of Andy Joseph
and others, where we are asking the State of Washington to
reinvest 100 percent FMAP dollars into the IHCU system of care.
OK. We can only do that because our tribal members recognize
our value, and they have said let's bring our urbans along with
us, right, not because urban Indians are eligible for the 100
percent FMAP. We are asking for 100 percent FMAP for urban
Indian health programs. So I think that now that States have
more authority over healthcare, if we can come up with
innovative requirements like that, we can do better.
And then lastly, I will just say that we support the tribal
request for advanced appropriations. Yeah. Let me tell you why.
Because the shutdown gave me some gray hairs this year.
Ms. McCollum. Well, I am sure you will probably get a
question on that----
Ms. Lucero. OK. Let's do that.
Ms. McCollum. But I have to be----
Ms. Lucero. Oh, you have to stop me. [Laughter.]
Ms. McCollum. I have to be as judicious as possible----
Ms. Lucero. This is the----
Ms. McCollum [continuing]. And as polite as possible----
Ms. Lucero. Yeah.
Ms. McCollum [continuing]. Especially when we are so
wanting to hear from all of you.
Ms. Lucero. Right.
Ms. McCollum. It is hard. It is hard.
Ms. Lucero. This is the first time I have gone over, and
so----
[Laughter.]
Thank you for stopping me.
Ms. McCollum. It is all good.
[The statement of Ms. Lucero follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Kilmer.
Mr. Kilmer. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I want to say thank
you for the work that has been done shining a light on the
crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. I
thought it was devastating to see that Washington State had the
second-highest number of instances. Both Seattle and Tacoma
were in the top five cities. And I know we are short on time,
so I guess my main request would be just to hear how Congress
can work with you to make sure you are getting the data that
you need, that this issue is getting the attention that it
needs, and then hopefully that you are getting the resources
you need to address it.
Ms. Echo-Hawk. So one of the areas that we are working on,
there are opportunities right now going on with Savanna's Act.
We are part of a tribal coalition that is working towards and
sharing that there are as many unintended consequences with
what is going on with Savanna's Act, but it also does look at
what kind of information and data is being gathered.
In addition to that, there needs to be further cooperation
between both the police departments and the Department of
Justice and the FBI. When we look at the urban settings, very
often, you know, people don't understand that we are not
talking about the tribes with the work that I did. The tribes
have a unique relationship with the Department of Justice and
the FBI, and they are not getting the information either.
We are in the cities being served by police departments.
Many of the police departments, actually it was approximately
17 percent never responded to our public records request, so
they never actually sent us the money. I am sorry. I gave some
of them money, and they didn't send us the data. And so I
actually paid some of them, and they never sent us the
information. And so, accountability as to for them to respond
to the public in addition to why aren't they mandated in the
same way we are in healthcare to collect race and ethnicity,
because they don't know what is happening with missing and
murdered people? How can they protect and serve their
communities if they are not doing so?
So there are opportunities at the Federal level to look at
the way that dollars are flowing into counties, into States,
into police departments to ensure accountability, and we are
more than willing to provide feedback and work with our tribal
colleagues to ensure that that is happening in Savanna's Act,
and also with other pieces of legislation to ensure that
accountability.
Mr. Kilmer. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Anything else?
Mr. Kilmer. Thanks, Madam Chair. No, thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Ms. Echo-Hawk, did I hear you correctly in that
the----
Ms. McCollum. We want to hear you, so----
Mr. Joyce. Did I hear you correctly that law enforcement
has not provided you the data under public records request?
Ms. Echo-Hawk. Correct. So I am remembering offhand, but I
believe it is approximately 16 to 17 percent of those that we
asked for it did not provide that to us. Some of them, for
example, we have actually heard from now from the Portland
Police Department is one that we paid, that some of them
required payment, so.
Mr. Joyce. Why are you paying?
Ms. Echo-Hawk. That was our question, too. Often within
their States, if it did what they called an undue burden on
their police departments, we were then required to pay for the
data. I actually was asked to pay for more than one, a request
for more than $4,600 where I could have gotten more data, and I
couldn't afford it because I self-funded this project. And so I
would have had more data if I had had $4,600.
For the States that didn't reply, for example, in Billings,
Montana, the chief of police actually accused us of lying, that
we hadn't actually send the public records request. Luckily, we
used a service where we screenshot it, sent it to him and also
the records, and we had no response after that from the
Billings Police Department in Billings, Montana. And so there
is noncompliance from many of, not many, but some of these
police departments with public records requests.
Mr. Joyce. You shouldn't be paying for anything unless you
are asking them to create data that they are not keeping as a
public record, correct?
Ms. Echo-Hawk. Correct. That is one of the issues.
Mr. Joyce. So this is stuff that is already done by them,
and the only cost they can charge you would be the cost-per-
copy----
Ms. McCollum. Right.
Mr. Joyce [continuing]. Which really isn't a cost-per-copy
since they are going to give it to you in e-format anyhow,
correct?
Ms. Echo-Hawk. Exactly. So, for example, in Alaska, we
asked for records prior to 2013, and they hadn't digitized
their records prior to 2013. So they weren't able to give us
that information, but they are working towards giving us 2013
forward. But it really depends State-to-State. There are some
State laws that allow them to charge if it is an undue burden
to them, and that is really dependent on each individual
department as to what they constitute an undue burden.
Mr. Joyce. Well, an undue burden would be when they have to
extrapolate from the data they have already collected certain
things specific for you. But if you are getting public records,
maybe that is something the local newspaper should look into.
They are always pretty good about jostling police departments.
Ms. Echo-Hawk. I agree, and many newspapers actually
replicated, because they were able to see what our public
records request was. They replicated that because they wanted
to also look at the data and information. So there is news
coverage on that. But also to me it is an area of
accountability. Why is it so hard for us to get these public
records? We are members of the public, and the very definition
they are our records.
Mr. Joyce. Right. Absolutely. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Simpson.
Mr. Simpson. No specific questions. I am curious, Abigail,
are you related to Larry?
Ms. Echo-Hawk. Yes, that is my uncle.
Mr. Simpson. Ah, he is good friend of mine. We served
together in the Idaho legislature, and he was a great director
of the BIA. And he went on a couple CODELs with us to South
Dakota and Oklahoma and other places. Yeah, he is a great guy.
Ms. Echo-Hawk. Yeah, I am very fortunate.
Mr. Simpson. Yeah. Thank you all for being here today and
for your information.
Mr. Joseph. May I say one more thing? You know, I co-chair
the IHS National Budget, and the PRC that I talked about was
low funded in 2016. And it has been, you know, based on
numbers. If we keep going backwards, we are going to be back
into the life or limb priority one situation with IHS again. I
just really urge you to look at increasing the PRC. It would
help every area, not just the Portland area. I don't want to
get back into priority one status.
Ms. McCollum. Agreed. I saved myself for last. I am trying
to do things a little differently on the committee, especially
when we are in these wonderful settings where we are hearing
directly from you.
One of the things that I am hearing and read throughout the
testimony is this issue of grants versus direct funding. So if
we don't do grants,--and you don't have to answer this today.
You can get back to me. If we start going to formula, then
sometimes it is based on per capita, and per capita works, and
then sometimes it doesn't work depending upon the dollars that
are there. If you do it by per capita, then some smaller tribal
organizations will just find themselves left out, whereas
competitive grants kind of gives everybody a shot, but is not
co-equal.
So this is something I am going to ask you to talk about
amongst yourselves and come to us with proposals. I don't want
to just assume that I know what will work best because we don't
want to leave anyone behind. And you, better than anyone else,
I think, exemplify groups that feel because you don't have all
of the specific line items, many in your urban healthcare
settings. So if you could help me with that.
The whole issue about murdered indigenous women, First
Nations in Canada has been working on it. The Northern Tribal
areas have been working on this. I know Minnesota under the
leadership of our lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, and we
have several Native American women who serve in our State
legislature taking a great lead on this.
But this is in the Department of Justice, and in reading
the testimony again and hearing you over the years, many of the
things that happen in the Department of Justice, the way that
they are handled impact how healthcare is provided later on. So
it is something I am going to sit down and talk to my
counterpart on CJS, maybe with Mr. Joyce. We can talk to the
ranking member and the chair about how one thing impacts the
other and see if we can talk to them about what to do.
Mr. Cole and I worked hard to get the 5 percent set-aside
for tribes in the Crime Victims Fund. That was a victory, but
there is still more work to be done. So any conversations that
you have with our colleagues maybe also need to include the
Appropriations members who fund Judiciary.
The opioids dollars, shocking. You were not able as
organizations to apply for the opioid dollars. SAMHSA did not
have enough applications submitted to them.
Ms. Lucero. Right.
Ms. McCollum. This is another thing where the grants
program kind of failed. Dollars were left on the table. So my
question is, do you know exactly what we need to do in the
opioids program to fix this, and if so, tell us right now, and
we'll talk to the authorizers.
Ms. Lucero. I can speak to this. We have been speaking with
many administrative bodies. When you put out the RFAs, you have
to explicitly state that urban Indian health programs are
eligible because what happens is oftentimes it says tribes and
tribal organizations, and the assumptions within the
administrative bodies is that we are ``a tribal organization.''
But that is a specific designation that we don't fall into. So
it has to explicitly state ``urban Indian health programs.''
Ms. McCollum. OK. So we need to see if it is statute, rule,
or whatever.
Ms. Lucero. Exactly.
Ms. McCollum. We are on it.
Ms. Lucero. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. We are on it. The Special Diabetes Program
that Mr. Simpson and I saw had been, you know, culturally moved
forward. You have talked about some of the things that you are
doing. Is there anything that is prohibiting you from doing
more culturally-oriented things besides space?
Ms. Lucero. Yeah. Well, I mean, I have to tell you, it is
our IHS dollars that allows us to maintain our cultural
integrity. So it funds our entire traditional Indian medicine
program, so that is why we consistently ask for increase in our
IHS funding because until we get a system that allows us to be
self-sustaining, we need that money.
Ms. McCollum. So when you are in an urban setting versus on
a reservation, is it more challenging to come up with
culturally-appropriate activities, because what Mr. Simpson and
I saw were people going out fishing and harvesting the rice and
all that. So is it more challenging for you to do it, yes or
no, or is that a fair question?
Ms. Lucero. Well----
Ms. McCollum. I am not sure.
Ms. Lucero. Well, let me answer it this way. So we serve
representatives from more than 250 federally-recognized tribes.
Ms. McCollum. Right.
Ms. Lucero. So we have to have more diversity in the ways
that we provide traditional Indian medicine or cultural
programs. And so, yes, it makes it a little bit harder, I
believe for us. We are building out a network of traditional
Indian medicine practitioners so that we can cover as many
regions as possible, and that takes resources, right? So, yes.
Again, I always stay away from this idea that tribes
somehow have it harder or urbans have it harder because we are
the same. We are a continuum of care. We need to support the
whole, right? It is just our needs are sometimes different.
Ms. McCollum. OK. Well, I let everybody go 30 seconds over,
Mr. Joseph, because my grandmother would be very disappointed
if I didn't respect an elder at the table. I will give you
another 30 seconds if you want to add something.
Mr. Joseph. I will just use myself as an example on
traditional medicines and healing, on my great, great,
grandmother's grave. She lived to be 118 years old, and she ate
our traditional foods and medicines, and the work that it takes
to gather. I have included that in my diet for my evening meal.
I went from being severely obese. Now I am right there at the
edge of not being obese in 2 months' time, so. But one of the
things that we are dealing with is the Federal Tort Claims Act,
also is hindering some of our traditional practices because
they are not really respecting our sovereignty to be able to
treat ourselves in a traditional way, not only with our
nutrition, but with mental health.
And I co-chair the SAMHSA TTAG as well, and we have been
working on trying to get them to use traditional practices. The
VA does. They have a sweathouse behind their VA hospital, so it
works.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you so very
much. Mr. Joyce, would you like to introduce the next panel?
Mr. Joyce. I would be honored to.
Ms. McCollum. The next panel, if you would please come
forward.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you all for being here today. In case you
weren't here initially, we will give each of you 5 minutes, and
then we will take questions at the end, starting with Dr.
LeBeau.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
CALIFORNIA RURAL INDIAN HEALTH BOARD
WITNESS
MARK LEBEAU, M.D., CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CALIFORNIA RURAL INDIAN
HEALTH BOARD
Dr. LeBeau. OK. Well, thank you. Good morning, Chair and
committee members. My name is Mark LeBeau. I am the chief
executive officer of the California Rural Indian Health Board,
or CRIHB for short. Thank you for providing me the opportunity
to testify about funding and other needs of the Indian Health
Service agency and tribal health programs in California.
CRIHB was established in 1969 and provides comprehensive
healthcare-related support to 16 tribal health programs
sanctioned by 45 tribes serving Native Americans in California
through 40 tribal clinics. CRIHB is an Indian Self-
Determination Act contract administrator and provides a number
of statewide programs.
Native Americans continue to experience some of the worst
health inequities of any underserved population in the United
States. The Department of Health and Human Services reports
that Native Americans have significantly higher health
disparities in depression, suicide, obesity, substance abuse,
hepatitis, infant death rate, and diabetes than other
populations. A recent Kaiser Foundation report reports similar
findings as well as higher health disparities in cardiovascular
disease, and experiencing frequent mental distress than other
populations.
Here are our requests: number one, fully fund the IHS
agency and ensure each IHS area receives an equitable amount of
the resources. This honors the Federal trust responsibility
tribal governments. As Chairman Andy Joseph noted, just
recently the National Tribal Budget Formulation Work Group
calculated funding need to be about $36.8 billion phased in
over 12 years. The Agency has not received adequate funding.
For example, in 2015, IHS spending for medical care per user
was only about $3,100, while the national average spending per
user was about $8,500. This correlates directly with the
unacceptable high rates of premature deaths and chronic
illnesses suffered throughout tribal communities.
Second request: ensure IHS is not subject to sequestration
that occurs as a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011. The
law was designed so that Federal programs that serve the most
vulnerable populations were exempt from the full sequester, but
this does not include Indian Health Service or a number of
other programs serving Indian Country.
Third request: secure advanced appropriations for IHS. If
IHS had received advanced approps, it would not have been
subject to their recent government shutdown as fiscal year 2019
funding would already have been in place. Adopting advanced
appropriations for IHS results in the ability of health
administrators to continue treating patients without wondering
if or when they have the necessary funding.
Fourth request: please enact mandatory approps for Indian
Health Service. Funding for IHS should be treated as mandatory
spending. This would be in alignment with the Federal
government's trust responsibility for health which is the
direct result of treaties, Federal law, and Supreme Court
cases.
Fifth request: please increase appropriations to Indian
Country outside of IHS. Tribes and tribal organizations
disproportionately receive a low number of the Department of
Health and Human Services grant awards. Therefore, Congress
should grant awards directly to tribes, create set-asides for
HHS block grants so that tribal communities have access to
these funds on a recurring basis, and where States receive
funds to pass through the tribes, Congress should require
tribal consultation on the use of those funds.
Sixth request: please enact long-term renewal for the
Special Diabetes Program for Indians at $200 million. It is
paramount to pass legislation to renew the program. The current
authorization expires on September 30th, 2019. The program has
not received an increase in funding since fiscal year 2004,
which means the program has effectively lost about 25 percent
in programmatic value over the last 15 years due to the lack of
funding increases corresponding to inflation.
My final comment is tied to my first recommendation, and
that to ensure current IHS funding is distributed equitably.
CRIHB has testified before about the lack of fundamental
fairness in IHS allocation program funding. The California IHS
area is not receiving its fair share of purchased and referred
care: hospital, health centers, staff quarter, and joint
venture construction, and other program funds. This persistent
problem needs to be remedied and creative tribal health program
representatives in California would like to work with the
committee to address the issues.
In conclusion, on behalf of CRIHB, we thank the committee
for holding this important hearing on tribal health and other
programming, and look forward to the opportunity to provide
further guidance. Thank you.
[The statement of Dr. LeBeau follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. I have to comment, your timing is
impeccable. It is right at the 5-minute mark.
Next, Ms. Tetnowski.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
INDIAN HEALTH CENTER OF SANTA CLARA VALLEY
WITNESS
SONYA TETNOWSKI, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, INDIAN HEALTH CENTER OF SANTA
CLARA VALLEY
Ms. Tetnowski. Good morning, Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking
Member Joyce, and subcommittee members.
Ms. McCollum. Microphone, please.
Ms. Tetnowski. Thank you. Can I start again?
Ms. McCollum. Yes.
Ms. Tetnowski. Good morning, Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking
Member Joyce, and subcommittee members. My name is Sonya
Tetnowski. I am the chief executive officer for the Indian
Health Center of Santa Clara Valley as an urban Indian health
program in San Jose, California. I am an enrolled member of the
Makah Tribe, and I would like to thank the subcommittee for
holding these hearings.
IHC has been serving the American Indian community for over
40 years. We provide full service to 22,000 patients throughout
Santa Clara Valley, and 73 percent of those fall within the
poverty line threshold. I also serve as the president of the
California Consortium of Urban Indian Health. CCUIH is an
alliance of 10 urban programs serving about 70,000 patients per
year. We are committed to serving American Indian people no
matter where they live.
I will be covering four key points during my testimony
today. One, it is critical that IHS receive advanced
appropriations alongside other health services such as VA. We
would like to request IHS be appropriated a year in advance.
Although 70 percent of American Indians live off reservation
lands, the urban programs only receive 1 percent of the IHS
budget to serve this ever-growing population. We are asking for
an increase from 1 to 2 percent of the IHS budget.
Two, in recognition of the Federal trust responsibility,
American Indian healthcare belongs to the Federal government,
not to the States. It is my position that urban Indian health
programs should receive 100 percent Federal match for Medicaid
services, a protection already enjoyed by IHS and tribal
facilities. Urban programs are a critical part of the ITU
health delivery system and should be included in the 100
percent FMAP protection.
Three, the opioid epidemic is affecting American Indian
people in both tribal and urban Indian communities. While we
acknowledge the incredible efforts of SAMHSA tribal opioid
response grants, urban programs were not eligible to apply.
Please act to correct this oversight.
Four, in 2010, IHS and VA signed an MOU to promote
interagency collaboration. While this is great news, urban
programs were not referenced. We maintain that this is a simple
oversight. As a veteran myself, I know that our people serve in
the military at higher rates than any other race and should
have access to culturally-competent healthcare by the ITU
system. I ask you for the inclusion of the urban programs in
this IHS VA MOU.
I present each of you with this challenge coin to
commemorate today and ask you to accept the challenge to
address these four issues I have laid out today. Thank you for
the opportunity to testify before you today, and ask you again
to help me to continue to provide culturally-competent care to
every American Indian and Alaskan Native, no matter where they
live.
[The statement of Ms. Tetnowski follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you for both your testimony and your
service.
Ms. Tetnowski. Thank you.
Mr. Joyce. Next, Ms. Sanchez.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
RIVERSIDE SAN-BERNARDINO COUNTY INDIAN HEALTH BOARD, INC.
WITNESS
TERESA SANCHEZ, BOARD MEMBER, RIVERSIDE SAN-BERNARDINO COUNTY INDIAN
HEALTH BOARD, INC.
Ms. Sanchez. Good morning. I am Teresa Sanchez. I am board
vice president for Riverside-San Bernardino County Indian
Health, located in southern California, and I am also a member
of the California Area Tribal Advisory Committee, and a member
of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. Thank you for the
opportunity to testify.
IHS funding shortfall to tribal clinics. An issue was
discussed with the acting IHS director both at the CRIHB board
meeting and through our conversations with the California area
office that we received the same level of funding which we
received in fiscal year 2016-17 for fiscal year 2017-18. We
have projected, based on historical calculations at the
national level, we would receive a $1.5 million to $2 million
increase based on the national IHS budget, receiving a 9.9
percent increase in 2017-18. We did not find out until the last
day of the fiscal year when our final amount was paid, and it
was less than the previous year.
CRIHB only received a 1.1 percent increase for all the
clinics they represent. In addition, the acting director
reallocated $25 million out of the inflation funding to address
a lawsuit. Acting director reallocated $25 in inflation funding
to address--I am so sorry. I lost my place.
Ms. McCollum. Don't worry about it.
Ms. Sanchez. On the lawsuit on the lease agreements in
Alaska. These funds should have come to the clinics for base
funding. They acted on this change with minimal consultation
with the tribes, and only 12 working days' notification after
the July 4th holiday. To compound matters, they did not inform
the tribes of this decision until mid-September. Finally, they
had $33 million in unspent funding the CHEF account that could
have been used, but was not used to cover the lease agreement
lawsuit. All of these issues were raised with the acting
director because of the lack of transparency at the national
IHS level.
The importance of providing purchase referred care.
Riverside-San Bernardino County Indian Health and CRIHB are
working on a coordinated effort with other areas in the United
States who have no access to hospitals to make this component a
higher priority in the funding formula. Of the 12 Indian Health
Service's areas across the United States, four of the major
national areas are PRC dependent: California, Portland,
Bemidji, and Nashville. The California and Portland areas rely
on the PRC Program to purchase of their inpatient care, while
Bemidji and Nashville areas are dependent on the program to buy
most of these services. The tribal health clinics and PRC-
dependent areas must use this extremely limited PRC funding to
cover the costs of placing patients in non-IHS tribal
hospitals, and are purchasing other specialty care services.
The funding often runs out before the end of the fiscal
year in the past, leading to the denial or rationing of
impatient and other specialty care. Although the remaining
eight IHS areas have inpatient facilities funded through IHS,
these facilities also receive PRC funding. This further assists
these areas in strengthening the system of care that they
provide.
A critically important need exists to move the PRC-
dependent access to care factor from the program increases
category in the PRC funding distribution formula to the annual
adjustment category. This will increase the potential for PRC-
dependent areas to receive funding for the purpose of
eliminating inequities in funding for PRC programs as
specifically authorized in the Indian Healthcare Improvement
Act.
As it historically and currently stands, the base funding
category is first resourced followed by the annual adjustment
category. And if any pending remains unallocated, it is moved
into the last category of programming increases with the access
to care factor and also with CHEF funding.
Another topic at the PRC national meeting was the advocacy
by PRC representatives for changing the threshold for the CHEF
finding. This program pays for catastrophic medical costs after
a clinic has met a $25,000 match and will reimburse clinics the
above amount. The IHS acting director has not moved forward on
the recommendation to move the threshold from $25,000 to
$19,000, even though the issue has gone out for comments twice
in the Federal Register. The acting IHS director was concerned
that in order to implement the change, there is a statutory
requirement to include a CPI adjustment factor, and the
analysis by the PRC staff used 3.4 percent CPI rate. However,
in reviewing the data through the last 5 years, the CPI would
take 10 years to move from $19,000 to exceed the existing
threshold of $25,000. However, the national PRC committee
advocated for the change because a great deal could happen over
the 10-year period, and the program had a $33 million carryover
balance for 2017-2018 fiscal year.
I thank you for your time and consideration.
[The statement of Ms. Sanchez follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you for your testimony. Last, Ms.
Kitcheyan.
Ms. Kitcheyan. Kitcheyan.
Mr. Joyce. Kitcheyan. I heard you tell Mr. Simpson, too.
[Laughter.]
I apologize. You have 5 minutes.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
WINNEBAGO TRIBE OF NEBRASKA
WITNESS
VICTORIA KITCHEYAN, TRIBAL COUNCIL MEMBER, WINNEBAGO TRIBE OF NEBRASKA
Ms. Kitcheyan. Good morning, Chairwoman McCollum and
Ranking Member Joyce and members of the subcommittee. My name
is Victoria Kitcheyan. I am a member of the Winnebago Tribal
Council, and I am the chairwoman of the National Indian Health
Board. I am here today to talk about funding priorities for the
Indian Health Service in fiscal year 2020.
As we are all aware and we heard from my colleagues today,
the Indian Health Service is chronically underfunded for
decades, and it is no wonder that the American Indian/Alaska
Native citizens receive greater health disparities than any
other citizens in our Nation. And those statistics are
staggering with 5.5 years less life expectancy, a higher infant
mortality rate. We heard some of these really sad statistics
today, so I won't go on and on about that. But I just want to
say that funding for IHS plays an important and critical role
in those disparities. We cannot continue to financially starve
the system and expect better health outcomes.
We want to thank this committee for the bipartisan support
we have received to increase funding to IHS over the years. We
truly appreciate the commitment of this committee to ensure
that those increases happen. However, those increases have gone
largely to inflation, population growth, and the rightful
funding of contract support costs. So in order to truly achieve
marked improvement and progress, we need to make a bolder plan
for funding IHS.
NIHB supports requests of the Tribal Budget Formulation
Work Group. Those tribal leaders are calling for fully funding
IHS at $35 billion over 12 years. This funding would allow IHS
to improve critical infrastructure as well as expand services
to American Indian/Alaska Natives who aren't using the service
due to underfunding. We begin this 12-year phase for fiscal
year 2010 with a $7 billion recommendation. That would include
$2.5 for hospitals and clinics which is the core services
budget. In addition, $1.4 billion for purchased care and $254
million for mental health.
Also we are calling for a separate line item for health IT
infrastructure. We need to make necessary upgrades to our
electronic health system. The VA is already receiving this
investment, and we truly appreciate this on the IHS side. You
can read more details about this in the written statement.
Also, Tribal Budget Formulations testimony is on the NIHB
website.
Today I want to focus on a policy priority for NIHB as well
as the tribes, and that is securing advanced appropriations for
IHS. Thank you, Chairman McCollum and Rankin Member Joyce, for
your leadership on this issue.
The 35-day partial government shutdown in the start of 2019
had a devastating impact on tribal health systems. Tribes
throughout the country reported rationed care, reduced
services, and some facilities closed altogether. This reckless
shutdown destabilized native health delivery as well as
provider access, tribal governments, families, children, and
individuals. One tribe reported cutting services to ensure
their health systems would remain open. We heard of cuts to
transportation, behavioral health, prevention, TANAF. Another
tribe reported cuts to elders, cultural youth, and other
community services. Others reported concern with outside health
facilities not accepting the referrals from IHS. And one lost
four nurses to the private sector during this time.
So with all this, we must do something differently.
Enacting advanced appropriations of IHS would ensure that
funding is available a year in advance, and that we would not
be negatively impacted by any unrelated political battles.
Advance appropriations would help honor the trust
responsibility that our ancestors entered into and ensure that
the Federal government would commit to upholding those
treaties.
And it isn't just the shutdowns. In September 2018, the GAO
released a report noting that the current system for IHS
appropriations and numerous short-term continuing resolutions
places a serious financial and an administrative burden on the
IHS as well as the tribes. GAO also noted that the current
system of the CRs and shutdowns make it hard for long-term
planning, entering into contracts and vendor agreements, a
significant impact on recruitment, especially in rural areas.
And with a 25 percent vacancy rate, we can't afford to have any
other wrenches in our system.
And so the VA already receives advanced appropriations and
other federally-funded programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid,
receive mandatory spending. And so we would like to see, like
VA, IHS receive some of that same commitment. It has a direct
medical commitment to fulfill the legal promises made by the
government. And we believe providing advanced appropriations to
IHS would create that parity between other Federal health
systems.
I hope that we can work together today to work towards
this. NIHB stands committed to this goal. We would like to help
you champion this on behalf of the tribes. Thank you today, and
I would be happy to answer any questions.
[The statement of Ms. Kitcheyan follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you all for your testimony. Madam Chair,
do you have any questions?
Ms. McCollum. I do, but I am waiting to get an answer back
from my staff, if they are not in a meeting, as to how much we
have spent between the DOD and the VA trying to get their
medical records straight.
Mr. Joyce. Too much.
Ms. McCollum. I am going to wait. Too much, but I----
Mr. Joyce. That was one of the biggest surprises I had
serving on MILCON was how much we spend on the VA and we are
still not getting it right between the Service and the VA.
Ms. McCollum. Should I put you on the spot and ask you the
number? Too much.
Mr. Joyce. It was a term ago. Yes. [Laughter.]
When I was on it.
MILCON-VA SUBCOMMITTEE
Ms. McCollum. I think we could spend a fraction of the cost
getting VA medical records up, but I am going to wait until
after you and Mr. Simpson are done. Thank you.
Mr. Joyce. Mr. Simpson.
Mr. Simpson. Thank you all for being here and for your
testimony. Instead of trying to find a way to keep things
funded during a government shutdown, we should commit to not
shutting down the government. Bad policy. Bad politics. Just
stupid. I don't think you would find any argument from anybody
on this committee or anybody on the Appropriations Committee,
that shutting down the government is no way to run a railroad.
But I understand your issue and your problems, and it seems
like we always forget about, when over the years when we have
done certain things for certain agencies to prevent funding
lapses, we always forget to include Native Americans. So that
is a problem.
Just out of curiosity, Sonya said that you had 22,000
patients throughout Santa Clara County, right? And you had
70,000 patients that come from surrounding community and so
forth?
Ms. Tetnowski. Yes.
Mr. Simpson. Are those all Native Americans?
Ms. Tetnowski. Yes.
Mr. Simpson. Do you serve anybody outside the Native
American population?
Ms. Tetnowski. I do, yes. I am also a federally-qualified
health center, so I serve everybody.
Mr. Simpson. OK. And the reason I ask is right now they are
having an issue in the Idaho legislature. They are trying to
expand dental care to allow dental therapists on Native
American reservations, which the Dental Association is OK with.
The problem is that if they then serve also non-native
populations, that creates a problem of expanding the scope of
practice. And that is the challenge they are dealing with right
now. There are only 2 States that allow dental therapy, one of
them Minnesota and one of them Alaska. And I have always taken
the position I don't want to Federal government determining
what scope of practice is. That is the State's responsibility.
Ms. Tetnowski. Yeah.
Mr. Simpson. And so they are trying to work that out, and I
have no problem with allowing dental therapists on reservations
to serve native populations, particularly in areas where you
can't get a dentist to go, you know?
Ms. Tetnowski. Right. There so many rural communities and
access is critical. And recruitment has always been an issue
whether it is tribal or urban. So we continue to face that
across the board with all providers, yeah.
Mr. Simpson. But that is the challenge is----
Ms. Tetnowski. Yeah.
Mr. Simpson [continuing]. Serving the Native American
population versus the non-Native American population by the
same therapist, you know.
Ms. Tetnowski. Right.
Mr. Simpson. They will work it out, but it is good that
they are discussing it. But thank you all for being here today
and for your testimony.
Ms. Tetnowski. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Do you have a question? I have one.
Mr. Joyce. I have one for Mr. LeBeau. Under former Chairman
Calvert's leadership, the subcommittee provided significant
funds to the Indian Healthcare Improvement Fund to try and
reduce the funding disparities across Indian Country. Did those
funds considerably improve the situation for California tribes?
Dr. LeBeau. Well, not in the way that we had hoped given
that there's over 100 federally-recognized tribes in California
and, you know, well over 50 tribal satellite clinics in rural
and frontier regions of California.
The end result of the first distribution of funding to the
California IHS area resulted at about 3 to 4 small tribal
clinics receiving some funding. For those particular clinics,
that is great news, you know, in terms of, you know, continuing
to deliver care. But for the vast majority of tribal clinics in
California, they saw zero funding during the first go-round.
I happen to serve on the IHS Indian Healthcare Improvement
Fund Work Group representing California along with a gentleman
by the name of Chris Devers from Southern California. We
continue to advocate and make recommendations to the full work
group and to IHS to strive to ensure that more resources are
provided to our chronically-underfunded IHS areas. You know,
the issue continues to persist, however, so we do appreciate
the support of the committee in providing funding for that line
item. It was helpful.
You know, additional support and direction and guidance, I
think, from the committee would be even further helpful. Thank
you.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. Madam Chair.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you, Mr. Joyce. Current contract for VA
going out 10 years is an additional $16 billion. My staff has
said, he told me he was going to try to pull together how much
the government spent in the last 20 years. I told him this was
good enough to make our point. Thank you. I think we need to do
better. We heard last year about challenges with medical
records in general. Some systems, I think, in California were
still using DOS. I heard it was not very efficient, not very
practical, and not right.
I would like for a second, to discuss the Special Diabetes
Program--the doctor mentioned and almost every tribe when it
comes to healthcare talks about it--has been flat funded since
2004. And the amount of dollars that it saves by preventing
cost overruns in Medicare, Medicaid, any of the Federal
programs that tribal members might be eligible for, plus the
Indian Health Services. Is there a repository someplace so that
we know how many people are not being served by this program
because we have not increased funding? So you know if that is
available, either through the National Congress of American
Indians or any of the health boards, because I think that would
be helpful to us in making the debate that we should look at
increasing those funds because it is going to save lives. It is
going to improve the quality of life.
But sometimes the argument that we need to have it is going
to be it is going to save tax dollars with our fellow
colleagues. Do you know if that is available, and if so, would
you see if you could get it to us?
Dr. LeBeau. Sure. So the section of the testimony that I
provided was a result of the work of the National Indian Health
Board where they are calling for $200 million to fund the
Special Diabetes Program for Indians. NIHB does note that
treatment of end-stage renal disease costs, it is about $90,000
per patient per year, so there is a reduction in the cases of
end-stage renal disease that translates into significant cost
savings for Medicare, IHS, and third-party payers.
In addition, it has proven itself effective especially in
declining incidence of diabetes-related kidney disease in
particular. The incidence, again, of end-stage renal disease
due to diabetes in Native Americans has fallen by 54 percent, a
greater decline than for any other racial or ethnic group. And
so that detail is derived from the National Indian Health
Board, and I know we have representatives from NIHB here today.
We would be glad to provide you a full report on that
particular issue if you would like.
Ms. Kitcheyan. Thank you to my colleague for acknowledging
NHIB's work in this space. And we always talk about SDP being
the most successful public health and prevention program.
Ms. McCollum. Yeah, the Special Diabetes Program.
Ms. Kitcheyan. Special Diabetes, right. And acknowledging
that its success is based on the for the tribes, by the tribes,
and each tribe being able to design their unique program around
their community's needs. And I think you raise an important
point on the data that we need to continue to collect, and NHIB
stands positioned. And it sounds like an amazing pilot project
that we would love to participate in so that we can ask our
funders and our appropriators to continue to fund it, increase
this program to save dollars in the end.
And we always say that IHS would rather cut off a limb than
prevent it, and that is just devastating and sad. And why is
that the level of care that we are providing to our first
nation's people?
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Joyce. I think that
we are looking at how we are reducing the cost of the disease
as it progresses. But the one thing we probably won't be able
to quantify is when someone starts changing the way they are
preparing food at home, everyone is impacted by it. So we
actually might decrease in diabetes in the future. So I think
making sure that you have the tools to collect the information
would be helpful.
And with that, I yield back, and maybe Mr. Simpson would
like to introduce the next panel.
Mr. Simpson. That is OK. Go ahead.
Mr. Joyce. He didn't want to do it.
Ms. McCollum. He didn't want to do it.
Mr. Joyce. I certainly appreciate it. My sister is a
juvenile diabetic and having watched her all my life, I can
appreciate the work that goes into it. So I am with you on
whatever we can do, and thank you all for your testimony and
being here today.
Voices. Thank you.
Voice. And these are for members of the committee.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you so much. Victoria, you can just
stay up here. OK.
So I welcome with great honor the chairman of the Fond du
Lac Band of the Superior Chippewa, the councilmember from Bad
River Great Lake Superior Chippewa, and once again a tribal
councilmember from Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. And if we could
ask the chairman of Fond du Lac to lead off the panel. Thank
you, sir, for being here. Good to see you again.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
FOND DU LAC BAND OF LAKE SUPERIOR CHIPPEWA
WITNESS
KEVIN R. DUPUIS, SR., CHAIRMAN, FOND DU LAC BAND OF LAKE SUPERIOR
CHIPPEWA
Mr. DuPuis. [Speaking native language.] First of all, I
would like to say thank you and good morning, Chairman McCollum
and members of the subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity
to testify today. My name is Kevin DuPuis, Sr. I am the
chairman of the Fond du Lac Bank of Lake Superior Chippewa. I
have submitted many written testimony for the record and
discussed many areas where increases in Federal funding is
needed. Today, however, I would like to focus on the importance
of Federal funding for Indian Health Service and Indian
healthcare programs.
One thing I would like to start off with is I am not going
to sit here and tell anybody anything any different than
everybody has already said, the disparities that we have in
Indian Country, throughout Indian Country. But what I would
like to do since my written testimony is in there, I want to
kind of talk about it a little bit, and I want to talk about
the reality of what has happened with Indian Country, not by
what is on a piece of paper, but by testimony from me.
I would like to start off with the opiate problem. It is an
epidemic. The last time I testified I brought up a scenario,
and I would like to do it again for the ones who weren't here
before. I watched a video one time, and the video showed a
group of native kids in a home, and what they did, they were
having opium party. Never heard of it before. A heroin party,
excuse me. Never heard of it before. So they brought in ice and
they filled up the bathtub, but they also brought in Narcan.
And what they were doing was taking heroin, and when somebody
would go out, they would give them Narcan. And to shock them
out of it, they would put him in the ice in the shower. That is
what is happening in Indian Country. That is what is happening
in our communities.
Our people are dying. Our people are dying at a rate that
it is unfathomable. We grew up and were taught things to never
forget and where we come from, and to respect our elders and
the ones and our ancestors that came before us, and to put in
place a job that we are supposed to do today to ensure that
there is a future for our unborn. It is hard to do that
sometimes with the issues that are happening. We do have
problems on our own reservation. We do have a wider issue that
is on our reservation where we have bad water in one of our
communities, and looking for funding to support that instead of
digging into our coffers to do that, with a lack of funding
that everybody knows that exists in Indian Country.
We had people, native people, in front of you earlier that
talked about the issues in urban areas. Well, we have a thing
in Minnesota called Tent City that was in Minneapolis, and I
observed it, went there many, many times to watch homeless
people, drug epidemic, drug addiction, sexual issues,
prostitution, everything that you could think of. And it is in
healthcare. It is based in a healthcare issue.
So we met in St. Paul, and we had a meeting of all the
tribes to address the opiate crisis and that problem, and all
our funding mechanisms were in the same room. So I asked
everybody that day, does everybody here work on tabletop
exercises, and they said yeah. I said, well, there is 11 miles
away, so if you want to have a true tabletop exercise, put
everything down today, go into Minneapolis, take a look at it,
see the medical crisis that exists in a street next to the
highway. And everybody just put their head down.
So these are people that we are asking funding from that
were in the room, and it makes my heart sick and hurt to know
that the same people that were coming in front and asking for
funding that were around the table, and when we asked them to
come over there--I asked them to come over there--to take a
very good look at it and see what exactly what is happening, if
you can address that issue, if you can work on that issue right
there, then we can run across the country and Indian Country
and work on every one of them that were there. But to no avail.
They just put their heads down.
So I go home every day, and I have to report back to
constituents and tell them how it went in DC I don't know how
it is going to go in DC All I can do is speak from my heart and
the written testimony that is there. But we go home to these
things and we go home to them every day. I can't speak for any
other group of people, but I can only speak for the indigenous
people of this land. The funding has never been adequate and
everybody knows that. It will never be adequate. But one thing
that we can sit there and be proud of is knowing that we know
how to stretch the dollar. If one group of people on this
planet knows how to stretch the dollar, it is us. But we are
stretching to a point where we can't stretch it anymore.
I want to bring these things forward and so it is a face-
to-face thing that you can see that it hurts, and it hurts all
of us. Our people are dying. People are dying in a manner that
we can't control. And every time one of our children die or a
person dies, when we look at the 7th generation principle, that
is seven generations that are never going to make it. That is
sad. It is really, really sad.
But I do know that you guys listen and I understand, and I
talk with Ms. McCollum that her drive in the State of Minnesota
and what she tries to do, it is hard to explain except it is
impeccable. And so I appreciate that and I appreciate everybody
on this committee. But I do want to bring this to this
committee to ask for the simple principle of help, not through
a piece of paper because we do that all the time, but to hear
us and listen to us what we are saying.
And some are going to sit here and some are going to repeat
what somebody else has said, but you need to hear the stories
of what are happening. You need to hear the truth. If you can
see these videos and if you can hear the truth and see the
truth, and there is data that exists and questions that were
asked earlier--I need to bring it up--is that the tribes have
the ability to do something that hasn't been done before, and
that is taking and helping the urban communities in this way,
is to open up clinics inside the urban area.
We have done it. We opened up a pharmacy 200 miles away
from our reservation where we serve all native people. And we
can collectively do that and come to an agreement that this is
what we need to do for our people. We will be able to strive.
So with that, and I know I am out of time, so, again, thank you
very much. Miigwech.
[The statement of Mr. DuPuis follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Next we have Dylan Jennings from
the Bad River Band of Chippewa Lake Superior.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
BAD RIVER BAND OF THE LAKE SUPERIOR CHIPPEWA
WITNESS
DYLAN JENNINGS, COUNCIL MEMBER, BAD RIVER BAND OF THE LAKE SUPERIOR
CHIPPEWA
Mr. Jennings. [Speaking native language.] So good
afternoon, respective Committee on Appropriations. I really
appreciate the opportunity to sit here before you. My name is
Dylan Jennings. I serve as a councilmember for community, the
Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Objibwe Indians in
northern Wisconsin.
I come to you from one of the most beautiful communities in
the world. I am here to talk with you about something that is
dear to us, and in our language we say [Speaking native
language], our life way, that we live our life and the health
that we know as our people. And I believe most of the things I
am going to talk about or summarize can be summarized with a
single example. And I want to talk to you about a community
member, specifically a woman in our community.
And this, you know, very tough to talk about, but a woman
who struggles with behavioral health has just given birth to a
baby who was diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome. As a
result of the diagnosis, the baby was removed from the mother's
care. And in an effort to work towards reunification with her
baby, the mother attends treatment. Upon the mother's release
from the treatment center, she returns home. The mother
receives little to no back-end care and relapses, which often
happens in our communities, exposing her to the risks of
hepatitis-C, HIV, in all of the course of her relapse.
Unfortunately this is not just an example, but this is a
reality as my relative here talks about. This is a reality for
my community.
Between 2010 and 2015, the number of drug-addicted born
babies from the primary hospital that serves our tribal
citizens in the local county was roughly 27 babies out of every
1,000 births, the highest in the State. At present, of over the
50 open child welfare cases currently under the tribe's
jurisdiction, about 86 percent of those are due directly to
illicit drug use risk. We are talking about our babies here.
What can we do to keep this from happening? These are not just
members. They are our children. They are our future. They are
future leaders that will hopefully be sitting here someday in
our place.
We know the best way to help ourselves, but often lack data
to capture, assess, and evaluate the status of the tribe. The
Indian health system should provide direct funding for
comprehensive behavioral health data evaluation. That is
something that we really could use. Direct funding to the
Indian health system should not be restricted to one identified
drug type. For instance, grants typically when they come out
and they are announced, they identify certain types of drugs
that they are going to address, and sometimes it far limits our
abilities to utilize them the way that we need to utilize them.
And so, you know, the tribe, we are asking that, you know,
as we move forward, we would really appreciate the ability to
utilize different grant funding for multiple issues that we
encounter. Also to construct to provide rural tribal
communities the same opportunity that local municipalities and
States have to provide infrastructure for our efforts.
The opioid epidemic has hit Indian Country hard. You are
going to hear that for years to come, right? And many people
have already said this. According to surveys conducted by the
CDC, American Indians in urban areas are dying of opioid
overdoses at the highest rates, closely followed by Caucasians
and American Indians in rural areas. Some communities, like Bad
River, have been able to address opioid overdoses by a targeted
campaign to equip community members with overdose reversal
training skills and the provision of naloxone, the overdose
reversal medication.
However, nationally and in Bad River, tribal and rural
first responders and programs and such lack funding and support
needed to address the epidemic in Bad River. There have been
several opioid overdose events where the first responders
arrived at the scene determined that individuals overdosing and
have not had naloxone to administer. The lack of access to some
of these resources in these entities puts entire regions at
greater risk of death. Targeted funding to support tribal fire
departments and first responders and procurement of naloxone,
including nasally-administered naloxone which costs
approximately $75 per kit, would save many of our community
members.
Within our communities, the epidemic translates into many
forms of disease, which you are very well aware, including
skyrocketing rates of hepatitis, increased risk of HIV
transmission, behavioral and mental health illness, and social
isolation. The Bad River Band applauds the Administration's
goal of ending HIV transmission within the decade. We believe
that addressing HIV transmission will go hand-in-hand with Bad
River's goal of ending the epidemic of opioid addiction within
our communities.
According to a 2016 HIV surveillance report, Native
American women who inject drugs contracted HIV at more than 10
times the rate of African-American, Asian, and Latino
counterparts. Ending HIV transmission will require funding and
resources at all risk populations, and especially for Native
American communities experiencing high rates of injection drug
use.
The current funding plan which targets seven states and 48
jurisdictions, does not include many of our rural areas in the
Great Lakes region, including upper Michigan, Wisconsin,
Minnesota, and North Dakota. Targeted funds to prevent HIV
transmission are needed absolutely. Micro and macro funding
streams are essential to incentivize treatment for people at
high risk for HIV, including people who inject drugs.
The Bad River Band also applauds the Administration's goals
of providing pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, the daily
medication that can be taken to prevent HIV infection, to all
at-risk people.
Ms. McCollum. Councilmember Jennings, I have to ask you to
suspend for a minute.
Mr. Jennings. OK.
Ms. McCollum. And we will have more questions. But your
testimony is very compelling. Thank you.
Mr. Jennings. Well, thank you. I appreciate you guys for
taking the time to listen to us. So Miigwech.
[The statement of Mr. Jennings follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Ms. Kitcheyan.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
NATIONAL INDIAN HEALTH BOARD
WITNESS
VICTORIA KITCHEYAN, ACTING CHAIRPERSON, NATIONAL INDIAN HEALTH BOARD
Ms. Kitcheyan. Ms. Kitcheyan. Good morning again, and my
name is Victoria Kitcheyan, a member of the Winnebago Tribal
Council and chair of the National Indian Health Board. Thank
you for having me here today.
As you may recall from my past testimony, the Winnebago
Hospital still holds the distinction of being the only Federal
hospital to ever lose its CMS certification. This occurred as a
result of years of mismanagement and serious patient care
deficiency, including lack of staff training, a lack of
necessary equipment, and overall hospital operations. I know
these issues have been reported to as far back as 2010 and
were, again, brought to the forefront in 2015. These ongoing
issues have resulted in painful loss of life and much
unnecessary suffering by our people in Nebraska.
When this ordeal began for the Winnebago Tribe in 2015, we
were adamant that the Indian Health Service created this
situation, that they created the problem and they needed to fix
it. Well, as days turned into months, months turn into years,
the Winnebago Tribe took a stance that we could wait no longer
and that we needed to solve our own problems. We initiated an
intensive planning process and entered into a self-governance
compact agreement with the Indian Health Service, and as of
July 1 the Winnebago Tribe assumed full management of that IHS
facility. And now it is known as the Twelve Clans Unity
Hospital. We are very proud of that.
Since July 2018, the tribe has worked diligently to assess,
stabilize, and really improve the hospital operations. Prior
has included establishment of the organizational structure,
board training, recruitment, and overall improvement, and, of
course, working towards CMS certification. The issues at the
hospital did not happen overnight, so we understand that it is
going to take considerable time and effort to change the
organizational culture and all the necessary improvements that
we need to achieve CMS certification and to become the top-
quality healthcare provider that we know that we can be for our
tribal members.
It has been a period of significant change not only for the
organization, but for the community, and it definitely has not
been without challenge. But the Winnebago Tribe and our team at
Twelve Clans Unity Hospital are confident that we can be
successful, and we are already seeing those remarkable
improvements at the facility. During this time of transition,
your support has been critical. The added oversight from the
committee, our congressional delegation, our congressional
staff, and all that would not have been possible. The tribal
assumption really counted on that support to continue
sustaining operations, and we appreciate that. And we look for
your continued support as we make progress.
Today, for example, our ongoing needs include continued
recruitment. The facility has lost CMS certification. The
facility has documented inadequacies. You know, it just doesn't
have the best reputation right now, and we hope to build up
that solid reputation and make it a place that people are proud
to work, where people are proud to come and receive their care.
And we are confident that the tribe will be positioned to turn
that place around with the necessary resources.
We know that permanent full-time employees that are
invested in the community as well as our facility are what we
need, but that is going to take time. We heard about the 25
percent vacancy rate earlier, and that is something that is
just our circumstance. We will continue to work on these
ongoing recruitment efforts, but in the meantime it is a
tremendous amount of money going to locum tenens contracts,
nurses, providers, and addition radiology laboratory. So there
is considerably more costs paying contractors than permanent
staff, but we are working on it.
We have also identified a need for ongoing training and
technical consultation with regard to meeting hospital rules
and regulations for all departments. Although the facility has
been in existence for some time, it is essentially a new
hospital. And the tribe has assumed management, but it includes
revisions to the policies and procedures, operational plans,
processes to really transition to a non-federally operated
facility. In addition, meeting all the CMS requirements of
participation and calling on the best practices in the
healthcare industry. You know, we want it to be the best
facility for the patients, not just another poorly-ran Federal
hospital.
Another challenge was presented during the recent shutdown.
We would have had great difficulty continuing our services had
we not received a special appropriation from the Special
Accreditation Emergencies Fund in 2018, and it is that lack of
third-party revenue from the CMS certification that left us
without resources. And without this committee's help, we would
not have had that gap funding. And so we are also really
thankful and calling on that same level of funding in 2018 as
we continue to make the necessary improvements. And the
replacement of those funds in CMS certification were most
apparent during the shutdown. We hope to provide financial
stability for the organization while we work to restore the
certification.
The Winnebago Tribe also supports what we have heard today,
so much about the advanced appropriations of IHS, you know,
also at BIA because we know that many of the services that
those agencies provide for our tribal communities are
intertwined and, you know, they are not in the silos that
sometimes we see within the agencies. But they are integrated
services within our communities that collectively make up the
livelihoods of our tribal members. So we want to just, you
know, also, you know, give support for that initiative and
really impress that that funding directly ties to the patient
care and the community wellness of our tribal nations.
So thank you today for this, and thank you for allowing me
to speak with you once again on behalf of the tribes. And the
Winnebago Tribe surely appreciates the continued support and
the support that we can to restore the certification and be the
success story of the trauma that is happening in the Great
Plains and as well as amongst the Winnnebagos. Thank you.
[The statement of Ms. Kitcheyan follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Simpson.
Mr. Simpson. Again, thank you all for being here. And,
Kevin, thank you for your story. That is why we have these
hearings because we need to hear these stories and directly
from you, not just here in Washington, but out in the
hinterlands around America also. And we have tried to, as a
committee, get out to as many tribes and visit them in their
homelands as we can. And I think that is an important aspect,
and I know that the chairwoman will continue to work on that.
Dylan, you mentioned one thing that caught my ear--well,
more than one thing. You said you would like to be able to use
grants on a broader basis than what they are. You know, we have
talked about this in the past, and I would like you to be able
to use these grants wherever you think is appropriate. I mean
this is your country, it is your money, and you ought to be
able to use them where you think it would be most efficiently
used.
But you do know that that completely screws up our
bookkeeping at BIA, IAS, and others. That is the kind of
reaction we got from them, how can we keep track of anything if
we allow them to do that. We should do what is best for your
nations. Anyway, thank you for being here today and thanks for
your testimony.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you all for being here, some of you twice,
and I appreciate the story as well. I can tell you that the
opioid epidemic that has ravaged our country, there is no part
of this country that is immune to it. And unfortunately I have
heard those type of stories before, not necessarily on native
lands, but elsewhere. If somebody put up a bill to try to make
Narcan available, they end up having a lot of people say, well,
if you hear a story of it being abused like that, then why are
we even doing it. These are still lives. They are entrapped
unfortunately in the free for all with these drugs, and we need
to treat the addict first and then we will deal with the rest
of it.
So thanks, all of you, for being here today and for your
testimony.
Ms. McCollum. Councilmember Jennings, you had wonderful
things that you shared, more than what I had in my book. So I
want to make sure that we have a copy of your full testimony
that you are entering for the record and so that the whole
completion is in there. So if you would share it with us at the
end, it would be greatly appreciated, sir.
Mr. Jennings. Absolutely.
Ms. McCollum. I wanted to ask you a little more about in
the testimony that I have been looking through, about the 34(b)
Drug Pricing Program on how you think it should be protected
and expanded. Would that have helped you with perhaps your
first responders having what they needed at a better price than
$75, or is that for other drugs? If you would just help point
us in the right direction as we research this.
Mr. Jennings. Yeah, I think it could also make drugs like
naloxone a little bit more attainable for our community because
right now, we are really restricted in how we can use some of
the grants we are speaking about for or some of the funding
that we receive for some of these things. And so someone won't
allow us to spend it on some of these lifesaving treatment
drugs.
So, you know, we are kind of caught with their hands tied
where a lot of our community, you know, kind of grassroots
efforts are focused on just trying to get these drugs into the
hands of our first responders and fire teams. So I think, yeah,
that could be something that would help in that realm, too.
Ms. McCollum. When you were talking about the shutdown and
the effect on the Winnebago hospital, it really was a lifesaver
that you had that appropriation put in place to deal with the
emergency. But some things came up in reading other testimony,
and I am wondering if it is true for you, too. You have doctors
and nurses and medical delivery, direct practitioners that you
are trying to recruit. And some of the testimony that I was
reading through the other day was the fact that the way even
placements for ads are put forward, that community members
don't know to apply, because there can be ladder to successes
for jobs. We did this in the Twin Cities at one of our
hospitals, at Regents, that people who came in and were
interested in working in a hospital, interested in working in
healthcare sometimes started out doing prep work and cleaning
and other things like that. And then they said, you know, I
want to learn how to draw blood, so they went up the workforce
ladder.
Are we reaching out to community members presenting those
opportunities for ladders of success, ladders of opportunity to
go up in the healthcare field? Because what we are paying when
you have to go out and with your precious dollars bring in a
contract that is costing a lot. And it is also a way to build
pride and confidence in the hospital for community members.
Could you maybe address what is going on with workforce and
what we might be able to do better?
Ms. Kitcheyan. Yes. We certainly always are looking for
ways to develop our own tribal members and community members,
and we call on partnerships, such as with our tribal colleges,
building programs with not only our tribal colleges, but some
of our area facilities for residency opportunities and things.
So we are having all those discussions, and everything is on
the table at this point because we want to create pipelines of
medical professionals and administrators that are going to be
committed to our community and aren't going to be transferred
or detailed here or there. And so that is the difference that
we have the latitude to make those type of adjustments and
partnerships for our compacted facility.
Ms. McCollum. If there is more we can do working with the
tribal colleges and that, please let us know because we face
serious issue making sure that we develop a pipeline, right?
Ms. Kitcheyan. Well, you could----
Ms. McCollum. A good pipeline.
Ms. Kitcheyan. You could provide greater funding to the IHS
Scholarship Program. There are many native applicants that
apply for that program and are overlooked, and there is just
not enough money to go around. But we know where we can
improve. The National Indian Health Board has a relationship
with the American Indian Physicians Association, and it is the
conversations that, you know, we are calling on the
practitioners to say, you know, what can we create to help our
young people even pursue these pathways.
We could do a better job on STEM education. I mean, where
do we begin? We really need to start sooner with building these
professionals and credentialing them to have the confidence to
practice in our communities.
Ms. McCollum. Good. Chairman, you mentioned drinking water
and sanitation in your full testimony. Could you elaborate, add
a little more to that for the committee, because that is often
overlooked when we are talking about health and wellness, but
it is so important, as you had in your testimony.
Mr. DuPuis. Yes. Yes, we have a community in Fond du Lac
that we call the Wineman community. And the water that we had
came from groundwater as a well when the system went bad and
the system could not control it. Well, we ended up getting
toxins in the water. We looked to IHS to get funding to see if
we can put above ground water tank at force main. We can't get
the funding to do that.
So what we ended up doing was putting money inside of our
coffers right now. And I hate to say it, but it is reality is
we had to give, I think it is called Brinkman filters to the
homes, and that is what they are running now. But we are not
treating the water. We don't have the money or the help to
treat the water itself. So we dug several test wells, and we
have different wells that are coming with better water. But the
distance that we need to do that goes back into the
infrastructure side of it. We have to travel through ground for
miles to reach that.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. I am going to look some more into
that, and thank you for elaborating on that. And it just goes
to show even in States like Minnesota, which are water rich,
water is a sacred resource, one that has to be treated with
great respect. And even when you are surrounded by a lot of
water to know that you don't have potable drinking water for
your family--It feels like a real tragedy to me, and I am sure
it does to your community.
I want to thank you for the extended testimony,
Councilmember, and thank you all for being here today.
Miigwech.
Voice. Miigwech. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. You are up to bat.
Mr. Joyce. Good morning. Thank you all for being here, and
if you hadn't been here in the beginning, we discussed the
ground rules that each of you will be given 5 minutes for your
testimony, and then we will have questions I am sure when we
are all through. We will go in order as laid out on our list,
and we will start with Mr. Miguel.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
AK-CHIN INDIAN COMMUNITY
WITNESS
ROBERT MIGUEL, CHAIRMAN, AK-CHIN INDIAN COMMUNITY
Mr. Miguel. Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking Member Joyce,
members of the subcommittee, my name is Robert Miguel, and I am
honored to serve as the chairman of the action of the Ak-Chin
Indian Community and give testimony to you today on our
community's priorities. First of all, I would like to thank the
members of the subcommittee for inviting me to testify today.
Despite the Administration consistently proposing cuts
every year to the many programs that tribes utilize, this
subcommittee increased funding for the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Indian Health
Services by over $303 million from 2018 to 2019. So thank you.
Thank you for the continued dedication to the trust
responsibilities of the Federal government to the tribes and
for the increase in this much-needed funding.
I am here, and this is my fourth appearance before the
subcommittee in recent years. Today I am here to testify on a
number of important issues to my tribe, including funding for
healthcare programs, tribal self-governance, and other
important grant programs.
Ak-Chin has always been a farming tribe, and our name is
directly derived from the O'odham word that refers to a type of
farming traditionally practiced by the Ak-Chin people.
Throughout our history we have been farmers and continue to be
farmers today. We own and operate the Ak-Chin farms. It's a bit
more than 15,000 acres of farmland, and the farm has been a
central economic enterprise for the community since the 1960s.
We also have economic entities focused on gaming and
hospitality that have gone into major sources of economic
development for the entire area. We are direct neighbors with
the City of Maricopa and lie about 35 miles south of Phoenix,
Arizona. We are small, but growing, tribe with 1,114 enrolled
members, and as the area surrounding us continues to grow at
one of the fastest rates in the Nation, we are committed to
being good neighbors, while also working hard to build a
stronger future for the next generation of Ak-chin community
members.
Advanced appropriations are necessity for tribes going
forwards to ensure that funds are available in advance to
alleviate the unfortunate circumstances so many faced during
the partial government shutdown. Currently, critical Federal
programs of the Department of Education, Department of Housing
and Urban Development, Department of Labor, And Veterans
Affairs are also authorized for advanced appropriations.
Funding uncertainty causes tribes to redistribute funds from
other tribal programs just to get by. Advanced appropriations
will be prevent future lapses in funding associated government
shutdowns and will help keeping critical services and
uninterrupted.
One of our tribe's top priorities and challenges is to
provide our members with high-quality healthcare and health
services. Ak-Chin is a fairly young community. Forty percent of
our membership is under the age of 18 while almost 13 percent
are over the age of 51. This is important for predicting health
disparities and prevention going forward. In 2017, the
community conducted a community health assessment to determine
areas of emphasis and need for prevention and outreach. We have
developed a community-based action plan to help determine areas
of need and identify areas of strength concerning health and
wellness for our people.
As I testified last year, the Indian Health Services Grant
Program are critically important to our community. The Special
Diabetes Program for Indians grant is utilized by our
communities to emphasize physical activity and youth programs
for our members. The SDPI Program was reauthorized by Congress
in 2018, and the SDP was renewed for 2 years. We thank
subcommittee members who supported this reauthorization and
your support to continue funding for this very important
program. We ask the subcommittee to increase funding for the
SDPI Program to $200 million for MS. LEWIS: 2020.
The Ak-Chin Indian community is compact of self-governance
with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The compact enables the
United States to maintain and improve its unique and continuing
trust relationships and responsibilities to the community
through self-governance for various programs, services,
functions, and activities, PSFAs, such as our public safety,
social services, courts, road maintenance, and various other
vital programs.
The community is also a compact of self-governance tribes
with the Indian Health Service four EMS Ambulance Program. The
community applied and received two tribal self-governance
Indian Health Service cooperative agreements grants under
planning and negotiation. We truly appreciate as the funding
have assisted the community with furthering the future of the
Ak-Chin healthcare.
Rural Native American communities have inadequate access to
broadband service, creating a disparity that grows daily as our
society becomes increasingly dependent on internet-based
communications. By expanding access it would assist us with
retaining accessibility with up-to-date technology in regards
to healthcare, public safety, and education. I understand there
is funding for this in Department of Agriculture. However, we
recommend the subcommittee consider making rural broadband
expansion funding available for tribes through the Bureau of
Indian Affairs or Bureau of Indian Education as this is a
public safety, educational, healthcare issue.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the chairwoman and
ranking members for holding this hearing and engaging in the
government-to-government consultation to hear our community's
priority. We hope this subcommittee will continue to work good
with the communities and address the challenges tribes faces as
the Administration has in the past recommended zeroing out most
of the programs that tribes rely on to ensure the wellbeing of
their members.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to testify today and
to share with you our community's priorities. I hope my
testimony today has given you meaningful insights into how
these Federal programs are positively impacting our community
members. Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Miguel follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, Chairman. Chairman Flying Hawk, you
are next.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
YANKTON SIOUX TRIBE
WITNESS
ROBERT FLYING HAWK, CHAIRMAN, YANKTON SIOUX TRIBE
Mr. Flying Hawk. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the
subcommittee. My name is Robert Flying Hawk. I am chairman of
the Yankton Tribe. In our language it says ``Othunwahe.'' So
that translates into the ``village.'' We are here and I am here
representing our members and asking that the dollar amount, the
budget not be cut, to remain the same if anything. But asking
for an increase to help us at home and throughout our
neighboring communities.
We have a hospital that has been stopped. It is no longer
open. It is open from, what is it, 7:00 to 11:00 at night, and
then the working hours. What that causes is for our members to
not receive the care that they are needing, that we are
needing. We just recently lost one of our members, a 3-year-
old, a lady, because of drug overdose, and our ambulance
service can't take our members to our own hospital. They go to
our community hospital, which is within our area. But then that
creates a bill for each of us as members.
So as a member, if I am having a heart attack and those
hours aren't open at the hospital that I attend the IHS, I am
going to sit there and try to calm myself down and not have the
heart attack until our hospital opens up so I can go in and get
the services that should be available. But because of that
dollar and because of our hospital being shut down and there is
no emergency care there, we refer out our patients, our members
who go for the things that are needed, the services that are
needed.
This is real. It is real life and a matter of life and
death for us as members. We need our hospital back. We need our
emergency care back. That emergency care will allow that
ambulance to come to our hospital so that our members can feel
comfortable that if there is a pain in their chest, then the
ambulance will be called and they will know that they can get
to our hospital without fear of being strapped with a bill,
with a medical bill that we cannot afford as an individual
member.
Our children, especially now, are looking at what, got a
cough, pertussis, whooping cough, I think, that hasn't been
around for a while. But our children are showing signs of that,
and why is that? So we are here, I am here, trying to ask why,
the question why is that dollar unavailable? It is there. We
need the qualified staff. We need those services delivered to
us as members of our nation, of all our nations on the Great
Plains. And we suffer, I think I heard in the testimony earlier
from Winnebago, those things that happened at each of those
facilities, and we are shut down.
Now, as a government and a treaty that was signed, the
government has a responsibility to us as a people, and we would
like that to be known, to be recognized, and to at least follow
up on that, and to ask to hear us. Give us that help that we
are asking for. As I said, it is a matter of life and death for
us, and I have grandchildren, and I don't want them to suffer
something that would possibly take their life. That is not, in
my dream, but it is a prayer that I have every morning that our
people will be well taken care of. Our health is number one for
us.
And so I am here to ask that you would consider that, and
wanted to thank you for hearing us and giving us this
opportunity this morning. Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Flying Hawk follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, Chairman. Last but not least,
Chairman Frazier.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
CHEYENNE RIVER SIOUX TRIBE
WITNESS
HAROLD FRAZIER, CHAIRMAN, CHEYENNE RIVER SIOUX TRIBE
Mr. Frazier. Thank you. I want to thank the committee for
allowing me the time and the honor of speaking before you guys.
You know, one of the things, I got elected back in tribal
politics. I first got elected in 1998, and at that time
healthcare was really an issue on our reservation and on the
Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation, and back then there
was a lack of resources, particularly financial. And I ended up
being elected chairman in 2006, and then I was out for 8 years
and I come back in 2014, and healthcare has not improved on the
Cheyenne River Indian Reservation.
But one of the things I learned is there wasn't a lack of
resources. We were fortunate to get a new facility which
allowed us to get a big pretty good increase in our funding.
And one of the things I want to talk about--I know it has been
talked about quite frequently in Congress--is a wall. We are
fortunate in our service unit that we have a huge, to us it is
very huge, but it is a pretty good savings and third party
billing. It is in excess of $24 million. And one of the number
one priorities of our service unit is to build a wall around
the entire facility. I mean, we find that really just crazy
with all of our needs.
One of the things that we have and we have a need of is
dialysis. I mean, we have done a feasibility in conjunction,
and I will kind of get to where the problem lies. But it is
around $5 million, I mean, and with $24 million, we definitely
have the resources to build it. Right now we do have a private
dialysis on our reservation, but because of the amount of
people that need it, we still got 3 to 4 members that travel
either to Spearfish, South Dakota or Bismarck, North Dakota 3
days a week for dialysis, and they are about 135 to 150 miles
one way. And my mother was on dialysis, so I know the toll it
takes on a person with dialysis. So it is really an issue.
We got high suicide rates. I know last year, which is very
sad, but we averaged about 11 attempts a month, and we were
nearly one completion a month which is really sad. I mean, we
got a lot of high needs: treatment, meth treatment. I mean
these are things we try to work with. We put resolutions
requesting IHS to build these facilities. I mean, they have the
money on our reservation.
But one of the biggest problems, where it lies, is in the
area office. I mean, I will downright call them dictators. They
micromanage the service units. Every time there is an issue
there is no consultation, you know. You are probably well aware
of Rosebud, Pine Ridge, and Winnebago had problems. And anyway,
and like I said, we were fortunate to have the resources. They
took $4.6 million out of H&C dollars and sent it to pay a
contractor without consultation of our tribe, and that is a big
problem. They don't consult. They don't share information. They
transfer our people out.
Lie right now our budget person on our service unit is
detailed up to Aberdeen and we were never consulted. We have
questions and probably very likely he is being paid out of our
budget. So there is a lot of problems that is going on. And
when I kind of go back, our council passed a resolution asking
to eliminate the Aberdeen area office, the Great Plains area
office, and send all the funding and authorities down to the
local service units because right now, one example is a couple
years back I met with our service unit director, and they had,
like, 66 vacancies. And when we get back to my office one of my
staff looks it up on USAJobs, and out of all them vacancies,
only six were advertised.
So the problem is a lot of the biggest problems with the
area office. One of the things, patient care. That is something
that they have forgotten because when I did talk to IHS about
this wall, you know, they said, hey, we got to stay in
compliance, you know. And so that is their main priority. And
one of the things Senator Rounds, you know, he introduced I
guess is now S. 498, and I really hope that Congress passes
that is doing an audit on IHS. He did kind of a study, and
within the study he found a huge amount of administrative and
very little doctors. I mean, that is something that that has to
be looked at and be dealt with. I mean, we need solutions
I got 10 seconds, so I will be really quick. I bought some
packets that is really briefly to show you that this is a
report that IHS has given to me and given to us. And if you
could see the amount of carryover, and when you look through
there, their top priority is to build this wall, and second is
dialysis, and third is the treatment. So thank you for the
opportunity.
[The statement of Mr. Frazier follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you all for your testimony. Madam Chair.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you, Mr. Joyce. When I read about that
wall, it just kind of took me back, and the whole issue on
consultation. I appreciate you bringing up broadband. I was
able to secure a place on the Agriculture Committee for
appropriations, and one of the things I am going to talk about
is many of the programs that are in there in Indian Country
also affect the quality of life, health, and safety. So thank
you for bringing that up.
Part of the other testimony that was in here was that
unless people really look at a map to see the areas that you
gentlemen cover and how close the nearest ``public hospital''
is, I don't think people have a full understanding of just the
isolation that still exists here in the United States.
So one of the points that you brought up was with law
enforcement, Mr. Flying Hawk, that if law enforcement picks
someone up and you take them to a healthcare facility, all the
charges and everything that are incurred, and then you have a
law enforcement officer that isn't out patrolling the area. Has
there been any discussions about better joint powers or mutual
aid or anything between the tribal hospitals, clinics, ERs, and
the other hospitals and clinics and ERs? And I bring this up
because we are all citizens of the United States. We are all
taxpayers into the United States. And getting people healthcare
and not going into debt when they are referred or go ``out of
network,'' off the reservation to receive critical healthcare
if they think they are having a heart attack.
In reading some of the testimony, you talk about how all of
a sudden people have these large bills, and it is causing
hardships. So if you would touch on that. And then diabetes,
getting to dialysis. I mean, I know what the winter was like in
the Twin Cities, 55 below, 75 below windchills. You can't be
outside for more than just a few seconds. People think it is
cold here. Welcome to the bold north, right? So you are not
going to get in a car and go to dialysis, or if you go the
winds could take up. I have been in white-outs.
And we talked about this before. Has there been any
conversation that you have been able to engage with the Indian
Health Services about working in conjunction to receive either
more dialysis within the reservation and maybe opening it up
for people who live nearby? I have talked about this before or
other options, because I don't see any movement on this, and
this is something that I know firsthand from a grandmother who
was going from Montana into Williston, North Dakota, and how
dangerous it was in the winter to go to dialysis. So if you
could just kind of touch on some of those things. I know they
are pretty broad.
Mr. Frazier. You know, right now, yesterday we talked and
back home we have a lot of snow. I believe two of our schools,
well, all of our tribal schools, they averaged, I think, around
14 days of no school because of the snow and because of the
cold. But we have 51 dialysis patients that we have to struggle
to get out because and plow them out because some of them live
out in the communities and even out in the country, so it is
really a hardship.
And that is interesting. We met with Weahkee, and we talked
to him about this dialysis. And one of the things he was
upfront with, he said IHS does not provide this. But on the
Standing Rock Indian Reservation they do have dialysis in their
IHS facility. So it has been done and it can be done. So we had
the discussion with him, but he didn't seem very excited about
it.
And this is what I want to say overall, too. I really found
it sad because we come here not just for healthcare, but
education, roads, law enforcement, et cetera. But the top
people in these agencies are not here this week. They are on
travel. Tony Dearman, we have a meeting with the director. He
is not in town. Tara Sweeney is not in town, and also Weakhee.
I mean, we come up here and they knew that Indians were coming
this week for appropriations, and it is sad that they all
skipped town. So I guess we are going to have to talk to their
secretaries and say hello to janitors.
So that is something that they need to really be slapped on
the hand about is that when they come to town for help, you
know, let's help them.
Ms. McCollum. Yeah. We knew when you were going to be in
town.
Mr. Frazier. Yeah.
Ms. McCollum. We will be seeing all those people later
passing on your questions.
Mr. Frazier. Good. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Anyone want to touch on some of the other
things that we have talked about, law enforcement and then you
have got a Department of Justice bill for putting someone in
for treatment or something.
Mr. Miguel. Chairwoman McCollum, I really wondered if I
could touch on the broadband? I know because you are on the
committee if I possibly could? Just really quick.
Ms. McCollum. Yeah.
Mr. Miguel. And the reason why it is important for our
community is because, again, we talk about the services of
internet and what not within the community. We are located by
the City of Maricopa. You would figure we would get some good
quality services because Maricopa is a city recognized in
Arizona, but we still have our problems in our community.
Unfortunately we see our students that have to come to our
admin building or buildings around the community just to get
access to Wi-Fi, and sometimes those services are set off at a
certain time, or you don't want them out there 9:00, 10:00 at
night when they should be home in bed ready for school the next
day.
But, you know, with school having to initiate a lot of, you
know, after school or homework, that you have to have access to
some kind of broadband service. It is difficult to get that out
there. And, you know, it is unfortunate. We see our problems,
and we see it with their grades and whatnot and incompletion of
homework and whatnot. So it is really, really vital and key
that we get the best services we can, you know, that we
possibly can for our children out there, because it is really
hurtful to see that they are struggling in school because of
that aspect.
And one last thing is that our industrial, we have an
industrial park area in our community where we could be very
successful in that area, but because we don't have broadband
service or internet connection to the area, it is hard for
businesses to come and locate there. But there is an interest,
but that is the only detriment to getting it. So thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. It would also be beneficial for what
is coming of age, the telemedicine aspect. My wife is a nurse
and ER is sending things to Israel late at night to have the
doctors there review them and send them back their reports. So
it would be more cost-effective for everybody as well as an
educational tool.
I just have one problem, Chairman Frazier. As I look at
these numbers that you just provided, there is $1 million for
the wall and $2 million for backfill around the entire
facility.
Mr. Joyce. Are they backfilling existing premises that were
built or----
Mr. Frazier. You know what? I can honestly say they have
never consulted with us, so, I mean, they have never consulted
with me. And as a tribal nation, they need to come before
entire tribal council, the governing body, to consult with us.
And as a matter of fact, they should be doing that at least
once a year, but they don't. So I couldn't really say what the
backfill was. That might be a good question----
Mr. Joyce. A lot of backfill.
Mr. Frazier. Yeah, for Weakhee when he comes. [Laughter.]
Mr. Joyce. OK.
Mr. Frazier. He's aware of it. He got this report because I
gave it to him and I questioned him on it as well, and he had
no idea what it was, so.
Ms. McCollum. Well, it is your property.
Mr. Frazier. Yeah.
Ms. McCollum. Ask before you dig.
Mr. Joyce. Yeah, that is a lot of backfill. Somewhere you
got a big hole that needs to be backfilled that you should know
about.
Mr. Frazier. Yeah.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you all for your time and for coming
forward today. I appreciate all your input.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
Voices. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you, sir. Thank you. We have our last
panel if they would please come up. And everybody is here. So
we are going to hear first from Councilwoman, Dr. Monica Mayer.
Please introduce yourself again for the record, and please
start your testimony, and we will let you know when the 5
minutes are over very gently. We have been letting everybody
kind of go over about 30 seconds, so if you see it red, you
don't have to hit the panic button.
Dr. Mayer. Thank you.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
MANDAN HIDATSA AND ARIKARA NATION
WITNESS
MONICA MAYER, M.D., COUNCILWOMAN, MANDAN HIDATSA AND ARIKARA NATION
Dr. Mayer. Thank you. Good morning, Chairman McCollum and
other members of the subcommittee. My name is Dr. Monica Mayer.
My Indian name is [Speaking native language]. I am enrolled
member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, our three
affiliated tribes in western North Dakota. And I am also a
family practice physician.
And I am a fairly well-educated American Indian woman, and
I have an associate of arts in business administration, and a
bachelor's of science in education and taught high school
before I went into medical school. At the University of North
Dakota School of Medicine In-Med Program. I have 22 years of
clinical experience all in the Great Plains area, and I worked
the ERs for 18 years there, and provided clinic services and
hospital care services.
Became the chief officer for the Aberdeen area, formerly
known as the Aberdeen area. And during my tenure there, which
was just prior to the Rosebud, Pine Ridge, Winnebago CMS
issues, I had visited those facilities and worked them, came
back to let the area office know that if we don't staff
immediately, the emergency rooms were going to have a bad
outcome. And they undermined me, and I left.
And I did return home, and my mother, who recently passed
away, thought I should have my head examined because I ran for
office, and now I am sitting as an elected tribal official. And
I think I am the only, I believe, American Indian woman
physicians to sit on a council. So I took a significant pay
cut, so my mom thought I should have my head examined.
[Laughter.]
But she was just teasing me because it is the spirit of
service that is my passion and where my heart lies. So I have a
lifetime of experience clinically in the Great Plains area.
Although I am very grateful to Mr. Chairman Fox, my
chairman from the MHA Nation, to have asked me to come down to
represent him, not only for our nation, MHA, but also for the
entire Great Plains based on my experience. And with that I
would like to say I appreciate the opportunity to testify
today.
And I would like to say that when I was the chief medical
officer back in 2010 for the Great Plains area, I declared
drugs and alcohol as our number one healthcare issue in Indian
Country because if anybody who worked grassroots, whether it be
in the schools, in the clinics, in the ER, anywhere in our
society, that you would realize drugs and alcohol is the main
issue in healthcare.
You can talk about other issues, but the data is hard to
grasp on this disease of addictions. But I think if we ever did
get significant data, it would prove that we are no different
than anybody else in America right now dealing with not only
opioid crisis, meth crisis, but also our alcohol crisis that we
have, for it touches everybody in our nation, from the infant
that is in utero to a meth-dependent mother, to a child who has
been fostered through foster care, to a teenager who can't
finish high school because they are drugged out, to an adult
who can't hold a job down because they can't pass a urine test
because of their addiction.
And the poverty level in the Great Plaintiffs, our large
land-based nations, is astonishing. It is in the 80 percentile
in South Dakota, in Pine Ridge, Rosebud, Cheyenne River.
Belcourt is like 68 percent. Fortunately for MHA we have a lot
of oil revenue, so we don't have significant poverty, and we
try to make up for that. But also the elders are being abused
by younger generational people for the sake of stealing from
them just to support their addictions. And the cost of opioids.
Also opioids, I could see this coming 20 years ago this crisis.
Any family practice doctor would have seen it.
But in Indian Country, we only have 50 percent of our
fulfillment need financially, but if you don't have the staff
to run those clinics and ERs, you can't generate any third
party. So how does the government expect us to make up that
balance when we don't have the staff to do it, particularly
nurses? I mean, it is a crisis for us because you can't run
anything in healthcare without being on the back of the nurse.
KDU, hospitals, clinics, ERs, nursing homes. So we are in a
drug and alcohol crisis in Indian Country. It is huge. And I am
here to say that the MHA Nation built a $25 million, without
Federal or State money, treatment facility in Bismarck. We just
opened up for services. We need a waiver, an IMD exclusion
waiver, for the fact that we need more than 16 beds. We need 32
beds to deal with the crisis.
And so, Madam Chair, tied with drug and alcohol--I know my
time is running short--but mental health is huge, the dual
diagnosis of the disease of addiction carries with it. And also
the violence against Indian women is breaking up the fabric of
our American Indian Country.
And so with that, I would like to conclude by saying thank
you for your time. Thank you for listening to me. There is so
much more to discuss, and I think that my bullet points would
be drug and alcohol, unified mental health issue with them,
more policy and procedure and laws, and meaningful tribal
consultation with area offices and DC offices. Staffing needs
to be addressed.
Ms. McCollum. I am sorry, Doctor.
Dr. Mayer. So thank you, Madam Chair, for listening to me,
and I hope that we can come to some improvement on the great
healthcare disparity that our American Indian families are
enduring in the Great Plains. Thank you.
[The statement of Dr. Mayer follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Thank you very much. Melanie
Fourkiller, senior policy analyst of the Choctaw Nation of
Oklahoma.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
CHOCTAW NATION OF OKLAHOMA
WITNESS
MELANIE FOURKILLER, SENIOR POLICY ANALYST, CHOCTAW NATION OF OKLAHOMA
Ms. Fourkiller. Thank you, Chair McCollum. Thank you,
Ranking Member Joyce and members of the committee. I bring
greetings from Chief Gary Batton and Assistant Chief Jack
Austin, Jr., from the Choctaw Nation. I am Melanie Fourkiller,
and I am here to present to you the priorities for healthcare
for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
The Choctaw Nation is the third largest native nation in
the United States. We comprise over 23,000 citizens across the
Nation. We are located in extreme southeast Oklahoma, which is
about 10-and-a-half partial or full counties in the southeast
corner of Oklahoma, which is fairly remote and the highest
poverty rates in the State of Oklahoma.
I know earlier today you heard about the lack of
appropriations for 2019 and the effect that it had,
particularly on healthcare, but also on BIA programs related to
those that we operate. And I just wanted to add the Choctaw
Nation's voice to that in terms of supporting advanced
appropriations for IHS. IHS and tribal health systems, as you
know, are the only direct Federal healthcare program to be
affected by the partial government shutdown, and it really made
us scramble in terms of how do you provide continuity of care
for patients.
It puts tribes, frankly, in an awkward position of having
to determine how to continue to administer these programs while
we weren't getting paid. So how were we going to fund
continuation of those programs in that interim? And so we
certainly want to raise that to your attention. We look to your
leadership and support as we go forward this year, and
hopefully advanced appropriations for IHS can be put on the
table and really seriously considered. We appreciate that.
We also thank you for your continued support of the Joint
Venture Construction Program. Particularly in Oklahoma, we have
no facilities on the big healthcare for construction facilities
list which would take decades, as you know, under current rates
of appropriation to complete. So joint venture is really a way
for us to leverage both Federal dollars and tribal dollars
together to make those replacement of new facilities for
underserved areas a reality.
So one thing, however, that concerns us is that the Indian
Health Service hasn't competed this program since 2014. It is
very small and very highly competitive, and it is highly
successful as well. And we would really like to encourage IHS
to compete that on a more regular and frequent basis, at least
biannually so that high-priority facilities can be addressed
with the Joint Venture Program in the future.
We do have a number of other healthcare priorities, and we
have written about those in our written testimony. I just want
to talk about a couple of those to you today while I have the
opportunity. One is graduate medical education programs. The
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, we have a system of 1 hospital and
8 outlying outpatient facilities. We are very taxed as we all
are, with staffing, maintaining staffing for those facilities.
Our hospital is relatively small given as hospitals go. We are
in a community of 1,100 people, so it is highly challenging to
recruit healthcare professionals to a very, very small
community with small schools, no housing, and lack of amenities
that health professionals look to when they want to move to a
community.
So we started a graduate medical education program on our
own with HRSA funds back in 2012. We have found that to be the
single most effective recruitment retention tool for healthcare
professionals for us to stay in our system, because if not only
do they highly stay within our system either at an outpatient
facility or at our hospital, they will stay in rule Oklahoma
and be practicing as our neighbors, which we also need to refer
out for care and for, you know, just having the system of
healthcare that you need in rural areas.
It also has raised the quality of care, we believe, within
our entire system because it causes our docs to be faculty.
They have to remain up on all the latest and greatest notions
of healthcare, and be able to teach that to those residents. It
is also a recruitment tool for those docs. They want to be in
that kind of learning environment. So our pitch is that we
really need to replicate these programs in Indian Country and
have a steady stream of funding that is reliable for GME in
Indian Country.
So with that, thank you for the opportunity to speak, and I
would be happy to answer any questions you have.
[The statement of Ms. Fourkiller follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Dr. Galbreath, medical director of
Quality Assurance, Southcentral Foundation.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
SOUTHCENTRAL FOUNDATION
WITNESS
DONNA GALBREATH, MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF QUALITY ASSURANCE, SOUTHCENTRAL
FOUNDATION
Dr. Galbreath. Hi. I am Donna Galbreath, the senior medical
director of quality assurance at Southcentral Foundation.
Southcentral Foundation is an organization that performs
healthcare in Alaska. We have 2,300 employees, and we cover
health services including pediatrics, OBGYN, native men's
wellness, dental, behavioral health, and substance abuse. We
have won the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award 2 times. We serve
65,000 people. And it is on behalf of these people that I am
speaking.
Our service area is Anchorage, the valley, and numerous
rural villages. It is 100,000 square feet--square feet--square
miles, so it is the size of Wyoming. Square feet would be nice.
We could do that. [Laughter.]
The size of Wyoming is a little more difficult. So we are
really happy to see that some funding increase for Indian
Health Service, but there needs to be more.
You know, it is estimated IHS only funds like one-fifth of
what it should, so per capita it is one-fifth of what is funded
throughout the Nation. The current Administration's comments
and actions that seek to undermine the sovereign status of
tribes really concerns us, so please reject efforts by the
Administration to eliminate or cut appropriations to Indian
healthcare programs.
I wanted to mention the 105(l) lease programs. These need
to be funded. It needs to have increased funds, and we
recommend that there be a sub-account in the overall budget so
that this gets funded, because right now there is movement to
not fund this, and it just doesn't work well when things aren't
funded. The other piece is that Indian Health Service has a
proposal to repeal the fact that they fund hospitals and
clinics. And all of you know that if you don't have hospitals
and clinics, you can't provide healthcare, so that doesn't make
sense either. Indian Health Service needs to continue to fund
these.
So this gets to advanced appropriations for Indian Health
Service. Again, you guys are well aware that you need to know
where your funding is coming from in order to operate a
business effectively, and we know we never know. We don't know
what we are getting. We don't know when it is going to be here,
and so that isn't an effective use of resources. So what we do
is we actually hold some funds in reserves, which isn't
effective either. I mean, it works. It is effective for us, and
it is effective because we have those shortfalls and because we
have the delays in funding. And so that is how we handle that,
but those funds could be going into healthcare if we knew when
we are going to get the funds from Indian Health Service. So
having appropriations that are set is really important in order
to effectively deliver healthcare. Otherwise, it affects the
quality.
Behavioral health programs are also extremely important.
You know, there is lots of substance abuse addiction and
suicide. You have heard a lot about that today. Alaska has the
highest overdose rate in 2015, and we have had a marked
increase in deaths because of this, a 500 percent increase in
death. You guys all know the statistics, and you have heard
this from many people, but you have to realize that, you know,
some of our communities are really small. And you have one
suicide in the community, it affects everybody, not just the
family, but everybody in the community. And it reverberates
because, you know, we are all connected to one another. Even
people living in cities are affected by that, so the impact it
has is incredible.
Increased funding for substance abuse is really important
above and what has been increased for 2019. The opioid crisis
is real, and you know that. I know you know that because you
have tried to address that. But, you know, if you look at the
Indian Health Service shortfall in money and you add the opioid
crisis on top of that, it doesn't work very well. It makes the
shortfall even greater than what it really is. We really need
those funds to get to our youth. You know, if we can have
positive impact on our youth and get at the root causes of
substance abuse and behavioral health issues, then we can
actually have an impact. We have a program called The Pathway
Home, and we have served over 1,100 youth in the State of
Alaska. And it is great to see them when they graduate because
they are proud. Most of them get their high school diploma
through that program, and it is really wonderful to see.
I also have to mention contract support costs. I know that
there is an indefinite appropriation right now, and I think
that is really good. But IHS made this a very complicated
process. It was already complicated, but they complicate it
more by having increased documentation requirements, and they
require two appropriations a year to occur, so it has become
really complex. So could ask Indian Health Service to actually
make it simpler to use and user friendly, that would be really
appropriate.
Thank you for your time. You know, the Indian Health
Service and all the things in healthcare, it is a vast network,
and everything is connected to one another. So if you decrease
money over here, then it has an impact over here, and that is
what Indian Health Service is doing, shifting pots of money.
And so overall it needs to increase so it is a more functional
system.
So thank you for your time, and thank you for letting me
testify.
[The statement of Dr. Galbreath follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Dr. Bell, American Academy of
Pediatrics, Committee on Native American Child Health. I don't
think we have had someone so focused on the next generation
before. Welcome.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS COMMITTEE ON NATIVE AMERICAN CHILD
HEALTH
WITNESS
SHAQUITA BELL, M.D., CHAIR, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS COMMITTEE ON
NATIVE AMERICAN CHILD HEALTH
Dr. Bell. Thank you. I would like to start by recognizing
that we are an indigenous land and as we speak and thank the
people who have come before me that allow me to be here.
Thank you, Chair McCollum and Ranking Member Joyce and
subcommittee members. As you mentioned, my name is Dr. Shaquita
Bell. I am Cherokee. I am here today on behalf of the American
Academy of Pediatrics, and I am a practicing pediatrician in
Seattle, Washington, but born and raised in Minnesota. And I
am, as you mentioned, the chair of the AAP's Committee on
Native American Child Health.
I have the privilege of working with groups like the
Seattle Indian Health Board, Puyallup and Tulalip Tribes, and
through that work I see firsthand how native children's health
can be improved by addressing disparities. I am currently
caring for a child who's enrolled in a tribe, and we were able
to operate wraparound services through the tribe, through the
schools, and through the healthcare system to address her needs
and wellbeing in the foster care system. So this is really
important to me.
As many of the folks who have spoken today, I think we have
covered the physical environment really well, but I will add my
2 cents. We appreciate that Congress was recently able to
provide the IHS with $5.8 billion for fiscal year 2019, which
is an increase as you know. But we also know that still really
leaves a substantial unmet need. The Broken Promises Report
from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights really addresses this
well and highlights the significant disparity in per capita
spending and some of the unique challenges that create.
IHS needs stronger funding and budget certainty. During the
most recent shutdown, I actually reached out to fellow
pediatricians and heard about places that were running out of
really simple, but basic, health needs, like neonatal oxygen
monitoring devices, medications. We had providers who weren't
sure if they were going to be winterize their house. It was
very devastating, the shutdown was. So I appreciate your
bipartisan bill for advanced appropriations, and we really hope
that greater budget certainty would also be able to enable IHS
to recruit better and to retain better pediatric healthcare
providers.
As we heard earlier from Winnebago and from Ms. Fourkiller,
that education is really important, and I have the privilege of
working with many native students through the University of
Washington. And student loan debt is a major impact on their
career decision. We strongly appreciate the value of the IHS
Health Profession Scholarship Program and Health Professions
Loan Repayment Program, which are key tools for recruiting, but
we urge you to consider fully supporting these programs by
allowing them tax exemption, and to help cultivate the
continuity of care that native children need.
Given native children's unique health needs, we are
heartened that IHS is currently in the process of hiring a
mental--excuse me--maternal child health coordinator. This role
is really key and has been empty for 6 years. This role is
essential in identifying and replicating successes and model
programs in maternal child health programs, and we urge the
subcommittee to ensure timely hiring of a talented professional
for this role.
I often see firsthand the struggles of parents who are
experiencing addiction and substance use disorder, and I have
the privilege of working with those families in my own clinical
practice. Currently I am helping a mom who was addicted to
heroin and cocaine early in pregnancy. She had the ability to
access appropriate care and is now on a medication-assisted
therapy program. And her child is now 15 months old and is
developing wonderfully and beautifully. Those services were so
crucial for his development and for her to be present as his
mother.
I am also really touched by the SHIB's report on Missing
and Murdered Indigenous Women, and has really sparked
inspiration for me to do work on trafficking in children in
Seattle and in the hospitals there. Wherever we travel across
the country and everything you have heard today, there is a
consistent theme that there are challenges everywhere, but
there are also really dedicated and powerful people working on
this, like this wonderful slate of women that I have a
privilege of sitting next to. And I think it really
demonstrates that there are people with passion here, and
that--I flipped too soon--any of the children that we have the
pleasure of serving may one day be able to take our place here,
and that is ultimately my goal.
I thank you again for the opportunity to be here, and I am
thankful to all the people who have come before me and will
come after me in the next 2 days. Thank you.
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. I realize as the co-chair of the
Nursing Caucus how tough it is to find and recruit people, let
alone when you are not sure of your funding source day-to-day
or the other issues that you have. I'm certainly open for ideas
on how you can try to promote that.
I believe that nurses are the next generation of primary
care physicians. Obviously we don't have enough of those
either, and certainly if there are ways that we can promote
that, either through loan repayments or those type of things to
help bring medical professionals on, because sometimes dollars
aren't going to be enough to be competitive in the workplace.
So you need to do everything you can to bring people together.
I used my time as a prosecutor to get young kids on, and
the fact that, they are going to get some loan forgiveness out
of this. Just when they got them properly trained they left
because they got their time in on their loan forgiveness
program. But at least you had the chance to bring them there
for that period of time and use them. So I'm certainly open to
any ideas or suggestions you have on how we can continue to
feed the process for medical professionals. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. I was very saddened to hear that
the maternal child health coordinator position had been empty
for so long. And like you, I think that that is an important
position to have filled, but filled with the right person as
well.
Dr. Galbreath, you mentioned the Special Behavioral Pilot
Program, similar to the Special Diabetes Program, so it is
culturally appropriate. If you have more information on that or
can direct our staff where we can look more to learn more about
that, I would be indebted for you to do that. As well, Dr.
Bell, maybe when we talk to Indian Health Services about
filling the maternal child health coordinator, what are some of
the talents that you think that that individual would need?
I want to thank you, Ms. Fourkiller, for bringing up how
giving people an opportunity to live and become part of a
community through loan forgiveness can really be impactful even
if they don't stay working at your hospital, that they are at a
hospital nearby, you have someone who has been culturally aware
if there is a referral out. And also a person in the community
who understands a little better the journey that our tribal
brothers are still going through in this country. So thank you
for your work force.
And we do read the full testimony. I am going to prove it
to you, Dr. Mayer. I am very interested in what is going on
with the oil and gas revenues in your State. [Laughter.]
And I will bring that up at the appropriate panel on that.
So we do read the full testimonies. So I can't thank everybody
who has been here enough for being here. And as pointed out,
all my sisters who are here testifying today, and then we are
ending with a fully-empowered woman panel, with a woman leading
the staff and me being the chair. We have good brothers out
there. We love our brothers.
But we have to celebrate our successes when we see them,
and for our daughters--your daughters--to my brothers--to see
women in leadership is something that every parent when they
hold their child, no matter what gender, wishes for them
health, happiness, education, and opportunity. So thank you for
being here to voice that, and we would appreciate your
feedback. We were able to drill down a little more on
healthcare.
Mr. Joyce, we have our homework cut out for us. You and I
need to talk to Mr. Yarmuth and Mr. Womack to get the ball
rolling on advanced appropriations or talk to our partners on
the Tax Committee about making mandatory appropriations with
Mr. Cole. So I think we should have our staff maybe do a pre-
meeting with the Budget staff about this, and then you and I
need to entice them with coffee something--we will find out
what their beverage of choice is--to have a serious discussion.
It took the VA, when they nurtured out this idea, it took
them years to develop. I am asking we will get it done this
year, and maybe mandatory appropriation would be the other
alternative. But we have to do something in the interim because
we said we were protected during sequestration. Everybody
thought nobody is going to cut Indian healthcare, we are OK,
only to find out with sequestration, when we heard back from
the Administration, their hands were tied. They were over the
top that they couldn't do anything. So were members of
Congress.
Then we had a shut down, and it happens again. And it
cannot keep happening. This cannot be the only place in America
where Americans citizens who have, under treaty rights, been
promised their healthcare do not have it available to them. And
we know that people suffered, and we probably know that people
suffered irreparable harm, and there are probably people who
passed away because of this. And you have my pledge--and I know
as well as every member on this committee, both Republican and
Democrat--to be a forceful voice that this will never happen
again.
So thank everyone for testifying. Just for the record here,
we know we have a series of votes coming around 1:15, 1:30. Our
apologies. If Mr. Joyce and I controlled the world, that would
not happen, but we are not in charge of the floor of the House.
So thank you, everybody. We are adjourned.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
AFTERNOON SESSION
----------
MENOMINEE INDIAN TRIBE
WITNESS
DOUGLAS COX, CHAIRMAN, MENOMINEE INDIAN TRIBE
Ms. McCollum [presiding]. Mr. Peters, intergovernmental
affairs liaison. Help me say the name of the tribe correctly.
Mr. Peters. Squaxin Island.
Ms. McCollum. Squaxin Island. I would have been close, but
not perfect.
Mr. Simpson. I would not have even been close.
Ms. McCollum. So, gentlemen, we could have a vote going off
at 1:15, and if we do, if the second panel is here, our humble
apologies. Mr. Simpson and I are going to be quick like
bunnies. We are going to vote and come back as soon as we can,
so thank you, gentlemen.
So, Chairman Cox, if you would start us off, please.
Mr. Cox. Good afternoon, Madam Chairman, members of the
committee. Douglas Cox. I am chairman of the Menominee Nation.
On behalf of the Nation, I provide the following testimony
regarding funding priorities concerning recommendations in
regard to natural resource management for the Menominee Nation.
I thank you and your staff for your hard work in protecting
the interests of tribal nations in the Federal budgeting
process. The Federal budget plays a central role in fulfilling
the Federal government's trust and treaty obligations to tribal
nations by ensuring that critical programs and services receive
adequate resources to fulfill their intended purpose. Tribes
are often proven effective managers of our own resources, but
must be provided with the appropriate funding and support as
required by Federal treaty and trust responsibilities. Federal
support for tribal resources efforts has not kept pace with
tribal efforts, and, as such, undervalues tribal natural
resource management initiatives.
For the Menominee Nation, our forest and natural resource
management are one of the leading programs in the country and
globally. The heart of our Menominee Nation is our forests and
natural resources embraced in this forest. The backbone of the
economy the Menominee Nation has been our forest management and
the industry surrounding our sustainable management of that
resource.
The forests that Menominee covers about 95 percent of the
reservation or proximately 219,000 acres, including our major
reservation resources, water resources, 187 streams and rivers,
57 lakes that total over 4,750 acres of surface water. Our
forest creates ideal habitat for a large number of wildlife and
fish and a host of a variety of native plants, shrubs, grasses,
sage, and wildflowers.
The 209,000 acres in Menominee Forest distinguish the
reservation from surrounding landscape. A major difference
between the Menominee Forest and the surrounding landscape is
due to our tribal management and land ethics. So our natural
resource programs are a wide variety. They include
environmental services, fisheries management, waterfall habitat
protection, forest management, conservation law enforcement,
wildlife protection, and numerous related environmental
programs. We employ environmental protection specialists,
foresters, wardens, fish biologists, wildlife biologists,
hydrologists. They all work in protecting the resources that
were promised to us in our treaties. We urge the subcommittee
to ensure quality and consideration towards funding our tribal
natural resources programs that are critical to promoting and
protecting our culture, our health, and our economy.
For the Menominee Nation to fully manage and use our
natural resources and establish and maintain natural resource
management programs, funding for BIE natural resource programs
must increase. BIA programs represent a significant source of
funding to protect tribal lands. Instead tribal funding
opportunities have declined incrementally over decades, and
more precipitously than other natural resource programs in
Department of Interior. For example, the per-acre funding for
Forest Service lands is 3 times the per-acre funding for tribal
forested lands. The per-acre funding that DOI invasive species
programs is 5 times the per-acre funding that BIA's invasive
species program currently funds.
So at this time I am requesting some of the following, and
these numbers, keep in mind, are national request increases,
not Menominee-requested increases, but they are within those.
So to provide water resources, $10 and a half million for BIA
Water Management, Planning, and Pre-Development Program;
provide $5 million for water resources, DPA Program. That's a
tribal priority allocation programs. Water resources contained
in monitoring, preserving, protecting, and enhancing the
quality of surface waters, aquatic habitats, and ground waters
of our tribal lands. We fulfill our obligation by
administrating federally-authorized and supported surface water
quality monitoring programs, pollution management programs,
planning and implementing stormwater management, shoreline
restoration, and stream crossing replacement projects. Primary
funding sources currently are primarily U.S. EPA through the
Clean Water Act Program, Section 106 and 319, and through some
BIA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Program funding, as well
as the water resource programs in BIA.
Under invasive species, we would request that you increase
funding to $12 million for BIA Invasive Species Program.
Invasive Species Program provides critical funds for the tribe
to control noxious and invasive species. Invasive species cause
approximately $3 billion in damages on tribal trust lands
nationwide. The impacts of the invasive species have a
particularly disproportionate impact upon tribes because such
species affect plants, animals, and other wildlife that are
essential to tribal members for sustenance, for our medicines,
for our ceremonies, our cultures, and our economic health.
The BIA Program, which was funded at $6.7 million in 2018--
sorry--fiscal year fiscal year 2018 is the only funding stream
designated to address invasive species on tribal trust land. In
contrast, DOI spends considerably much more each year to
address invasive species on non-Indian lands. The BIA program
is a critical element of the Department's invasive species
initiative since tribal trust land is more contiguous to other
Federal lands. In light of this disproportionate impact
invasive species have on tribes, the significant need for
equity and funding between non-native and tribal land DOI's
jurisdiction, an increase.
Ms. McCollum. I have got some questions on that.
Mr. Cox. OK.
[The statement of Mr. Cox follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Peters is next.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
SQUAXIN ISLAND TRIBE
WITNESS
RAY PETERS, INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS LIAISON, SQUAXIN ISLAND TRIBE
Mr. Peters. Good afternoon, members of the committee and
chair. On behalf of the Squaxin Island----
Ms. McCollum. Is the little red light on, button?
Mr. Peters. Good afternoon, members of the committee and
chair. I am Ray Peters, intergovernmental affairs tribal
council liaison. On behalf of the Squaxin Island Tribal
Leadership and its citizens, it is an honor to provide funding
priorities and recommendations for the fiscal year 2020 Bureau
of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service.
We ask this committee to support our historical trust in
treaty relationship with the United States and honor the
fiduciary obligations who were part of the negotiation with
their tribal leaders. We ask asked specifically this committee
exempt tribal program funding throughout the Federal government
from future sequestration, recessions, disproportionate cuts.
Also ensure stable Federal funding for essential tribal
services by supporting the Indian Programs Advanced
Appropriations Act of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of
Indian Education, and the Indian Health Service. Support the
Special Diabetes Program for Indians reauthorization at $200
million annually for 5 years. Efforts by the Administration to
change this funding from mandatory to discretionary spending
must require tribal consultation before any changes occur.
The Squaxin Island Indian Reservation is located in
Southeastern Mason County, Washington. The tribe is a signatory
of the 1854 Medicine Creek Treaty. We were one of the first 30
federally-recognized tribes to enter into the compact of self-
governance with the United States. The total land area,
including off reservation lands, is approximately 1,700 acres.
We manage roughly 500 acres of Puget Sound tidelands. The
tribal government and our economic enterprise constitute the
largest employer of Mason County with over 1,250 employees,
which we are quite proud of.
The Squaxin Island Tribe faces an ongoing budget deficit to
maintain and operate the Shellfish Program at its current level
of operation, a level that leaves 20 percent of treaty-
designated State lands and 80 to 90 percent of private
tidelands unharvested due to lack of funding. To address this
shortfall and enable effective growth and development of the
program, an annual minimum increase of $500,000 is requested.
Shellfish has been a mainstay of the Squaxin Island people
for a thousand years, are important today for subsistence,
economic, and ceremonial purposes. The tribe's right to harvest
shellfish is guaranteed by the 1854 Medicine Creek treaty.
Today we are unable to fully excise our treaty right due to
lack of Federal support of our Shellfish Management Program.
As a back comment, when we were going through the Shellfish
Settlement Agreement with the shellfish growers of Washington,
we were asked to go ahead and not negotiate on the management
funds that were needed. Yet 10 years later we are still without
the needed funds to be able to manage our resource and treaty
resource.
Northwest Indian Treatment Center is a treatment facility,
a residential chemical dependency treatment facility,
designated to serve Native Americans who have chronic relapse
patterns related to unresolved grief and trauma. The Northwest
Indian Treatment Center serves adult clients from tribes
located in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska, and as far as
away as Florida. We facilitate medication-assisted treatment--
Suboxone and vivitrol injections, which are cutting-edge
components of the opioid addiction. Since the original
congressional set aside in the IHS budget for alcohol and
substance abuse, the treatment for residential facilities and
placement contracts with third party agency in 1993, Northwest
Indian Treatment Center has not received an adequate increase
in base IHS funding.
We face the opioid struggling to recover to return----
Ms. McCollum. You are fine.
Mr. Peters. OK. An increase of $3 million would restore
lost purchasing power, ensure adequate baseline operating
funds, allow Northwest Indian Treatment Center to control and
continue to meet those needs of those who are struggling to
recover and return to their families and native communities.
We also support the BIA rights protection increased funding
to $52 million. This sub-activity account has a clear and
direct relationship with the Federal trust obligations to the
tribe. This program ensures compliance with Federal court
orders by implementing effective tribal self-regulatory and co-
management systems. The benefits of these programs occur not
only to the tribes, but to a larger community as well. In
addition to this, the program supports implementation of the
United States-Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty.
As well, we would like to go ahead and support the regional
ask, the Northwest Indian Fish Commission, ATNI--Affiliated
Tribes of Northwest Indians--and as well, the Northwest Indian
Health Board. Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Peters follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you, gentlemen. Mr. Simpson.
Mr. Simpson. Thank you. I need to ask this question for Mr.
Joyce. You mentioned, Mr. Cox, the Great Lakes Restoration
Initiative that is funded through the EPA. Relative to the
other programs in your testimony, does the GLRI have much of an
impact on your tribe, and are there tribal activities that GLRI
does fund that other BIA funding sources do not?
Mr. Cox. There are some. So some of the EPA dollars that
come through GLRI do fund a little bit of our invasive species
work currently.
Mr. Simpson. OK. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Kilmer.
Mr. Kilmer. Thanks, Madam Chair, and thanks for being with
us. Very good to see you. I want to just express gratitude for
the fact that the tribe employs a ton of people in Mason
County, and it is a great example of the interconnectedness
between our tribal and non-tribal communities. I think the
Federal government needs to be a better partner, and
particularly with regard to your ability to exercise your
treaty rights.
I was hoping you could provide a little bit of additional
detail about how the BIA's Shellfish Management Fund helps to
support your tribe's effort to exercise your treaty rights.
Mr. Peters. Well, as co-managers, we do have and being a
self-governing tribe we get to try to place those monies in the
best use. But with shellfish settlement, there were much more
tribal title lands that we now manage and we have access. As
you know, in that settlement, it did allow us access to private
lands and have 50 percent of the natural take of that. And so
just with the current funding that we have in our compacts, we
just have not had any increases to meet that increased demand.
We live in, as you know, in one of the richest shellfish areas
in the world, and so we are very underfunded.
Mr. Kilmer. Thank you. Thanks, Madam Chair.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Cox, you talked about invasive
species, and we are neighbors. I am from Minnesota, and we are
now dealing with Gypsy moths. We have ash borer, we have pine
beetle, and DOI gives out 5 times the amount in grants to
others than to Indian Country. I mean, we are interconnected.
These bugs don't know any boundaries. So what has been your
conversation with the Forestry folks when you are going in and
talking to them about this? They just say, well, we are out of
money? I got myself on the Agriculture appropriations
committee, so if we are going to increase this, I need to know
whether you would be eligible if there is more of an increase,
or if there is just a straight-up prohibition that they feel
that they are confronted with that they cannot support you in
dealing with invasive species.
Mr. Cox. You know, that is a trend that is ever increasing.
So this invasive species threat and onslaught is one that every
time we turn around, we add a number of species to the list of
things that we are trying to combat. So each time we get an
opportunity to speak about funding needs, we are talking about
where we can particularly use that.
In Forestry, we believe that some of the BIA-funded
programs that we are getting now, the BIA funding, can indeed
work towards some of our invasive species needs right through
the forest management dollars that are appropriated in BIA now,
but we are also short there. So our total allocation that we
are getting under TPA for forest management is short, so we
need additional funding there just start tackling some of those
larger ones.
And as I mentioned, the BIA Invasive Species Fund gives us
one lump sum for the tribe to fight all our invasive specie, so
we are fighting invasive species not just in our forests, but
in our waters, in our urban areas. And the forest for Menominee
is one separate branch of management for the tribe. So there
are all three of those aspects that we are trying to funnel
money into, and it is just far, far too short, and we have made
those asks.
Ms. McCollum. OK. Well, are hoping the polar vortex knocks
some of ours flat on their back, the invasive species, because
we haven't had the cold winters like we have had in the past
with that.
Mr. Cox. For some of them, it is no joke. It is one of our
tools that we can use to combat, but, again, the polar vortex
puts a strain on our forestry staff as well in their own work
to get out there and do what we need to manage that forest in a
health sense, in a sustainable sense that we do. So we need to
manage all the effects that we are having placed before us and
on us.
Ms. McCollum. And are you dealing with oak wilt at all or--
--
Mr. Cox. We are.
Ms. McCollum. You are? That as well.
Mr. Cox. We are. We get a little bit of U.S. Forest Service
dollars to do some forest health assessments and treatments,
but, again, it is added to the pot. So it is one piece of about
six big invasives that we are battling on Menominee Forest now.
Ms. McCollum. And some of this oak wilt, they are studying
and emerald ash borer, it is winter that you have to do the
removal. When you have winters like this, as you said, it is
hard for the foresters to get out. I noticed you have been
involved in working on EPA as part of the tribal council, so if
there is anything about the EPA you would like to add in
written testimony or direct our staff to look into as concerns
as well, we would appreciate that.
Mr. Cox. Sure.
Ms. McCollum. So I talked about the polar vortex, which
means I am prepared to talk about climate change. The fisheries
are wholly dependent upon temperature, water, nutrients in the
water, and everything else. What has been going on as far as
the shellfish with what you are seeing with stresses from
climate change?
Mr. Peters. It has affected our shellfish, and what you
will see in the industry is that many of the reproduction, and
even when we aid that in nurseries and stuff, that the
shellfish larva is crashing. And it has to do with the economic
or the climate change, and the warm waters, and the
acidification of the Puget Sound. So we must, you know, respond
to that. And we are seeing it. Last year, our fishermen who
depend on that as income to support their families, we are on
the sidelines. We didn't fish for chum salmon, which is really
the main species that our fishermen fish for, so it does affect
us.
And if I could respond a little bit more to your question
earlier, one of the problems that we see with the funding from
the BIA, it is put into grants. And there is an incredible need
and more and more tribes are competing for those grants. And
what we ask is that they increase the base level funding
because that is where the problem is. Every tribe is facing
that, but yet when they get new money, they make us compete in
a grant when that is not fulfilling that trust responsibility
from the Federal government.
Ms. McCollum. And I'm keeping a running total of the number
of times we had during the healthcare testimony, grants were
coming up, and this makes my sixth hashmark. So thank you for
that. Thank you, gentlemen.
So for the second panel, we can get started with testimony.
There is the vote, so why don't I do this? I didn't do my
prepared remarks in the beginning because I wanted to make sure
that these gentlemen got through their testimony without being
interrupted. So I'll do that, and other members can go vote. If
they don't want to hear my prepared opening remarks, I won't
feel hurt if you go to leave to vote, but I will be right
behind you shortly.
This afternoon we are focusing on land trust and natural
resource management, including climate change, and that is why
I asked that specific question. This morning we heard about the
critical needs of Indian health both on and off reservation,
but I think this afternoon is particularly important because
these issues are key components of native culture and religion,
and they are integral to the survival of individual Indians who
rely on the resources and the subsistence as well as economic
activity that we have started to hear from about already.
Indian Country lacks the tax base enjoyed by other
governments, so the funding provided by the Federal government
is essential to tribal economic development. But it is not only
the Federal government's actions that impact tribal lands,
trust, and natural resources. Climate change is real, and it
poses a serious threat to Indian Country and native peoples.
Tribes are already struggling to protect their cultures and
religion. Rising sea levels and increasing temperatures make
this even harder. All of this requires the Federal government
to live up to its trust and treaty obligations to build tribes'
resiliency for the future. And I look forward to hearing from
the second panel and the remaining panels when we come back to
vote this afternoon, and I thank you all for being here.
And with that, we are in recess until we are back after
votes. Thank you.
(Recess.)
Mr. Joyce. Hi. If we could bring up the next panel, please.
Ms. McCollum. And as you are coming up, I might be leaving
to go to a defense classified briefing for a little bit, and
then I will be back, but I have read all the testimony and it
is great. So, Mr. Joyce, take over.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you very much. I certainly appreciate it.
I know it has been a little while, and I apologize for that.
Those votes break up what otherwise has been a good day here.
Five minutes for each of you, and then we will take any
questions at the end. We will start off with you, Chairman
Manuel.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION
WITNESS
EDWARD MANUEL, CHAIRMAN, TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION
Mr. Manuel. Mr. Manuel. OK. Good afternoon, Chairwoman, Ms.
McCollum and this distinguished subcommittee. My name is Edward
Manuel, and I am chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation, a tribe
with more than 34,000 located in southern Arizona. Tohono
O'odham Nation is one of the largest in the country, and we
share 62 miles the border with Mexico, the longest
international border of any named tribe in the United States.
And thank you for the opportunity to testify here today.
First, our water settlement. For the past several years, I
have testified about the serious water crisis we face because
the Nation's Southern Arizona Water Settlement Act is not being
funded. The act authorized up to $32 million to pay for
delivery of water and directed Interior to tell Congress how
much funding will be necessary to implement the settlement.
Unfortunately Interior has never fully funded the delivery of
water, and as a result, the Bureau of Reclamation projects that
our settlement may run out of funding for water delivery in the
very near future, forcing foreclosure of tribal farms, employee
layoffs, crop loan defaults, and breach of related agreements.
Although we continue to work with Reclamation to try to
address to the funding shortfall, the long-term stable funding
source for Indian water settlements is crucial, not only to
provide funding for tribes seeking water settlements, but also
to provide funding to tribes like the Nation that are facing
implementation challenges of existing water settlements. A
long-term funding source will provide tribes with fiscal
certainty and ensure timely implementation of water settlement.
Next, law enforcement. The Nation faces significant and
unique law enforcement challenges because of our shared Mexican
border and the size of our nation. Tribal police patrol remote
areas that are difficult to access, and radio communication
with law enforcement agencies is unreliable. And as a result,
our officers face increasing and sometimes unnecessary risk on
their lives. Drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and border
security divert limited tribal police resources from our
communities.
The Nation works closely with Border Patrol and other
Federal law enforcement agencies, while we still spend millions
of our own dollars and a third of our police department budget
to help meet Federal border security responsibilities. Our
police regularly investigate migrant deaths and pay for costly
taxes and no Federal funding assistance. The Nation also pays
all costs to address damage to our reservation, including the
removal of vehicles abandoned by smugglers and control of
wildland fires caused by cross-border illegal activity. We urge
Congress to provide more funding for tribal law enforcement to
improve law enforcement communication, hire and train officers,
purchase vehicles to meet border security obligations, and
increase the size of our correctional facilities.
Next, roads funding. According to NCI, the current deferred
maintenance backlog for BIA roads is approximately $290
million. The Nation has 735 miles of BIA roads, the sixth
largest total road mileage in Indian Country. Inadequate BIA
funding, monsoon rains and flooding, heavy usage by Border
Patrol vehicles all contribute to terrible road conditions.
During monsoon season, flooding washes out bridges, isolates
communities, strands children on school buses, and prevent
access for emergency vehicles. Congress must provide a
significant increase in funding for BIE reservation roads. It
is a serious safety hazard.
On a positive note, the fiscal year omnibus package
included language allowing Border Patrol to transfer funds to
BIA to fix reservation roads damaged by Border Patrol vehicles.
Some of that funding will be used to repair one of our roads
heavily used by Border Patrol which will protect tribal and
Federal law enforcement tribal members. We are grateful to
committee for addressing this critical funding issue and for
including similar language in the fiscal year 2019 funding
legislation.
Finally, healthcare funding. The Nation's hospital is over
50 years old, obsolete, and totally inadequate to meet the
Nation's healthcare needs. We waited more than 20 years for IHS
construction funding, and last year we finally received a small
amount to begin work on a replacement. Congress must provide
substantially increases for the IHS facilities construction
budget in fiscal year 2020.
Thank you. The Nation appreciates the subcommittee's
dedication to providing Indian Country with much-needed
resources in this challenging fiscal climate. I am happy to
answer any questions.
[The statement of Mr. Manuel follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, Chairman Manuel. Chairman Allen.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
JAMESTOWN S'KLALLAM TRIBE
WITNESS
W. RON ALLEN, TRIBAL CHAIRMAN AND CEO, JAMESTOWN S'KLALLAM TRIBE
Mr. Allen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and committee members.
For the record, my name is Ron Allen. I am the chairman and CEO
for the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe. We are located on the
northwestern border, the northern border, so we are on the
border of Canada. So bookend the country here at this
conversation.
So I spend a lot of time working with a number of different
forums that addressed this subject matter of trust lands and
natural resources, water rights, et cetera, with the National
Congress of American Indians and TBIC Forum over in the BIA,
and the Self-Governance Forum that I am very active in and been
involved with since 1988. And so a number of our
recommendations from my tribe is going to be relative to their
perspective.
I just want you to know that we highly endorse their
recommendations. They do a great job at NCAI as well as NIHB.
We know that you heard from NIHB and some of our healthcare
advocates this morning with regard to that matter, and we just
have a strong belief in what they have been promoting and
advocating in area of healthcare as well.
Self-governance is a concept that is very important to this
subject matter, and the reason it is important because it is
about how tribes take control over our affairs. So to say the
obvious to you, you know, the amount of resources that the
Federal government provides us to the 573 Indian nations is
somewhere in the neighborhood of $21 billion, give or take. The
need for all the different programs that we try to address with
our communities, from natural resources to healthcare to
education and so forth, is probably north of $200 billion. So
the question of the day is, is the United States government
ever going to be able to bridge that gap, and I say the answer
is a rhetorical question, the answer is no.
So how do we get there so that tribes can be on parity with
America and have the same kinds of opportunities that we aspire
throughout the country. And self-governance, in our mind, is
it, but United States government does have an obligation to be
able to help us move that agenda forward. In our testimony we
referenced the Civil Rights Commission's report. They updated
the 2003 report just this last year that talk about the broken
promises is the way they characterized it, and it talks about
the unstable funding, the inconsistent funding, the deficit of
resources to address our community needs. So whether it is
natural resources or public safety, healthcare, education, and
down the line, it is a huge challenge for us and it is a
balancing act.
In our opinion, self-governance allows us a lot more
discretion as a government. It respects us as a government and
allows us to make those choices based on the discretion and the
priorities of our own communities. So for us, it works. So our
testimony is advocating, you know, as you have a control over
the EPA funds, the EPA funds is critically important.
We in the northwest, like many of our tribes whether the
southwest or Great Lakes, who work very hard, environmental
protection matters, and so we use EPA funds in or order to
accomplish those objectives. Whether we are working on our
rivers or whether we are working with communities and
collaborating with agriculture communities, the timber
industries, the municipalities and county governments, all who
are managing growth and development, everything from stormwater
to wastewater systems, et cetera, that all can have desecrating
and diminishing impacts on our natural resources.
For us in the northwest, salmon is a big deal to us. It is
a multibillion dollar industry. So we have advocated for a
number of areas in here to try to make that happen. We know
that you have been considering infrastructure considerations,
the White House is, and we know that you have been deliberating
on it. Infrastructure is as important to us as anyplace else,
and it is relative to natural resource and environmental issues
as well.
I know I am trying to focus in on natural resources and the
complexities with for finfish and shellfish, et cetera, in the
northwest. But on the economic side, which is really where we
will generate our true tax base, our real revenue base for us
to become independent. So loan guarantee programs, surety
bonding program guarantee programs that many people don't think
about, so expanding that program, encouraging the BIA to move
in that direction so our companies can get access to surety
bonding to move those companies forward.
So I will stop there. There are many things that are in
here, and I appreciate you accepting our testimony for the
record.
[The statement of Mr. Allen follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you very much, Chairman Allen. I can tell
you one thing, there is nowhere you see more bipartisan
agreement and less getting done than infrastructure in the 7
years I have been here. Everybody agrees it is a problem.
Everybody knows how to address the problem, but we just can't
seem to allocate the money to address the problem, certainly
not the Appropriations Committee. We would if we had something,
a vehicle to put it in.
Ms. McCollum. I am glad you cleared that with the policy
committee.
Mr. Allen. Me, too.
Mr. Joyce. That is right. [Laughter.]
No more editorializing on my part. Chairman Mike, please.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
DUCKWATER SHOSHONE TRIBE
WITNESS
RODNEY MIKE, CHAIRMAN, DUCKWATER SHOSHONE TRIBE
Mr. Mike. OK. Thank you. Thank you for the time to allow me
to speak to you on behalf of my tribe. My name is Rodney Mike.
I am the chairman of the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe. We are a
federally-recognized tribes which is located roughly about 4
hours north of Las Vegas, Nevada, about 4 hours east of Reno,
Nevada, and about 4 hours west of Salt Lake City. So you can
kind of see where we are at.
We are very, very isolated, OK? Our isolation really causes
a lot of problems from many standpoints, from healthcare, to
the basic education that the high school kids need, economic
development. It is just a nice piece of God's country. It is a
beautiful place, but, boy, it is a hard place to make a living.
And we have about 400 members in our tribe, a little bit more
than 400 members of our tribe. Roughly about 175 of those
people live there, and most of the population live on the
reservation are the seniors and elders because the young people
have to go away to our neighboring towns and throughout the
State to make a living. So the healthcare is a big issue on the
reservation right now at the time with the aging population,
OK?
This recent government shutdown has really opened our eyes
to the future of our tribe because of the funding. Like I said,
we are solely dependent on 100 percent funding from United
States government, which we are very thankful for, but when we
had those hiccups in our system, we come about that close to
closing our doors. I know some of our neighbors actually did
closer doors from the day that announcement came through. So
luckily, for the first time in the history of Nevada, our
governor, Mr. Sisolak, took time to sit down with all the
western Shoshone leaders, the nine Shoshone leaders of the
western State of Nevada. Eastern State of Nevada, excuse me.
And he wanted to see how the shutdown affected us. And he took
a good hour and a half of his day to visit with us, and we
really appreciate what he did. But he wanted a clear
understanding of how it affected Indian people and the
communities of his State. So anyway, he has got an open door
policy, and that is the first time that has ever in our State,
and we are very thankful for that.
But anyway, I have got so much to talk about. Can I buy
some more time? [Laughter.]
You know, I listened to the other people that are giving
statements and their comments, and I was told by a friend of
mine who said you take 10 people and you put them in a circle,
and you have them throw all their problems out in the middle.
He said, pretty soon you are going to want yours back, you
know? [Laughter.]
So I don't know. It seems like a lot of our problems, we
have the same problem in different forms, you know, but I think
we are all here for one reason and that is to try to make
everything better for the people that we represent, you know.
So some of the things that we definitely want to see in the
future is when the government gets into the situations they do,
it should not affect the funding for the Indian tribes
whatsoever, you know. It shouldn't, you know. The scare with
the shutdown for just the basic needs of healthcare for some of
our people really got serious, especially people on dialysis,
you know. Our nearest major medical is, well, 75 miles away.
Our nearest Walmart is 200 miles away just to give you an idea.
So getting physicians to come out to Duckwater in a rural area
is very, very difficult. They want to know Walmart you tell
them it is 200 miles away, bye, you know? I will find someplace
closer to work. So it is a tough place, but it is a beautiful
place.
We have road issues. We would like to see more funding for
road issues. We have dirt roads that high school kids travel
every day, about 40 miles of that, OK? We have just basically
reservation roads that are falling apart, that haven't repaired
in 40 years that I know of. They are almost dirt roads again,
you know? So the only source of employment is the tribe or if
you are a rancher, but the cattle industry isn't that great.
And we recently just got a land expansion with the Bureau of
Land Management for another 33,000 acres, and they were
supposed to have that surveyed so we could start fencing that
in, but they don't have no money. We don't know where the lines
are, so we are going to have another war with BLM on cattle
wandering over into ranges they are not supposed to be in this
summer.
So we have a whole list of different problems, but anything
that we can get done as funding for any part of health, you
know, the BIA, we would sure appreciate it. But thank you for
your time. I appreciate the time you have given me.
[The statement of Mr. Mike follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. You still stayed on time.
Mr. Mike. OK. [Laughter.]
Mr. Joyce. Do you have any questions?
Ms. Pingree. No, but I just wanted to say thank you very
much. As you know, I came in late, but I really appreciate all
of you taking the time to be here with us today and the work
that you do to represent the people you represent. Thank you so
much for that.
Mr. Joyce. OK. Thank you. Chairman Manuel, you mentioned in
your testimony that at the beginning of fiscal year 2018, the
subcommittee authorized the transfer of funds from Customs and
Border Protection to the BIA for road maintenance along the
borders. Can you tell us about how those funds have helped?
Mr. Manuel. We have three roads going to the international
boundary, and Border Patrol utilizes those three roads. They
are 18 miles to 20 miles from the main road, and so they are
paved roads, but eventually they turn into, the chairman is
sitting over there, dirt roads, so because they are being
utilized 24 hours a day by Border Patrol. So we have been
trying to get Border Patrol to put in some money to help us fix
those roads, but they can't do it because they are saying they
are being limited because of the language in the appropriations
bill. They can't put any money towards BIA roads.
So they put in that language back in 2017 or 2018 to allow
Border Patrol to transfer some money to BIA to help fix the
roads. And so the money transferred over. I think there is
about $18 million that was set aside for that one particular
road. So they are working on that road now to fix that road
using that money.
Mr. Joyce. So it is helping.
Mr. Manuel. It is helping, yes.
Mr. Joyce. OK. You could always use more I understand,
but----
Mr. Manuel. Definitely. We still have more roads that they
are utilizing.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you all for coming here and testifying
today. We appreciate your input, and thank you for your
service.
Mr. Manuel. Thank you.
Mr. Allen. I think I am on the next panel. I am staying
here. [Laughter.]
Ms. Pingree [presiding]. There you go. I guess we are ready
for our next panel. Hello. I haven't been here earlier today,
and I am sorry for that. I am Congresswoman Pingree. I
represent Maine, and we are very proud of our tribal
communities in Maine. We are happy to go through your
testimony, and I have just been asked if, Mr. Allen, if you
would be willing to go last because Representative Kilmer is on
his way and he wanted to be sure to have a chance to hear your
testimony.
Mr. Allen. OK.
Ms. Pingree. So if that is good with you, we will just
start with Mr. James.
Mr. Joyce. (Off audio.) [Laughter.]
Ms. Pingree. OK. Put you in charge of that. [Laughter.]
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
YUROK TRIBAL COUNCIL
WITNESS
JOSEPH JAMES, CHAIRMAN, YUROK TRIBAL COUNCIL
Mr. James. All right [speaking Native language]. Joseph L.
James. I am the chairman for the Yurok Tribe. I come from the
village of Sregon located on the lower Klamath River in
northern California. Good afternoon, distinguished committee
members. The Yurok Tribe is grateful for this opportunity to
provide testimony about ways that we can partner with the
Federal government to prepare for an adaptive climate change
and be part of the solution.
The Yurok Tribe is the largest tribe in California with
over 6,200 tribal members, including a reservation in the lower
45 miles of the Klamath River, which is the third largest
salmon-producing river on the West Coast United States. For us,
climate change is no longer discussed as something that will
happen in the future. It is impacting us now. We have been on
the lower Klamath River since the beginning of time. We can see
the changes occurring now, many of the particular effects of
climate change, including floods, droughts, extreme fire
behavior, and increased stress to river life.
The role of the Yurok Tribal government is to protect our
people and our resources, which means we must be prepared to
respond to all these crises. My testimony today focuses on four
key areas of funding opportunities that would empower us to
respond to climate change. One, passage of H.R. 1312 empowers
Yurok land management capacity. Two, increase Yurok base
funding to proactively prepare for climate change instead of
reacting after disasters. Three, provide adequate funding for
Yurok collaborative emergency response for frontline action.
Four, support Yurok fisheries disaster relief, water quality,
and fish restoration initiatives.
Since time immemorial, the Yurok Tribe has managed its
natural resources. As we have seen in Northern California
recent years, failure to manage fires or fuels appropriately
can have deadly consequences. The Yurok Lands Act, H.R. 1312,
recently introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives will
enable the tribe to better manage our lands to prevent life-
threatening fires, mitigate other losses to tribal cultural
resources, protect our members from natural disasters. This
bill reflects our partnership with the Redwood National Park
and the U.S. Forest Service. This bill is a key element of our
response to climate change, and we encourage the House to pass
it.
The Yurok Tribe has culturally used fire to manage the
landscape. We are integrating this cultural knowledge into
modern day fuels management. Our tribal government operates
under base funding provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs
with a minimum shortfall of $13 million. The initial funding
level was set decades ago when the number of tribal members was
around 2,000, and there fewer than 30 tribal employees. Today
there are over 6,200 tribal citizens and 500 employees. This
increase will help meet our critical needs.
We respectfully request funding to increase our critical
emergency response capacities. Fire and floods are our main
threats, both of which have increased in frequency and
severity. We have had to declare a tribal disaster on February
28th, 2019 because of the weather impacts on the Yurok
Reservation. The response to our reservation is very
challenging with a one-lane road, no cell service. Most of our
houses do not have electricity or no running water. The tribe
responds to emergencies more effectively than outside county or
Federal because we know our land. Specifically, we will be
staffing for law enforcement and wildland firefighting training
and equipment.
The Yurok people have always been and will be a water and
fishing people of the Klamath River. When fish runs are too low
to support fishing, the impacts to our community and way of
life are substantial. In 2016, 2017, and 2018, stocks were too
low to support our commercial fishery. In 2017, for the first
time in history, we closed our subsistence fall fishing. That
was a very, very meaningful, very tough decision to make for
our people to let them know that they can't fish for
subsistence fishing on the Klamath River.
The stocks were so low because of the high rates of fish
disease that killed our baby salmon. Disease was caused by poor
conditions caused by the lack of heavy flows and bad water
quality on the Klamath River, which in part is created by
drought from climate change. The tribe received a minimum
amount of fishery disaster relief funding authorized in the
Magnuson-Stevens Act of the 2016 declaration, and is still
waiting for a response to the 2017 and 2018 disasters. The
tribe encourages the subcommittee to ensure fisheries disaster
relief funding is included in the forthcoming appropriations
bill.
The Yurok Tribe supports large-scale water quality and
habitat improvement projects throughout Klamath Basin in
northern California and southern Oregon. Support for funding
for fisheries restoration projects and water quality
improvement in the Klamath Basin is critical to help the
communities throughout the Basin return to sustainability.
In conclusion, we thank the subcommittee for allowing us to
share our Yurok story [speaking Native language].
[The statement of Mr. James follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you. Rhonda Pitka.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
COUNCIL OF ATHABASCAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS
WITNESS
RHONDA PITKA, COMMISSIONER, COUNCIL OF ATHABASCAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS
Ms. Pitka. Hi. I am Rhonda Pitka, chief of the Village of
Beaver. I am also vice chair of the Council of Athabascan
Tribal Governments. The Council of Athabascan Tribal
Governments is a consortium of 10 tribal governments in the
Yukon flats of Alaska. We live within two wildlife refuges, and
we border a national park and preserve. We live with Yukon
Flats National Wildlife Refuge and the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge, so much of our land in our area is Federal.
We have a natural resources department, and normally our
natural resources department manager would be here providing
this testimony for you. He is much more of an expert than I am.
I have a lot more wide-ranging interests than he does, but
right now I am trying to kill him because I want him to do a
contract crew for the BLM Fire Service in 2 months' lead time.
So he is super happy with me right now. Hi, Bruce. [Laughter.]
The government shutdown has affected our ability to provide
service with that contract crew. It has cut the lead time down
considerably. We have one of the first non-BIA self-governance
agreements in the Nation with the Bureau of Land Management,
and it is because of the relationship that we have with our
Alaska office. That agreement, though, has been affected by the
government shutdown. It is a, what do they call it,
discretionary? Discretionary funding from BLM, so it is pretty
much up to them what happens with that.
We finished negotiations on that contract back in October,
and so we expected it to go through the normal process, you
know, go to the State Bureau of Land Management, go get 300
signatures before it finally goes to Congress, and then it has
to sit in Congress for 90 days. The government shutdown
affected our ability to get real clear guidance on that AFA or
even where it was. So we just spoke with our senator this
morning, Lisa Murkowski. Her staff is going to look into where
it is in the process because we can't really get answers on it
right now. It is in such a murky, gray area.
The government shutdown has really affected our abilities
in a lot of different ways to provide services for our people.
Even getting password resets for websites has been just a
challenge. It has been a nightmare all around. Our accountants
are slave drivers, so we have been able to maintain our
reserves and work through the shutdown in that manner, but that
places an undue burden on our government and on our governance
structures for our healthcare facilities also.
The main programs that we have is our healthcare, so it has
been kind of difficult for me to only focus on one issue for
this testimony, but 5 minutes isn't really all that long, and I
am an Athabascan chief and I can talk all day. [Laughter.]
Our ability to build tribal capacity has been affected
through this government shutdown and through not having the AFA
in a timely manner. We want to work on the contract crew, and I
am killing my natural resource director to get it done this
year because that is one of the main ways that our people have
long-term employment. Things have not been going into the
Federal Register in a timely manner for contracts, so it has
really difficult trying to navigate through this process. We
would appreciate help on that.
So the chairwoman, Ms. McCollum, has said she wanted to ask
some questions about climate change in our area. I could
probably talk about that for more than the 1 minute remaining.
But we live on the Yukon River. It is one of the major salmon
rivers in Alaska. We only get one type of salmon in our part of
the river, and that is the Chinook salmon. And our ability to
fish has been hampered so many times in recent years. It breaks
my heart that the chairman, you know, told me about the
subsistence shutdowns. There have been years when we have not
been able to fish because of climate change, because of those
effects. And that has long-ranging effects for public safety,
for the ability of our families to take care of each other.
That affects our economies. We are a mix of subsistence and
cash economy.
So having climate adaptation plans is important, and that
that sort of funding is really crucial. I have sponsored at
Tanana Chiefs Convention a resolution this year to move forward
with climate change plans for a regional level. And I think
that having more of that type funding is really needed. Thank
you.
[The statement of Ms. Pitka follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you. Mr. Allen.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
U.S. SECTION OF THE PACIFIC SALMON COMMISSION
WITNESS
W. RON ALLEN, COMMISSIONER, U.S. SECTION OF THE PACIFIC SALMON
COMMISSION
Mr. Allen. Thank you, Madam Chair and committee members.
Once again, I am Ron Allen. I am the chair for the Jamestown
S'Klallam Tribe located in western Washington State. This
testimony that I am providing you is coming as an alternate
commissioner representing 25 tribes in the northwest, and one
of them is in Alaska, the Metlakatla community in southeast
Alaska. And it is specifically about the U.S.-Canada Pacific
Salmon Treaty that was negotiated back in 1985.
And every 10 years we renegotiate chapters that control
each of the species. So the Chinook, Coho, Chum, Sockeye, and
Pink fisheries are all in different chapters, and they are all
controlled by those chapters. And we use 10-year regimes
because it allows us to go through a couple of cycles and a
partial cycle, and then it helps us decide what we are going to
do next.
It took us 2 years to negotiate this new set of chapters
with regard to each of these species. It is a very complicated
process. Over the years I have been involved since 1985 when we
negotiated, and I have been in different forums. You basically
have a commission that oversees the whole treaty, and then you
have these panels that control different areas from Alaska
through lower 48. And it is a very complicated arena.
We have, most people don't realize that in this
international forum, a number different appropriation
committees have jurisdiction over these forums. So the
international forum is the State Department, and that controls
the International Secretariat office and their budget. And then
the States are involved, and the State receives a fair amount
of resources from Commerce. And then NOAA is involved, so NOAA
and National Marine Fisheries--it should be ``Indian,'' but it
is not--National Marine Fisheries folks are involved as well.
And so their money comes through Commerce, which is a bigger
chunk of change when it comes to implementing the treaty.
But for the tribes and as well as U.S. Fish and Wildlife,
it comes through Interior, and we currently receive around $4.3
million for the 25 tribes. And we are asking for close a $1
million increase in it. So you have my testimony and little
more details in the testimony. But I need the committee to
understand why it is so important for the tribes to be engaged.
We receive resources in order to manage our natural
resource responsibilities, everything from finfish to shellfish
within the lower 48 in our usual and custom territory. But in
this international forum we have to be involved in a very
complex forum. Each of these species and each of the stocks of
the species has to be monitored. They are tagged, and you do
and you discern who is catching what fish in Alaska, British
Columbia, and the lower 48. And this time we negotiated a new
metric system. In the testimony I refer to it as CYER--it is a
calendar year exploitation rate--and it is complicated. And so
everybody has to have a role.
Well, the tribes have a critical role because we are on
every river, and so we know what is coming back and how they
are fishing. And more often than not, when you think of the
stock comes out of our river system--we call it gravel-to-
gravel--and so the fish goes up north, it gets intercepted, and
then it gets intercepted, and gets intercepted before it gets
back to us. We are the last in line. We have to make sure that
escapement goals get up there on top of that. So that is a
harvest management role. This is a harvest management treaty.
That is its role.
Then there is the habitat side of it. We call it the four
H's: the habitat side, the hatchery side, and the hydro side.
So they all play roles with regard to the welfare of salmon in
the northwest. And so the main point is this is a multibillion
dollar industry. It is essential that the tribes be involved.
We are always at the cutting edge and the front lines with
regard to what works, what doesn't work, and how do we modify
the system.
So we are asking for help so that we have the resources to
be able to counter or complement the state and the Federal
government with regard to the welfare of salmon. And one of our
good mentors and friends from the northwest, Billy Frank, Jr.,
always refers to us as the salmon people, and so we think that
we are the canary in the northwest with regard to, you know,
the health of salmon for the northwest. Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Allen follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you all very much for your testimony. I
will just say a couple of brief things. We really appreciate
your focus on the resources and helping us to better understand
a little bit about the impact of climate change in your
communities. And, Mr. James, you said specifically when you
have experienced these times when the salmon doesn't return at
all, and you talked a little bit about the health of the river,
is some of that due to upstream pollution that then affects the
fish coming in? I am not really familiar with the geography
there. What are the greatest sources of the problem that you
are experiencing?
Mr. Allen. Well, it is a number of factors. Water quality,
warm water flows. A lot of it plays into that as we manage the
lower Klamath River with our fisheries department. We have a,
for me, is a state-of-the-art fisheries team, science team that
actually manages. We have a regulatory that we do for our
council. So there are number of things. Upstream water quality
and water temperatures are a huge impact to us, and that is the
climate change. And, again, we mentioned we had to tell our
tribe memberships that, hey, you can't fish this year.
Ms. Pingree. I can't imagine.
Mr. Allen. And that is our way of life. You know, that is a
number of things, you know. That is our cultural. That is our
ceremony. That is our tradition. My mother taught me how to
fish. That is how we are as river people, and to tell our
tribal citizens that they can't fish this year for subsistence,
that is heartbreaking. But, again, we want to make sure they
the abundance of fish keeps coming, you know, for the following
years. And so that is some of the things, the hard tasks that
we have taken and impose on ourselves, so.
Ms. Pingree. And when you say ``warming,'' you are talking
about warming because of climate change?
Mr. Allen. Correct, climate change, water quality. There
are things that we could do. Creek restoration, habitat
restoration. You know, you are improving the streams, the
creeks. Part of that is all funding that you can do for us. We
can't sit there and stand by and watch it, and so that is what
we have been proactive of improving the water quality of the
lower Klamath River. We go after grant funding, and so, again,
if there is anything that this committee could do to help us,
that would be much appreciated.
I do want to say thank you to Mr. Kilmer and his staff
regarding the fisheries funding. We really appreciate that
along with all the other tribes--California, Oregon,
Washington, Alaska. So we appreciate that for the committee for
providing those funding for us for that disaster.
Ms. Pingree. That is great. Anything either of you two want
to add to this?
Mr. Allen. Well, what I would say is climate change is very
real, you know. We in the northwest would say, you know, we are
going to call it what it is, and we are seeing the experience
of it. It is changing the migratory patterns. It is changing
the predatory patterns. Predators that are going further north
has become particularly problematic for us. The warming waters,
the lower impacts. The snow packs in the winter are lighter,
and so that means that it is a problem with regard to the
rivers in terms of adequate water. Everybody is drawing on the
water. The aquafers, they all feed the aquafers and so forth.
And so and we compete for other interests. The agriculture
industry, they need their water needs as well. So it is a tough
balancing act. So we are trying to figure out how to balance
it, how to understand the changing patterns in terms of its
impact. Warming waters is a huge problem for us, and while you
are balancing, it is not just the climate change, but it is a
balancing of growth. You have growth going on in America and we
do in the northwest, and so you balance all these activities--
timber industry, agriculture industry, growth activities, big
industries. It could be Boeing. It can be Microsoft in the
northwest, for example, big buildings, stormwater, wastewater
systems, et cetera. They all add to it, to the challenge.
And we are insisting that salmon will not get lost in that
mix. So climate change, a watchword. I know in Alaska it is
huge. We visit Alaska a lot, and so we know how challenging it
is up there, but it is not just an Alaskan problem.
Ms. Pingree. Right.
Mr. Allen. It is throughout the United States.
Ms. Pingree. Anything else you wanted to add?
Ms. Pitka. Yeah, I just wanted to say that, you know, we do
have the climate change problem in Alaska that are very
serious. We have warming issues. Today in DC I saw on the news
that it was the coldest day of the year so far. This is, like,
a mild day in Anchorage. [Laughter.]
Ms. Pitka. You know, we would really appreciate our weather
back. I felt kind of bad that I brought the cold with me.
Ms. Pingree. Yeah, you can have the weather. [Laughter.]
Ms. Pitka. But the health of our rivers is crucial. By the
time the next salmon get to our area of the river, it has gone
through probably about a thousand miles. So that is basically
the only species of salmon that our people are able to harvest
that is any good to eat for people. So we don't have the
ability to adapt and change prey, and we also don't have, I
guess, the desire to do so. That is our cultural resource, but
only that. It is the only resource that we get in our area of
the Yukon River. And we have numerous challenges, you know, in
this particular area, not only climate. We have erosion issues
on our rivers.
Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council was doing an
erosion study, so they went down the river in a boat, and they
said they were going to do all this mapping. So the lady told
me it was easier for her to map areas that were not eroded than
the areas that were eroded. So the erosion affects the ability
for the salmon to spawn in our rivers, and it affects our
ability to fish in areas that we have traditionally fished. It
has changed so many different ways, in our area in particular.
Alaska is such a geographically diverse place. Every region
has its own unique challenges. One of the other challenges that
we face is we are a transboundary river. We have escapement
goals with Canada for the salmon, so if by the time it hits our
area the goals aren't being met, then the managers have to cut
off our subsistence fishing, which is a travesty. In my
particular region, we have a population of about 1,200 people,
but every single one of those families are fishing families. My
family, in particular, is probably one of two families along my
section that still live in fish camp in the summer time. We go
to there in the beginning of summer. We set up and then we fish
for when we are allowed. And of course we are legal fishers,
and we stop immediately when there are shutdowns.
But it is challenging as it is to be a subsistence
fisherman without these outside influences of climate change,
undue regulations, and the burden that is placed on our people
for that transboundary escapement goal being met. Thank you.
Ms. Pingree. Thank you very much.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. Chairman James, you were talking
about doing forest management and fuel management in
California. Have you been subjected to any of the fires up
there?
Mr. James. Absolutely. Northern California, we are impacted
by fires. You know, unfortunately there was a lot of fires in
our area. And so we do a lot of fire prevention with our Yurok
wildland department. We do thinning of the forests for
prevention of fires, but also restoration work so our animals
can come back. They feed, and so we are doing a number of
things. That is what we have always done since time for us as
an Indian people. We use fire, but we use it in the way of
balance. Know when to burn, know what you are burning, and why
you are you burning it for.
Mr. Joyce. Has the management helped you contain the fires?
Mr. James. Absolutely. We were able to do, it is basically
preventative maintenance.
Mr. Joyce. Right.
Mr. James. And getting in front of it knowing that you are
vulnerable for living in a canyon where there could be a fire,
and that could take out your whole community. And so we are
looking at it that way. We always have been looking it at that
way, but it is more important and vital now with all the fires
of climate change, of the heat. Again, we don't get that lack
of a snowfall in preparation to help our water systems and
environment. And so we are doing those preventive measures, but
there is never enough money for that we get from Bureau of
Indian Affairs for our wildland fire department.
And so to answer your question, absolutely, we are
impacted, but we are looking at it, too, to also bring back our
resources, too.
Mr. Joyce. Is there any issue with the State of California
and some of the things that they won't let the lands around you
do as far as the reservoirs to trap the melting snow for the
farm areas? Do you think that has changed the river flows or
created issues with the river?
Mr. James. We don't have the reservoirs on us.
Mr. Joyce. Not your property, but other properties that are
upstream from you, say. My understanding from a member of this
committee who is no longer here, but he is from California's
Central Valley, he was saying they were no longer able to trap
the melting snow to use in farm production or to help the
river. The idea in California was to let everything go out to
the ocean and bring it back and desalinate it.
Mr. James. Right.
Mr. Joyce. I was wondering if the State's policy has
affected your tribal lands.
Mr. James. No, our tribal policy is to let the river free
flow. We understand reservoirs' entrapment of water for those
things. So it is a balancing act for us back at home. We are
working to see how we can better improve our relationship with
the State of California regarding resources that could improve
our way of life because we are always looking to partner. It
makes sense all the way around----
Mr. Joyce. Sure.
Mr. James [continuing]. Is to utilize and stretch your
resources for the betterment not just of the reservation, but
the community and everybody that is around us. And, again, fire
and lack of fire protection is critical there in California.
Mr. Joyce. It is one of the static--you were going to say
something, Chairman?
Mr. Allen. Well, in our area what we are doing is
developing reservoirs, capturing winter water to be used in the
lean months when droughts happen and there is less water and so
that it doesn't impede on salmon spawning. But what it does do,
it captures the water when there is abundance of water or snow
or whatever it might be. And then just hold it, and then the
agricultural industries can use it, et cetera. So it is a
little different approach. It may differ from river system to
river system. But in our area, we are finding it is a
successful model.
Mr. Joyce. That would make sense, and that was the point I
was trying to make. The State of California has created some
issues for you on your lands.
Mr. James. It has, but we also work with them regarding
release of water flow from dams for our salmon and our river
restoration. We are into taking out the dams. 2021, four dams
are going to be removed on the upper Klamath River. And so for
us is we want to make sure those fish will be up there to get
up there since time immemorial. But to answer your question, we
are working with the State of California to release water flow
as the dams are still standing there to help out our fisheries
resource.
Mr. Joyce. Great. Thank you all for coming here and for
your testimony today. I know my distinguished colleague, Mr.
Kilmer, has a few questions, specifically for the man who had
to miss his flight to wait here for you. [Laughter.]
Ms. Pingree. The floor is yours.
Mr. Kilmer. Thank you. Thanks for being here. Thank you,
Madam Chair. Chairman Allen, I just want to express my
appreciation for your commitment to the negotiation process,
and to see a result that ensures long-term conservation of
these stocks, both for the tribal and non-tribal fisheries. I
think what is clear is now it is our job to fund it, right, to
actually make sure that there is necessary funding in place to
implement this.
I know we are a little short on time, but very briefly, can
you just say what is at stake if this isn't implemented due to
a lack of funding?
Mr. Allen. Thank you, Congressman. What is at stake is that
this is a multibillion industry. It is not just fishermen. It
is all the tertiary industries that depend on the salmon
industry, are all dependent on a successful one. If we don't
make it work and we don't have the resources to implement a new
regime--it is a new model, it is new metric system--in order to
determine the status of all the stocks, and the balancing act
of who can catch what where and try to get all the stocks back
to what we call sustainable levels. We just do not want it to
degrade further than what it is.
This package that we put together with Canada, we have
fisheries problems in British Columbia, but we have serious
problems in Puget Sound. We couldn't resolve them totally by
just the harvest management side. We have habitat issues that
we need to deal with. We need a bypass with regard to dams that
aren't going to be removed so that we have fish ladders that
can get around them. And hatchery because it is a balancing act
of trying to restore the natural stock, but providing some
artificial stocks.
And part of that is the Orca whale which is out there in
the northwest. It is a big deal to the northwest. It is a part
of who we are as well. And they basically live on Chinook
salmon. They have a very delicate palate that they like, and so
we need to produce more Chinook salmon for them. So it is a
combination of being able to make this regime work, and it is
always a balancing act between us and Canada. We both have a
role and a job to do. Our interest comes from the perspective
of the tribes and each of the rivers. We all pay attention to
those stocks, the different species that come back to our
river. It is not just Chinook, but it is the other species as
well, but Chinook just happens to be king. They call it king
salmon for a reason.
And so we want to make sure that we have the resources so
that we can cross-check as we go from year to year the metrics
and how well we are performing from the fisheries in the north
up in Alaska to British Columbia and then in our own backyard.
Mr. Kilmer. Thank you. I yield back. Thank you.
Ms. Pingree. Thank you all. I will just say as you are
departing, I represent the State of Maine, and so we are very
familiar with dam removal and, of course, the Atlantic salmon,
which are highly prized where we are and the challenges of
keeping species like that going on in this particular time. But
dam removal has certainly been critical to the work that we
have been able to do. There are good fish passages that
actually work.
Again, thank you all for being here with us today, and we
have one more panel.
Voice. Thank you.
Mr. Kilmer. Thanks.
Ms. Pingree. Good afternoon. Thank you very much for being
with us here today. We are going to just move the order a tiny
bit. We will start at this, that is how we will do it because,
Mr. Johnston, Mr. Kilmer has to go back to the floor to debate
weighty matters that are being considered today about--what are
we debating today?
Mr. Kilmer. H.R. 1.
Ms. Pingree. Right, H.R. 1, our voting rights, ethics
package, and campaign finance reform. That way at least he will
have a chance to hear from one of you.
Mr. Johnstone. My pleasure. Thank you very much.
Ms. Pingree. If you don't mind starting, we will go ahead.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
NORTHWEST INDIAN FISHERIES COMMISSION
WITNESS
EDWARD JOHNSTONE, TREASURER, NORTHWEST INDIAN FISHERIES COMMISSION
Mr. Johnstone. It gives me great honor to be here
representing the 20 member tribes of the Northwest Indian Fish
Commission, and I appreciate the opportunity to the Chair and
the committee and my congressman, Congressman Kilmer.
The 20 member tribes of the Northwest Indian Fish
Commission in western Washington, from the snowcaps of the
Cascades to the white caps the Pacific Ocean, is our treaty
area, the entire Olympic peninsula up to the Canadian border
and down to Point Chehalis and inward to the east. The tribes
formed the Northwest Indian Fish Commission shortly after the
Bolt decision in 1974-1975. Paramount in that you will see
later here is rights protection. But I really appreciate this
opportunity.
I come with the voice of my elders and the voice of my
ancestors that supply me with the wherewithal to even stand or
sit before a committee. It is such a high honor to represent my
people, that are born and those that have gone before me and
those are yet to come. Three generations in my family that I
have to protect, and I have to protect what my brother, Guy
McMines, fought for, and what Billy Frank fought for, and what
the representatives from these other brother and sister
committees--the Great Lakes, the Alaska, the Columbia River--
and what we represent.
I come a long ways just to even introduce myself as Ed
Johnstone, Quinault tribal member and treasurer of the
Northwest Indian Fish Commission. And, you know, the
opportunity this morning that I heard the chair talk about was
we can even talk about climate, and we heard climate discussed
here just briefly in some of this testimony. And if you look at
our written testimony and we have enough dialogue, we could
talk about the four or five that hopefully I can quickly get to
that talk about how that threat is to climate and what it means
to us in these changing times.
But I started this by looking at how far we have come with
this committee over time, just in my time, on the trail with
Billy Frank. And, you know, listening to Ron and others that
have been before you that we have come a long ways. We have a
long ways to go, but what I was looking at is the ``Quiet
Crisis''' report from 2003, and I looked at what it was talking
about. And what it talked about is the health and wellbeing of
our people, our education, our infrastructure, and where we are
in these times so many years after we signed those treaties or
whether we are standing on our Federal recognition, us tribes,
us Indian people, as Billy Frank would say.
And then I looked a little further and I looked at the new
report that got started in 2015, and this gentleman right here,
my congressman was one of the signatories that asked for a new
review that came out in August--or excuse me--December of 2018
sent to the President. It talks about that unmet need. And, you
know, so I looked at our appropriations request, and I said,
well, you know, gee, that makes a lot of sense because we are
under a tremendous amount of pressure because of climate.
Now, everything that we talked about in many, many years of
coming to these hearings are still in place, but the big
exclamation point is climate. When we talk about Anderson
Glacier disappearing in the Olympic Mountains which feeds the
Quinault River, which feeds the iconic Quinault blueback salmon
that is in peril, that may disappear in my lifetime. President
Sharp, my council, must like the gentleman here from Yurok,
just like you are going to hear from the rest of this panel,
just like you hear from the Yukon, these salmon stocks are in
trouble, and our home rivers, the water is so warm that the
adults can't make it to spawn. They run out of oxygen. Then
their progeny, the little ones that come out of the gravel, it
is warm water, exacerbated by a predation, the unbalance.
All these things are unbalanced because there is no normal,
natural function anymore. It is all changing. The predation is
seals and sea lions and so forth. You know, those things are
all changing. So geographic, where am I going with this and
thanking the congressman, and I looked at the new ``Quiet
Crisis,'' and I'm saying, OK, it's a new edition of that unmet
need, and this is what we are talking about with Chairman
Allen, the unmet need, all of us up here that are talking about
our natural resources.
And we have been real. You have asked us to be real over
time. So we are not putting this big, huge number out there. We
are trying to go incrementally, incrementally as we take these
issues on. We need the big number, like Chairman Allen said,
and we all are going to express about the dynamics or the
challenges that we are facing, and we challenge them together,
all of us. And we are placed based as the young lady said
before, you know, particularly with our treaty right.
So, you know, when we talk about Puget Sound geographic,
the EPA, that is big. How do we get there? Well, we use that
SSHIAP money. Look in there, that SSHIAP money, that is how we
do our watershed planning, the state-of-the-art documents that
shows what these watersheds' conditions are in. And then it
follows you into hatchery operations and maintenance because we
are dependent more now than ever on our existence with that
salmon for those hatchery fish that you lead you in to look at
the additional tagging trailer that we need because of those
requirements Chairman Allen is talking with the tagging and the
data and all that stuff that is important. There is a way to
really make sense, and we have talked to your staffs, and they
are A number 1, and they can help you help us give you the
information that gives you the support that you can stand up
for Indian Country and stand up for our people, those yet
unborn and those of us that are glad to be here today
testifying in front of this committee. And I appreciate it.
[The statement of Mr. Johnstone follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you very much. Mr. Pinkham.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
COLUMBIA RIVER INTER-TRIBAL FISH COMMISSION
WITNESS
JAIME PINKHAM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COLUMBIA RIVER INTER-TRIBAL FISH
COMMISSION
Mr. Pinkham. Thank you, Madam Chair. My name is Jaime
Pinkham. I am the executive director of the Columbia River
Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, CRITFC for short. And thank you
for this opportunity to talk about the Interior spending bill
as it relates to CRITFC and our member treaty tribes--Yakima,
Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Nez Perce. And also thank you for
assembling this panel of my colleagues from the treaty
commissions across the U.S. We have a long history of teamwork
working within the Congress and the Administration.
Our four CRITFC treaty tribes are fisheries managers across
an area the size of Georgia, and we are noted for our grit and
for our expertise, collaborating with other tribes, with 15
Federal agencies across five States and three time zones, and
also collaborating with public and private interests in the
Columbia River Basin. And our goal is to halt the decline of
salmon and other species, and these species are important for
us for ceremonial, subsistence, and commercial uses in all
harvests that were agreed to when we co-signed the treaties.
And we align our work consistent with the treaties and with
court orders, intergovernmental agreements, and as you heard
from the earlier panel, international salmon treaties. The
Rights Protection Implementation Funds, RPI, has allowed us to
get into the rivers to do this work, to build partnerships, to
resolve disputes and differences, and back our decisions with
scientific rigor. And we also have been able to use RPI to
leverage it to gain other public and nonprofit funds.
And as you heard, some of the salmon stocks out West are
certainly in distress, but I think we cannot overlook the
tribal management that has been helping make a turnaround with
some of the species recovery. And then one only has to look at
the Snake River Coho, a species that one of our member tribes
rebuilt from extinction. And these Columbia Basin stocks
support, and you heard this from the earlier panel, a fisheries
economy from Idaho to southeast Alaska. That is pretty
significant. But also, our Columbia stocks are part of this
important food chain for the southern resident killer whales
whose population is struggling.
And I also want to take this time to thank the last
Congress for the passage of a sea lion bill for the Columbia
River, and it is another example of the challenges that
policymakers and fisheries managers face, and in this
particular case, a very narrow site-specific amendment to the
Marine Mammal Protection Act. And thank you for doing that, and
we have started implementation of the act, and we appreciate
the faith that you and the public have placed in us to get that
work done.
Well, last year we were able to take our RPI funds and
reach a new agreement in the Columbia River Fish Management,
which assures production and harvest arrangements with the
State, and as you heard, to renew chapters in the Pacific
Salmon Treaty. But getting an agreement is half the work. Now
it is time to implement, so those RPI needs for implementation
are extremely important. And believe me, in the Columbia Basin,
climate change reveals itself to us daily. And we have been
able to use the Climate Resilience Fund to work on strategies
to address the warming waters, invasive species, and predation
that are presenting challenges to our fisheries.
We are also involved with the Columbia River Treaty, and it
is a 60-year treaty that is about to expire. And the original
treaty focused on flood control and hydropower production, and
it was negotiated and developed without tribal interests or
really looking at the needs, the national functions of a river
for salmon species. So we worked early within the region to
develop a regional recommendation working with local
governments and other interests in the Columbia Basin to
develop this regional recommendation. It is kind of an outcome
that we want in a renegotiated treaty. And within that was to
provide allowances beyond flood control and hydropower is
ecosystem-based functions.
Well, unfortunately for us we were denied a position to be
at the negotiating table, so our RPI funds are really becoming
more important because we need to use those resources to
educate the State Department with scientific, technical, and
policy information so they can represent tribal interests as
well as species conservation. And on the law enforcement side,
we deliver public safety along the Columbia River where it
forms the border of Oregon and Washington. We face the
challenges like other police forces do, and we are spread thin
by those river miles, so we need robust support for public
safety and justice.
And I want to highlight, which we have done before this
subcommittee numerous times is the challenges that we are
facing with the 31 federally owned treaty fishing sites on the
Columbia River. And these sites were intended to replace those
that were flooded by the Federal dams. The sites are in
distress, and fortunately we have a bill in both the House and
the Senate to address these issues. But services still need to
be provided at the sites for public safety, sanitation, and
long-term maintenance. Also, the lack of tribal housing on
reservations is increasingly making people have to move to
these sites and struggle to live there year round.
Well, in three prior spending bills that you have passed,
you have asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs to provide a needs
assessment of these 31 sites, and you did it again in a 2019
bill. And that report is due about 15 days from now, and we
need that report. It is long overdue. So I encourage you to
request that that report move along, especially with the
legislation before us.
And so, Madam Chair, we put our RPI funds to good work
benefitting tribal and non-tribal, and thank you for this
opportunity to testify before you.
[The statement of Mr. Pinkham follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you very much. Mr. Isham.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
GREAT LAKES INDIAN FISH AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION
WITNESS
MICHAEL J. ``MIC'' ISHAM, JR., GREAT LAKES INDIAN FISH AND WILDLIFE
COMMISSION
Mr. Isham. [Speaking Native language.] Good afternoon,
Madam Chair and committee members, and thank you for the
opportunity to speak here today. I am the still new executive
administrator of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife
Commission. In a few days it will be my 1-year anniversary.
And for the benefit of those who don't know us, we are an
inter-tribal natural resource agency representing an 11-member
Lake Superior Objibwe tribes located in what is now known as
northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, this area here,
and we represent over 43,000 tribal citizens. Our main office
is located in Odanah, Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Superior,
which is near Ashland, Wisconsin. But we have employees that
are stationed in or work in all three States.
Our primary mission is to help our member tribes implement
Federal court orders that govern the exercise of subsistence
hunting, fishing, and gathering, and rights reserved in
treaties with the United States. We also do our best to ensure
that the resources harvested are clean and free from
environmental contamination. Tribal people are more susceptible
to environmental contamination than the general public due to
the fact that we consume much more fish, game, and wild edibles
than the general public. Mercury is one of those contaminants
that we monitor very closely and inform our harvesters on how
to avoid or minimize the exposure. We also are collecting
baseline data to help inform our tribes on how to deal better
with the climate changing.
And like our fellow commissions, we are funded primarily
through the rights protection implementation line item. And we
struggle with financial issues yearly as we fulfill our mission
to our member tribes, and any cuts would further hinder our
ability to carry out our duties. A 35 percent cut like the one
proposed last year by the Administration would cost us at least
19 jobs and very severely hamper our efforts to ensure that our
tribal citizens have wardens to enforce our tribal conservation
laws, biologists to accurately count and record harvest data,
registration clerks to issue permits, and tribal courts to hear
any possible violations, though there rarely are any. That was
a joke there. [Laughter.]
Rough crowd. [Laughter.]
We also receive funding from the Great Lakes Restoration
Initiative, and we thank you for support of this program and
restoring that program last year, especially for the language
in support of the Distinct Tribal Program. With the funds we
received from the GLRI, we are collaborating with other
partners to devise and implement ways to eradicate and keep
invasive species out of Lake Superior for the benefit of the
economies of tribal and non-tribal citizens alike.
The funding that we receive has a much wider-reaching
effect than just counting harvest and doing biology. The work
we do also helps with social issues that our tribes are facing,
ones that I have heard many tribal presidents testify before
this committee about. One may not think a natural resource
agency can help lessen the impacts of drug use, youth violence,
diabetes, or obesity, but we are through our promotion of the
treaty harvest themselves on a more culturally-oriented diet.
Physical activity, such as harvesting wild rice, and if anyone
has done that, that is an extremely physical activity, and
eating a diet of fish or venison with that rice, that is just
what the doctor ordered for fighting diabetes and obesity.
Our Objibwe seasonal camps, our youth camps, get young
people outdoors and off their electronic devices and engaged in
treaty harvest activities. And for a while we had St. Paul
School here, and they were fighting to get on to their
electronic devices, but the doorman kept an eye on them.
[Laughter.]
And, again, being outdoors is a much healthier alternative
to being on the couch for sure.
We bring in tribal elders to our camps in order to
incorporate our cultural teachings that go along with each
harvest, as well as tribal professionals to show our young
people a wide variety of careers that they can aspire to. We
have four or sacred or boss foods, as we call them, that are
required at every feast, ceremony, and funeral. They are fish,
venison, wild rice, and berries. And the duty to provide these
sacred boss foods is one of the highest callings. Fulfilling
this duty for our cultural events instills great pride in a
young person and helps them instill a cultural identity that is
very important, which in turn helps them from searching for an
identity in a gang through violence, crime, or drugs.
Lastly, government shutdowns, like the one we just
experienced, has a paralyzing effect on many tribes and tribal
organizations, which I am sure you have heard. And we
understand that there is an effort underway, spearheaded by
Representative McCollum, my favorite Viking fan, if I may add,
to authorize advanced appropriations for BIA programs. We fully
support this initiative, and it would help us not only when
there is a government shutdown, but also in what has become the
new normal, continuing resolutions that result in appropriation
bills enacted late, resulting in funding that sometimes don't
arrive until halfway through the year.
Again, thank you for your support of our shared treaty
obligations, and I want to thank you all for what you do. And I
hope America has a renewed sense of what you do after this
government shutdown. On behalf of my family and the tribes you
represent, thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Isham follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you. Ms. Schwalenberg.
----------
Wednesday, March 6, 2019.
CHUGACH REGIONAL RESOURCES COMMISSION
WITNESS
PATTY BROWN SCHWALENBERG, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CHUGACH REGIONAL
RESOURCES COMMISSION
Ms. Schwalenberg. Miigwech. My name is [speaking Native
language]. I am a proud member of the Lac Du Fond Band of Lake
Superior Chippewa Indians, but I am equally proud to say that I
have served as the executive director of the Chugach Regional
Resources Commission. It will be 25 years in July, so you got a
ways to go. [Laughter.]
First of all, I would like to thank the committee for their
continued support of our program. The $410,000 base funding
that you provide, we have always been able to leverage that to
keep our organization running. We have the Alutiiq Pride
Shellfish Hatchery, which I have spoken of before. It is the
only shellfish hatchery in the State, and we work with our
communities to restore shellfish populations.
But our latest initiative has been to establish an ocean
acidification lab. And so we have one of the only four or five
Burk-O-Lators in the world in our lab, and we have gotten blue
ribbon certification so we can read real-time water samples up
to 4 decimal points. And so we not only test the waters in our
communities, and we are finding that there are higher levels
around the communities or different areas in the Chugach
region, but other areas of the State have contracted with us to
have their waters tested as well--Kotzebue, Nome, up on the
North Slope, and in St. George. So a lot of the tribes are
interested in what is going on in the waters out there,
particularly as it affects the shellfish and the salmon.
One of the other projects I want to share with you is the
Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council. This is a body
that was established as a result of the amendment to the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act allowing for spring and summer
subsistence harvest of migratory birds. So this is a unique
organization in that every regulation that is passed by the
council has three votes: one Federal vote, one State vote, and
one tribal vote. And the regulations do not go forward unless
that is the method.
We were affected by the shutdown in this program in that
our regulations were not published in time for the spring/
summer season, which starts in April. So we are having to
revert back to the 2018 regulations, but the regions that did
submit regulatory proposals that were passed by the Service
Regulations Committee cannot harvest the foods that they had
planned on because of the changing seasons. The birds are
coming earlier in some areas. They were staying later in other
areas. And so we are trying to adjust our regulations to
address the changing migratory patterns and timing, and we have
to wait another year now because those regulations were not
published.
And as well cooperative agreements with the tribes that are
participants of the council. They were unable to get their
funding in place, and so we just got ours like 3 weeks ago, so
it is not a good thing. But we do support the advanced
appropriations efforts that are going on in Congress right now.
I also wanted to talk about our program requests. So we are
requesting $100,000 addition to our small $410,000 budget, and
that will be focused mostly on our hatchery efforts. We get
$60,000 from the BIA for the hatchery, and the rest is
dependent upon our ability to raise funds either grant writing
or contracts. And so we would really like to bump that up a
little bit, and we haven't had an increase in our funding for,
well, about 20 years. And so with the change in climate and
increasing projects that we have, it is just getting harder and
harder to do with the money that we have.
Back to the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council. We
are asking for $1 million in funding for that program.
Currently the Fish and Wildlife Service supports the program
and it started at $1 million in 2003. Now it is about $700,000.
And unfortunately, the members of the council are not privy to
the meetings where these budget discussions or decisions are
made because we are not Federal employees. And so our money is
cobbled together from refuges for migratory birds and from
other areas, I think external affairs or something.
And so we never know how much money we are going to have to
operate until just a few months before the funding comes in.
And that, again, the regional management bodies, which are the
10 native corporations that are members of the Native Caucus,
they are grossly underfunded, have never had an increase in 20
years. And for an example, the Tanana Chiefs Region, which is
where Chairwoman Pitka is from, they get, like, maybe $30-some
thousand to work with 52 tribes, and they are supposed to hold
two meetings a year for the region, and then attend two
statewide meetings. And it is just not enough money at all.
I am stopping. OK. So I think that was all I wanted to talk
about. Oh, we also provided education and training. We partner
with Alaska Pacific University and University of Alaska, and we
also do some cross-cultural training with Federal employees in
the Department of Interior agency. So thank you very much for
your time.
[The statement of Ms. Schwalenberg follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you all for your testimony and
appreciate hearing more about the challenges you are dealing
with, particularly with the salmon. And I will just say I am
actually about to submit a bipartisan bill on ocean
acidification which I worked on before. Just before I came down
here I was going to talk to Don Young about signing on, but I
will now be able to tell them that there is great work going in
Alaska that I am sure he wants to support. So thank you for
that.
Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you all for being here today. Executive
Director Isham.
Mr. Isham. Isham.
Mr. Joyce. Sorry. I wasn't here when your name was
officially pronounced.
Mr. Isham. Call me Isham, and I never corrected them.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Joyce. I was happy to hear of the work that the tribe
has been doing on the Great Lakes. Madam Chair McCollum and I
are both very partial to the Great Lakes. Do you feel you
should have been doing some work through the GLRI (Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative). Do you feel that tribes are properly
represented in the protection of the Great Lakes?
Mr. Isham. Well, I think that they are getting more and
more involved with the GLRI funds that sure helped us get more
involved in regards to the Great Lakes. It helps us to get to
the certain meetings, like the Bi-National Great Lakes
Commission and things like that. And then more active in the
efforts because the tribal efforts tend to be smaller in scale,
and in the past it was always the focus on large-scale things,
how many jobs you create, how many acres you clean up and
things like that. So any competitive type process, the tribes
were left out of, but now we have new language in there that
talks about tribal distinct programs.
And also when the authorization happened where the money
could go from EPA in an interagency transfer to the BIA, that
certainly helped because in the early days filling out a thick
grant for everything through the EPA was a real tough thing to
do on tribes. But with the 638 contract and the BIA, that
helped us get the money out, and also to do our own type of
priorities rather than what the EPA talked about. So we are
making strides there for sure.
Mr. Joyce. Great. Again, thank you all.
Ms. Pingree. Ms. McCollum, it is all yours.
Ms. McCollum [presiding]. OK. Thank you. Thank you, Ms.
Pingree. I am going to ask you collectively to respond to a
couple of Federal agencies I am going to put out here,
especially when it comes to dealing with climate change. You
probably don't get the Minneapolis paper in Wisconsin. Well,
you do in parts of Wisconsin, yeah. So maybe you saw in January
the Sunday edition where Minnesota becomes prairie in about
2070. Climate change is something that we have acknowledged as
a State, as the Midwest. The polar vortex is just an example of
what happens with climate change where all the winds, the
temperatures all shift because of all the moisture in the air.
So I would be curious to hear from you your reaction to the
Forestry when you bring up climate change. For those of you who
work with Forestry, Fish and Wildlife, USGS--when you want to
work on or do grants or be part of a conversation about what is
happening, whether it is fisheries or forests. And the EPA as
far as we have been enforcing regulations that the tribes might
want to see happen to protect water in particular. So I am just
going to throw that out and see where that snowball lands. We
have got a lot of snow, so toss them----
Mr. Isham. Well, you talked about separate things there--
fisheries, water quality--and for a tribe, I think we look at
things in a more holistic approach. It is hard for us to
separate one versus the other. As I was talking to a BIA guy
earlier who didn't want us to use Forestry funds on a fish crib
project, well, then we won't cut the trees. We will let them
fall in the water, and then we will add structure then, you
know. And so I think all those things go together.
And so when we are looking at the issue, I think we need to
look at it in a holistic view rather than one thing or the
other. So with the EPA, at least with the last Administration,
we were looking at a very large-scale project of, first,
baseline data collection because there is a lot of activities
going on out there right now, and like, for example, mining
here or invasive species there. And so looking at the problem
as a whole is one thing that we want to try and accomplish. It
is a large thing.
But getting own to the local level, again, it is hard to
separate things because we got the warming water. You add
Eurasian milfoil into the mix, an invasive specie, and the lake
is changing from a walleye lake to a bass lake, and our primary
harvest is walleye. And so I heard someone on an earlier panel
saying, well, we don't necessarily want to change to harvest
bass.
So you think it globally, but then you got to act locally.
And so we need another hour, I think, to talk about that
because we have a lot of projects going on, and I don't want to
take up everybody's time here.
Mr. Pinkham. Well, thank you, Madam Chair. I don't read the
St. Paul paper anymore, but I used to live in the 4th
Congressional District in Minnesota when I worked for the Bush
Foundation a few years ago. Let me pick a couple of those off
because out West Federal lands, a huge landowner out there--the
Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management--and certainly the
frequency and the intensity of fires that we are experiencing.
And, you know, what does that mean to fish habitat, the
destruction of fish habitat, but also the capacity for those
mountains and hillsides to hold the snowpack to when we need
it. So we are having, you know, concerns over the frequency and
the condition of snowpack.
Another agency that is important to this conversation for
us because of the number of hydro projects is the Army Corps of
Engineers. And, you know, the dams have contributed to warmer
waters, so it is important that, you know, we work with the
Corps on the releases at the right quantity, the right time,
and the right temperature. And we have been actually working on
an adaptation strategy that we are trying to engage the Corps,
as well as navigators and port districts, on these sediment
buildups.
You know, as salmon move up river, if the river is too
warm, they have got to dive off into these tributaries and look
for cold water, cool down, get back, go to the next refuge and
a tributary, and so they have got to work their way up. But
sediments are now preventing and shrinking some of these cold
water refuges. And so we are going to work with the Corps of
Engineers to see if there is some way we can mitigate some of
the sediment buildup outside the navigation channel so that we
can continue to provide access to cold water refuges.
So I think as Mic stated, it is comprehensive, a lot of
players in this, but sometimes there is inconsistency even
between the Federal agencies trying to engage these issues.
Mr. Johnstone. Thank you. Boy, it really crosses all the
spectrums of what we do in fisheries management. And for us
tribes and us timber tribes, you would probably get a good
flavor for that from the Inter-Tribal Timber Council. I don't
think they have testified yet, but I think they are on the
schedule. The young man from Yurok talks about the fuels and
how you address the drying of the forests and what we are
seeing in precipitation.
EPA is by, I guess, by agency at whoever's request is
putting pressure on the State of Washington to redo the water
quality standards that we just negotiated and was put in place
in Washington State that talks about the cancer rate and the
175 grams, and they want to pull back from that, and they are
putting pressure, I understand, on Oregon likewise, and the
future development of Idaho. And it is really concerning.
The dynamics in the ocean with not only acidification, but
the harmful algae bloom that we continue to see more and more
of. On the entire West Coast, it really, really wreaked havoc
with the indigenous crowd in Washington, Oregon, and
California. We are seeing it more and more because in
summertime there is no mixing in the ocean that doesn't turn
over. The currents are less and less, and the winds and so on,
and it is promulgating these events, this harmful algae bloom.
And then you have the dynamics of the stock shifts. At a
recent November meeting of the Pacific salmon, Pacific
Fisheries Management Council, they were talking about species
in southern California up to maybe Monterey are now on the mid
or central Oregon coast, and so those kind of stock shifts. And
had testimony from elders in Point Barrow and other places up
north where they are seeing salmon not only in the Chukchi Sea,
but into the northern Pacific and the Arctic which they have
never seen before.
So, I mean, these are some very troubling things when you
talk about the winds and the currents and the shift and the
temperatures and so forth. And it really crosses the spectrum
of everything we do in fisheries management.
Ms. Schwalenberg. And I agree with everything that has been
said. And in Alaska, yes, there have been salmon spotted up
north. A friend of mine asked me how do you cook a salmon, so
that was kind of fun. But, yeah, swans are showing up where
they aren't normally showing up in the Chugach Region, in
particular, this past couple of years. In one of the villages,
there was only one king salmon, and that is one of their
primary resources that they wait for during the summertime. And
so there was just none, and that made it very difficult. The
red salmon are not coming back in the numbers that we would
like them to.
So like I said, we partnered with APU on a fisheries
project to try and figure out what is going on in the waters
and why they are not recovering the way they should be. One of
the issues that we have identified is the funding sources. At
least for Alaska, some of them we are just not eligible for.
For example, the BIA has a Climate Resilience Program, and we
are able to get some of the funding from there, but there is
also an Invasive Species Program, a funding program.
But when we applied, then we got a letter back saying that
we don't have trust lands, and so we are not eligible to apply.
Well, there are allotment lands in Alaska, but that is about
it, but we have a lot of, a lot of coastal communities in
Alaska. And that money could be very important for the invasive
species that exist in the marine environment.
As far as Forestry is concerned, Chugachmiut, which is a
sister organization to us, they do all the health and human
service type work, education, but they also have the Forestry
from the BIA. And they are noticing different beetles in the
forest, and they are actually doing some extensive inventories.
Their belief is that the species of trees are going to change
in 20, 30 years, and it is very scary. I mean, they rely on the
spruce tree up there, and that could all go away. So there are
some very scary reports that we are hearing from our biologists
about that. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. I appreciate your testimony. It
has all been, as I have said, submitted for the record and
highlighted in my book, but it is very important that we have
these discussions. And I think especially when it comes to land
management, I kind of put all the agencies together the way
that I did just because sometime we don't think of them as
interacting. A cut in one of the agencies can affect a project
in another agency because you have taken resources to compile
them together.
So thank you very much. We are going to continue our public
testimony tomorrow. Mr. Joyce, remember when Councilmember
Jennings was speaking and he had some more information than
what we had in our book? So we need unanimous consent to put
this in officially in our record now.
Mr. Joyce. So moved.
Ms. McCollum. So moved. Thank you.
[The information follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. We would appreciate any feedback from the
tribes that testified this afternoon. I know everything is
important to a tribal nation. You can't separate things out.
But we wanted to be able to really dig deep into questions and
deep into thought about our obligation to protect treaty and
trust lands for future generations. I view this as a
partnership that we have with our tribal brothers and sisters.
And this morning we focused primarily on healthcare, but we
know roads, and healthcare, and everything is important.
So thank you, and we appreciate any feedback on this
format. This is an experiment. Either we improve it and keep it
this way, or we go back to the old way. I am not afraid of
change. Thank you very much. Miigwech. We are adjourned.
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
TESTIMONY OF INTERESTED INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS
QUINAULT INDIAN NATION
WITNESS
TYSON JOHNSTON, VICE PRESIDENT, QUINAULT INDIAN NATION
Ms. McCollum. Good morning, and welcome to the second day
of public witness hearings on tribal programs under the
jurisdiction of the Interior and Environment Appropriations
Subcommittee.
This year, in hopes of having a more in-depth focus on
issues facing Indian Country, we have organized witnesses
according to the following topics: healthcare; land trust and
natural resource management, including climate change; public
safety and justice; education; tribal governments; and human
services.
Yesterday, we heard from witnesses about the urgent
healthcare needs and the important needs of issues impacting
land trust and natural resources, and as I said, that includes
climate change. This morning, we are going to finish the
remaining panels on resources before moving to panels on public
safety and justice. We will conclude this morning's hearings
with witnesses on education issues.
I welcome the distinguished tribal leaders and non-elected
tribal members, all who play an important role in educating
others on Native American issues, especially the Congress.
The issues we will hear about this morning are part of
treaty and trust obligations that the United States owes to
Native Americans. When it comes to public safety and justice,
Indian tribes are facing challenges that many other governments
do. But they also face challenges that many other government
units do not--rural, isolated areas with barely passable roads,
insufficient staffing, communications equipment that is often
not compatible with other law enforcement agencies. And on top
of that, tribes are still operating out of buildings that have
been or are about to be condemned.
The situation is disheartening when it comes to education,
and I say that as a former teacher. It is not uncommon for
students at BIE schools to have classrooms with leaking pipes,
asbestos, and improper wiring. Inadequate pay and housing
affects teacher recruitment and retention, and roads are so bad
that they cause delays and multi-hour bus rides.
Mr. Simpson will probably join us sometime today, but when
we were on one of our CODELs, we were on a bus. It was so
bumpy. He had a Fitbit. I had a Jawbone. We both had 500 steps
at the end of the bus ride. So we have been on the roads
firsthand. We need to do more to face all these challenges so
that Native American youth can receive a quality education in a
safe, supportive school.
Tribal colleges are also facing unique challenges with
their spread-out campuses and insufficient funding, and we will
hear more on that later today. Tribal colleges also educate
non-Natives, and many receive no local or State assistance to
help cover that additional cost. Despite numerous obstacles
facing tribal colleges, they have done an outstanding job of
educating Native and non-Native students with the resources
they have.
So I am eager to learn more about your priorities. I look
forward to our discussions on these issues because your
testimony is going to inform us, as we begin to develop our
2020 appropriations and have discussions with the agencies that
work for you.
Now before I turn to Mr. Joyce, I would like to cover a few
little hearing logistics. As I mentioned informally, there will
be Members coming in and out because of other meetings that
they will be attending. All of them have received your
testimony. All of them have been looking at the testimony.
So when we are ready, we are going to call a panel of
witnesses to the table, one panel at a time. Each individual
will have 5 minutes to present their testimony. I know it is a
limited amount of time. We have your full testimony. In fact,
we have your testimony covering other issues than the one you
are speaking to today.
We are going to use a timer to keep track of the time so we
are fair to everyone involved. When the light turns yellow, you
are going to have 1 minute remaining, and we would ask you to
think about how to best conclude your remarks.
When the light blinks red, I will lightly tap on the gavel.
I want to be very respectful, but I will ask each witness to
conclude their remarks so the next witness can begin and we can
have everyone moving forward in the time that they were
allotted, as I know you have meetings outside of here with
other Members of Congress.
Each witness' full written statement is going to be
introduced into the record. So if you have any additional
information you would like to give us, please give it to Janet
and I, and Mr. Joyce and I will include it together in the
official record. So don't worry. Everything will get covered.
Everything will be read. Everything will be shared.
So we are also going to have Members be able to ask
questions, and that might be an opportunity if there is
something you really didn't get to in the 5 minutes. So the
Q&A, you can add it there, too.
In this hearing room, I would like to remind people that
the committee rules prohibit uses of cameras and audio
equipment during a hearing by individuals without a press
credential or staff ID. After this morning's hearing concludes,
we will adjourn, and we will reconvene at 1:00 for the
afternoon hearing.
Now I am very happy to yield to my friend Mr. Joyce for his
remarks because when it comes to Indian issues, this is not
just bipartisan, it is nonpartisan. Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for
continuing these important hearings to get input from tribal
leaders on a wide array of programs under this subcommittee's
jurisdiction.
I would like to extend a warm welcome to all the tribal
elders and leaders that are here today, testifying today or in
the audience. I am humbled to be sitting here before you today
in my capacity as ranking member of the House Appropriations
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. I
know that most of you have traveled a long way to be here. For
those of you who don't know, I am from the northeast corner of
what is now Ohio, but was once the land of the Seneca and
others.
Like many of my colleagues in Congress, I recognize that
upholding the tribal trust obligation is a responsibility
shared by all Members of Congress, regardless of their
congressional district. I also recognize that the Federal
Government still has a long way to go before it can say that it
is fully meeting its trust and treaty obligations. That is why
my position on the Appropriations Committee is a great honor,
but also a heavy responsibility.
Fortunately, I have a great friend and partner in
Chairwoman McCollum. It is my sincere hope that, together, we
will continue the hard work of our predecessors for more than a
decade to increase the Federal commitment to meeting trust and
treaty obligations. I look forward to listening and learning
from the testimony today and working with my chair and the rest
of my colleagues in the days ahead to do what we can to help
you in the next fiscal year.
I yield back.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
Mr. Kilmer. And then after you are done, I am going to
ask--you are leaving? I was going to ask you to introduce the
first panel after you are done with your remarks because you
are here now.
Thank you.
Mr. Kilmer. Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't have any
lengthy remarks. I just want to thank everybody for coming, and
the testimony we have heard over the last several days has
been, I think, really valuable.
So let me, at your encouragement, invite up Tyson Johnston
from the Quinault Indian Nation. He may win the long-distance
travel award. Joseph Wildcat, Sr., and Vernon Stearns. Welcome.
[Pause.]
Mr. Johnston. Good morning. I am Tyson Johnston, vice
president of the Quinault Indian Nation.
I want to thank the subcommittee for holding this hearing
to examine the critical funding needs of Indian Country.
The Quinault Reservation is located on the southwestern
corner of Washington State and abuts the Pacific Ocean. The
Quinault Nation is a self-governance tribe, fully implements
self-regulation as the co-manager of our treaty fisheries and
maintains an economy that relies heavily on natural resources.
My testimony today focuses on three issues--funding for
tribes to address the many negative impacts of climate change
on their reservation, increased funding for the Housing
Improvement Program, and the need for additional road access to
our village.
Through treaties, executive orders, and other agreements,
Indian tribes have ceded hundreds of millions of acres of our
homelands to the Federal Government to help build this great
nation. In return, the United States made promises to provide
for the education, health, and welfare of the reservation
residents.
The lands and waters of the Quinault Reservation consist of
207,000 acres of forestlands, Pacific coastline, and
adjudicated treaty rights in the Pacific Ocean. In recent
years, the United States has continued to fall short of meeting
its treaty obligations, as appropriations cuts, sequestration,
Government shutdowns, and other factors impede the Federal
Government's ability to meet its trust responsibility. As a
result, the Quinault Nation subsidizes as approximately $6
million annually the inadequate levels of funding that fall
short of meeting the obligations set forth in our treaty.
There are two major villages located within the
reservation, the Village of Taholah and the Village of Queets.
Our nation has had models prepared by the Washington DNR to
show potential tsunami inundation of 40 to 50 feet in depth in
most of our Lower Village of Taholah. An inevitable tsunami
event at the Village of Taholah will be catastrophic for our
tribe. The loss of life and destruction of our infrastructure
would compromise Quinault government operations.
A 2012 report was also commissioned by the nation to
understand the effects of climate change on sea levels and sea
level rise. The report found that the combined effects of
thermal effects of the ocean, vertical land deformation, and
other related phenomena will substantially increase flood risk
in the lower village.
Quinault determined that a large-scale village relocation
was the only solution to mitigate these threats. The nation
applied for a 2013 ANA grant to prepare a plan to relocate our
village to higher ground. This grant was received and resulted
in our master plan. With completion and adoption of the master
plan, the nation has a blueprint for redevelopment of the
village.
However, the master plan has an estimated price tag of $150
million to $200 million, and the Quinault Nation will not be
able to fully fund the plan under its own resources. We will
need assistance from our trustee to fully implement the master
plan. We request the subcommittee to direct the BIA and EPA to
prioritize funding for tribes who are dealing with reservation
loss and displacement due to climate change. We also urge the
subcommittee to include report language that mandates funding
criteria that will allow for tribes like mine dealing with the
negative impacts of climate change to address the needs
outlined in my testimony.
Another issue of importance is the continued funding of the
Housing Improvement Program. HIP is the home improvement and
home replacement program that assists some of our most
vulnerable citizens. We thank the subcommittee for not
following the administration's request to zero out this program
and for funding of $9.7 million in the fiscal year 2019 budget.
Because there is a continued need for this program
throughout Indian Country, we ask the subcommittee to increase
funding to $11 million in fiscal year 2019.
The last issue I would like to highlight concerns road
access to the Village of Taholah, which currently is limited by
a single highway. Access to the village is cut off during
natural disasters and weather events that make the road
impassable. Quinault proposes to link an 8.2-mile service road
to a nearby highway. This will create two exit and entry points
to our village.
We estimate that this project will cost $3.5 million for
road construction and improvement activities once either the
lands or the right of way are acquired.
We thank the committee for funding the BIA road maintenance
program in fiscal year 2019 at $35.8 million. We ask the
subcommittee increase funding for this program to $45 million
to meet the current high demands of tribes. We also urge the
subcommittee to include report language giving funding priority
to tribes with safety and emergency access concerns.
In closing, we humbly thank the committee for giving us
this time to share our priorities. My nation, like so many
others across the United States, is being disproportionately
affected by climate change. We have declared multiple states of
emergencies and fisheries disasters that only seem to worsen as
time goes on. We will need your support as our trustee to
properly prepare for this new normal that puts our treaty
rights at risk.
[Speaking Native language.]
Thank you for this opportunity.
[The statement of Tyson Johnston follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
INTERTRIBAL TIMBER COUNCIL
WITNESS
VERNON STEARNS, PRESIDENT, INTERTRIBAL TIMBER COUNCIL
Mr. Stearns. Madam Chair, members of the subcommittee, good
morning, and thank you for the opportunity to appear here
today.
My name is Vernon Stearns, president of the Intertribal
Timber Council, for whom I am testifying for today. I am also
the hazardous fuels program manager for the Spokane Tribe
located in eastern Washington State.
First off, I want to thank the subcommittee for its support
for timber tribes over the recent years. You have listened to
our testimony and provided additional investments in Indian
forestry, including in the current fiscal year.
You have encouraged Federal agencies to work more closely
with tribes. All of these actions are appreciated, and I want
you to know that the ITC is working with tribes across the
Nation to ensure that these investments deliver maximum results
on the ground.
For every dollar invested in tribal forests, $3 are
generated. Timber is a renewable resource, and timber revenue
helps tribes pay for every service they provide, from
healthcare to elder support to education. Unfortunately, tribal
forests are chronically underfunded. We receive $1 for every $3
that the Forest Services does on a per acre basis.
Both today and over the past 40 years, this has held down
our timber sales to only half the volume in our approved plans,
costing us jobs and revenue. In other words, a lack of Federal
appropriations is a primary barrier that has held down our
timber harvest levels, according to all environmental laws and
standards.
A $5 million increase in TPA forestry should add 67
foresters and increase our national tribal timber harvest by
nearly 300 million board-feet. For BIA forestry projects, we
urge an increase of $5 million over current levels to help
eliminate the BIA's thinning and replanting backlogs. These
backlogs are long-term drags on our forest productivity.
Tribes are also deprived access to rehabilitation funds
after wildfire burns our land. The Government has a
responsibility to cover burnt Indian lands, but we are provided
only a small fraction of what is needed to get the new forest
growing. Whatever doesn't get done is simply shifted to the
ever-growing backlog for tribal lands.
To prevent this, we ask that $10 million be provided from
the burned area rehabilitation account to finish the work left
over from the catastrophic 2015 wildfire season in the Pacific
Northwest.
In line with this administration's presidential executive
order on promoting active management of Federal lands to reduce
wildfire risk, I ask for continued support of restoring
Interior's Office of Wildland Fire fuels management funding to
its fiscal year 2010 level of $206 million. ITC also strongly
supports the continuation of the $10 million reserve treaty
rights landscape funding initiative within Interior's fuels
management program.
Proactive reduction of hazardous fuels is a proven method
that creates fire-adapted communities, enhances wildfire
response, increases landscape resiliency, and is a sound
investment that reduces the risk and cost of wildfires.
I also want to thank the Congress for giving tribes several
new authorities to work with Federal partners such as the
Forest Service. These tools include the good neighbor authority
and tribal 638 contracting of Tribal Forest Protection Act
projects, all of which will bring tribal expertise to improving
forest health across the landscape.
We would appreciate any encouragement you can give to
Federal land managers to quickly implement these new
authorities and get tribes to work on both sides of our shared
boundaries.
Madam Chair and committee members, I will conclude by
inviting you and your staff to come see Indian forestry in
person. We are doing great things for the land and generating
jobs and revenue for communities that direly need it. We do all
of this at a fraction of the cost of other Federal land
managers and with greater results.
On behalf of the more than 60 tribes that make up the
Intertribal Timber Council, thank you for inviting me here to
speak today. That concludes my statement.
[The statement of Vernon Stearns follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
LAC DU FLAMBEAU BAND OF LAKE SUPERIOR CHIPPEWA INDIANS
WITNESS
JOSEPH WILDCAT, SR., PRESIDENT, LAC DU FLAMBEAU BAND OF LAKE SUPERIOR
CHIPPEWA INDIANS
Mr. Wildcat. Can I give you this packet here?
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
Mr. Wildcat. [Speaking Native language.]
Good morning. My name is Joseph Wildcat, Sr.
I am president of the Lac du Flambeau Lake Superior Band of
Chippewa Indians. I want to thank the subcommittee for
opportunity to present this testimony and for your ongoing
bipartisan support for tribal programs.
The recent 35-day shutdown was difficult for us. Despite
the passage of the recent fiscal year 2019 Appropriations Act,
BIA informed us that OMB has yet to provide the Department its
appropriations, and it may be weeks before we receive remaining
funding owed us.
Our reservation has the densest concentration of fresh
water in the country, and it is our obligation to safeguard
those waters, fish, waterfall, animals, and vegetation for
generations to come. The bounty we draw from our waters and
wetlands helps feed our members and generates jobs. For that
reason, I want to discuss EPA's leaking underground storage
tanks program and explain why the EPA program is so important
to our tribe and ask for an increase in the LUST program tribal
set-aside for tribal cleanup costs to safeguard drinking water
sources and habitats.
Tribal LUST program's implementation funds and the
corresponding increase in EPA's brownfields program grants to
tribes to help reduce contaminated sites that pose a
significant risk to groundwater, both of these accounts are
severely underfunded.
The prompt cleanup of significant underground contaminated
sites is vital to the preservation of our homelands and
resources that we depend on for our culture and way of life. As
EPA IG report noted, tribal citizens experience unique risks
because of traditional lifestyles and the use of natural
resources.
Tribal communities often follow traditional diets that
include an abundance of freshwater fish and seafood. Because of
tribes' reliance on natural resource to maintain traditional
diets, likewise customs and languages, there is a unique need
for tribal-focused research to identify risks as well as to
inform decisions to reduce health risks to these areas.
At Lac du Flambeau right now, we have 23 leaking
underground storage tank sites that we know threaten drinking
water, fish habitat, deer, waterfall habitat, as well as wild
rice habitat, yet we have been in multiyear battle with the
State and the EPA over the cleanup of these sites.
The Tower Standard/Haskell Lake site is one such site. It
is contaminated with chemicals I can't even pronounce, but
experts tell me they are lethal. EPA recently estimated that
$1.7 million was required for interim action measures for the
site. This amount would consume the majority of 2019 LUST
cleanup funds appropriated for the Nation's 573 federally
recognized tribes.
We know what EPA proposed does not suffice for our tribe or
for Indian Country. We want to hold EPA to its trust
responsibilities to protect and preserve our trust resources,
and there is no trust resource more vulnerable than our one and
only homeland.
We met with EPA this week and asked the agency to
acknowledge our shared interest as governments to remedy the
LUST sites on the reservations that pose a threat to human
health and the environment. We have meetings planned EPA Region
5 officials. We ask your support to ensure that EPA is able to
fully--fulfill this responsibility.
Thank you very much.
[Speaking Native language.]
[The statement of Joseph Wildcat, Sr., follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you very much.
Mr. Kilmer. All right. Thank you, Madam Chair. I will defer
to our ranking member, Mr. Joyce, for questions first.
Mr. Joyce. First, thank you all for being here. Chairman
Wildcat, I see in your testimony you talk about mercury
concentrations. Is that from previous mining incidents--the
mercury that is in the lakes?
Mr. Wildcat. The mercury is a combination probably of air
quality when rain--when it rains, we get that mercury. But we
also have issues with mining in our location, in our area in
Wisconsin. It is a very big concern.
Mr. Joyce. I know in the Great Lakes that there has been a
problem with the concentrations of mercury in perch and
walleye. You only can eat so much at any given time. So I
understand and appreciate the issue. I was just wondering where
it was coming from.
Mr. Wildcat. Yes, mercury has an effect on pregnant
females. They are restricted from consuming mercury-laden fish.
In our area, there is various lakes that have a high, high
level of mercury, and the consumption of the fish are
restricted.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you all again. I yield back.
Mr. Kilmer. Madam Chair.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
Mr. Wildcat, please keep the committee posted through memos
or emails, however it is most convenient for you, how your
discussions are going with the EPA. I am very concerned about
your testimony about the LUST fund and that the State also has
a portion of helping to prioritize and do things with that,
too, and I hope you are having discussions with your new
Governor on that issue.
You also mentioned the mining a little bit, and that is
something that I know that the tribal nations between Minnesota
and Wisconsin are very concerned about with all the mining that
is proposed. Because people see the water on the surface, but
we know there is water underneath the surface, and everything
is comingling. So I appreciate you bringing that forward.
Chronic wasting disease also was something in your
testimony, and it is something that we are going to be looking
into. We have touched on it before, but it is something that we
are going to look into more. And that also kind of has a two-
step process because the Food and Drug Administration, which is
in the Department of Agriculture has a little something to do
with that. So I am on the Agriculture Committee. So I will be
asking about that.
But the one thing I wanted to really ask you was about your
discussions with the EPA--you have the right to clean up to
your standards.
Mr. Wildcat. Correct, yes.
Ms. McCollum. And I want to make sure that the EPA has
acknowledged seeing that sovereign right to clean up to your
standards, as it does with any State or local government.
So really quick, I am sure Mr. Simpson knows a lot more
about fire, but I am going to ask more about this Joint Fire
Service that you mentioned in your testimony, Mr. Stearns, to
make sure we are doing that right for training in that. Could
you maybe expand a little more on that?
Mr. Stearns. Well, I think what you are talking about is
the Joint Fire Science Project.
Ms. McCollum. Science Project.
Mr. Stearns. Yes, it is a research effort that is funded, I
believe, through the U.S. Forest Service, but definitely
looking at fire research and getting that information out to
the field to apply to management strategies. It is not
necessarily training, but a lot of information.
Ms. McCollum. So it is more research based?
Mr. Stearns. Yes.
Ms. McCollum. Then after you have the information, you know
how to train up?
Mr. Stearns. Yes.
Ms. McCollum. OK. I am going to look into see how involved
tribes are in consultation in doing the research because you
have your own DNRs and scientists looking at your forests.
And the last thing I have is, Mr. Johnston, you are looking
to have a second road because how many years is it before you
think you are going to finally agree, plan, and move? I wish
you weren't having to move your tribe due to climate change. I
don't think this is a happy thing that you are going through.
But how long, what do you really think the process is going
to be? If everybody stuck to their timeline and there was no
backpedaling, what do you think this process is going to be?
Mr. Johnston. Yes, even if we had everything in line
funding wise, permit wise, we foresee this process taking
anywhere 7 to 10 years. And so we are really concerned with
that timeline, obviously, because the effects only seem to
worsen as the years go on and amplify it.
And from an emergency access standpoint, whenever there is
a serious weather, flooding, even over Christmas, you know, we
didn't have access to our main villages. We had to ask our
elders and other folks to drive through these forested service
roads, and we do our best with the resources at our disposal,
but it becomes quite troubling when you are not able to access
your own home.
And when the electricity goes out and things that are
essential to everyday life, we are the last on the road to be
considered when those things need to be fixed. So it is a long
process, 7 to 10 years.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
Mr. Kilmer. Mr. Simpson.
Mr. Simpson. Thank you. And thank you all for being here
today.
Joseph, believe me, you don't have any more trouble with
OMB than we do. Maybe we need to work together and attack OMB
because there is a problem there.
But let me ask you about the forestry program. Where does
the revenue go that you get from timber sales?
Mr. Stearns. Thank you.
It varies by tribe, but it definitely goes out, and I don't
know the specific answer, you know, an across-the-board answer.
Definitely varies by tribe, and I can say from my own tribe,
the Spokane, is it provides money for education and healthcare
a little bit. And like I said, it just varies. I really can't
give you a specific answer.
Mr. Simpson. But it doesn't necessarily go back into the
forestry program?
Mr. Stearns. Some of it does, into the forest development
program and replanting and thinning.
Mr. Simpson. You know that there is no--in Federal law
anyway, there is no requirement that you do reforestation after
wildfire, but there is after a timber harvest. The Forest
Service has to do reforestation as part of the plan.
I thought about trying to change the Federal law so that
you have to do reforestation after wildfires because they are
obviously just as devastating, if not more impactful than
timber harvest. But it would be interesting to know how the
resources--we are short in all these areas, not just on tribal
lands, but also on Forest Service lands in reforestation,
hazardous fuels management, all of those programs. We are
hopeful that with the new way of funding wildfires that it will
free up some money to be able to do some of these things.
But I would be interested in knowing, across those tribes
that have forest lands, where the revenue goes and what they do
with it?
Mr. Stearns. I think, again, I don't know the specific
answer and across the board, but I can get back to you.
Mr. Simpson. I appreciate it. Thank you.
Mr. Kilmer. Thanks.
Vice Chair Johnston, first, thank you for highlighting the
threats that your tribe is facing due to climate change. I had
an opportunity to go out to your village just a few weeks back,
and in fact, one of the lanes of the road was closed because of
a landslide from a severe storm. So what was already only a
two-lane road was down to one lane.
I can't count how many times we have worked with your
nation when there was a breaching of your seawall and severe
flooding because you are right there right on the ocean. I can
appreciate the interest and I think we all understand the
interest in relocating your communities to higher ground.
We are, I think, also conscious of the fact that the BIA
doesn't have any dedicated funding for that purpose. So give us
some guidance. If you could have this committee help ensure
that the Federal Government enables you to relocate it and to
meet its obligation, what would you like to see us do?
Mr. Johnston. I think what would help is if there were
explicit resources available for the reasons that I mentioned.
Your point is very spot on. There are different pots of
resources that we are able to access, but none of them
explicitly are because of land loss, dislocation, all of those
issues.
And so having a resource that was intentional, especially
for tribes that were impacted by that, uniquely impacted by
that because of geography and other reasons I think would be
the most helpful way to address these issues. Because we are
really creative. You know, we are a timber nation, too, and so
we do utilize our revenue that we gain from forestry to
reinvest the land, relocate and invest in housing because of
our unique situation and needs.
But I think having intentional resources to access that are
dedicated for tribes facing those issues is what is needed in
today's time.
Mr. Kilmer. Thank you. I yield back, Madam Chair.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
And if I could have unanimous consent to add to the record
what Mr. Wildcat has given us with more information, and you
will keep us in contact about what the EPA is doing?
Is there any objection?
Mr. Joyce. No.
Ms. McCollum. Hearing none, so ordered.
[The information follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you very much, gentlemen. And I have to
say you are spot on with all your testimony. You have set a
high bar for everybody else coming behind this panel. So thank
you very much.
If the second panel will please join us, we have the
executive director, Valerie Grussing, the National Association
of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers; Bryan Newland,
president of the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority; president
of the Intertribal Buffalo Council, Mr. Carlson. Please join
us.
[Pause.]
Ms. McCollum. Dr. Grussing, are you ready?
Ms. Grussing. Yes.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TRIBAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICERS
WITNESS
VALERIE J. GRUSSING, PH.D., EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
TRIBAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICERS
Ms. Grussing. Members of the subcommittee, I appreciate
this opportunity to present the National Association of Tribal
Historic Preservation Officers, that is NATHPO, our
recommendations for fiscal year 2020 appropriations.
My name is Valerie Grussing. I am the new executive
director. In this year of transition for the organization, we
have some grand and exciting plans, some of which rely on this
subcommittee's continued support for the budgetary needs of
tribal cultural preservation activities.
We recommend four key areas for funding, and in my time
today, I will just elaborate on the first one. That is the
National Park Service, the Historic Preservation Fund. We
recommend a tribal line-item of $20 million.
For some background information, what are tribal historic
preservation officers? We call them THPOs.
They are appointed by federally recognized tribal
governments that have entered into an agreement with the
Department of the Interior to assume the Federal compliance
role for the State historic preservation officer, per the
National Historic Preservation Act. Tribal historic
preservation plans are grounded in self-determination,
traditional knowledge, and cultural values and may involve
projects to improve Indian schools, roads, health clinics, and
housing, and anything else that needs to happen in Indian
Country.
THPOs are the first responders when a sacred site is
threatened, when an ancestral home is uncovered, and when
Native ancestors are disturbed by development. THPOs are often
responsible for their tribe's oral history programs and
operating tribal museums and cultural centers. They perform
many functions and responsibilities in Indian Country and
through their activities represent an active expression and
exercise of tribal sovereignty.
What is NATHPO? The National Association of Tribal Historic
Preservation Officers is a national nonprofit membership
association of tribal governments that are committed to
preserving, rejuvenating, and improving the status of tribal
cultures and cultural practices by supporting Native languages,
arts, dances, music, oral traditions, cultural properties,
tribal museums and cultural centers, and libraries. NATHPO
assists tribal communities in protecting their cultural
properties, whether they are naturally occurring in the
landscape or are manmade structures.
The Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National
Park Service, we recommend a tribal line-item of $20 million.
This is a pretty big increase.
As of January 1st of this year, there are 180--I have got 4
in my written statement. As of this week, there is 185. There
is more every year. Recognized by the Park Service. That is the
THPOs. Each THPO represents an affirmative step by an Indian
tribe to assume the responsibilities of the State's historic
preservation officers for their respective tribal lands as
authorized by Congress in the 1992 amendments to the National
Historic Preservation Act.
Collectively, these tribes exercise responsibilities over a
land base exceeding 50 million acres in 30 States. The Historic
Preservation Fund is the sole source of Federal funding for
THPOs and the main source of funding to implement the Nation's
historic preservation programs. HPF revenue is generated from
oil and gas development on the Outer Continental Shelf.
We recommend $20 million to carry out the requirements of
the National Historic Preservation Act. This would provide the
nearly 200 federally recognized THPOs an average of $100,000 to
run their programs. That is their whole program.
Funding THPOs and staff creates jobs. It generates economic
development, and it spurs community revitalization. It also
facilitates environmental and historic review processes that
are required, including for infrastructure permitting. That
means when agencies and project applicants call, someone is
there to pick up the phone and do the work.
What is at stake here? As the number of Indian tribes with
THPO programs increases, the amount of HPF funding appropriated
and then apportioned to THPOs must keep pace. Native American
cultural properties on millions of acres of tribal lands are at
risk.
For the past several years, each THPO program has been
asked to conduct important Federal compliance work with fewer
financial resources. In the first year of congressional
funding, support for THPOs--which was 1996 when the program was
created--the original 12 THPOs each received an average of
$83,000. By fiscal year 2018, 179 THPOs received an average of
$64,000 to run their whole program. There are expected to be
almost 200 THPOs in fiscal year 2020.
Reconnecting Native peoples to their cultural heritage,
traditions, and places has the power to help heal deep
generational wounds. To continue historic preservation and
cultural revitalization in Indian Country, it is essential that
THPO programs receive increased funding to meet the increasing
need. And I have got a chart that demonstrates program growth
and funding need, if you have that? I don't know.
Ms. McCollum. We have it.
Ms. Grussing. OK. OK. So you can see in my chart that HPF
funding has steadily increased, as has the number of THPOs, and
those are both good things. But that results in the average
amount per THPO staying level. So $20 million in 2020 will
begin to close the gap.
Thank you for this opportunity and for your support.
[The statement of Valerie Grussing follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. I think you are going to get a lot
of questions.
Our next witness is Mr. Newland.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
CHIPPEWA OTTAWA RESOURCE AUTHORITY
WITNESS
BRYAN NEWLAND, PRESIDENT, CHIPPEWA OTTAWA RESOURCE AUTHORITY
Mr. Newland. Good morning.
[Speaking Native language.]
Hello. Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the subcommittee,
for the opportunity to testify today.
My name is Bryan Newland. I will introduce myself in our
language.
[Speaking Native language.]
My name is He Walks Many Paths of the Wolf Clan, and I come
from the place of the pike, Bay Mills Indian Community in
Northern Michigan. We are a fishing community. We are defined
by the waters of the Great Lakes and what we do on those waters
and what those waters do to us.
I am testifying today on behalf of Bay Mills Indian
Community as well as the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority
really on one thing, the importance of our treaty fishing
rights and Congress' role in helping us to protect those
rights. So in addition to my oral testimony or oral statement,
I have prepared written testimony and respectfully ask that
that be submitted in the record.
Ms. McCollum. It is here.
Mr. Newland. Great. Bay Mills Indian Community is one of
five Ojibwe and Odawa Tribes in Northern Michigan that signed a
treaty with the United States in 1836. That treaty ceded almost
half of what is now the State of Michigan. It actually allowed
the State of Michigan to come into existence.
And as part of that treaty, we reserved the right to hunt
and fish and gather throughout the ceded territory. Our
ancestors reserved this right because fishing in the Great
Lakes is a way of life for Ojibwe and Odawa people. It is
something we have done for centuries, and it is something we
continue to do today.
In the 1960s, the State of Michigan began to crack down on
tribal members for exercising these treaty rights. They
arrested our tribal members, cited them for violating State law
for fishing without a State license. This was paired with
physical attacks on our tribal members by interested sports
fishing enthusiasts just for exercising those rights. People
came at our tribal members with guns, knives, baseball bats,
and the like.
And to avoid being shot, beaten, or arrested, many of our
tribal fishermen had to fish at night. Now anybody who has seen
the Great Lakes knows they are dangerous enough in the daytime,
and if you are going out at night, that danger really ramps up.
In addition, a lot of our tribal fishermen had to ask their
sons or their nephews or young men to sit in the cab of their
pickup truck on the beach with guns to watch for people coming
to assault them or honk the horn or flash the lights when a
State DNR officer showed up to make arrests and issue
citations.
In 1971, the State of Michigan cited one of our own tribal
members, Albert ``Big Abe'' LeBlanc, and you can guess why he
got the nickname ``Big Abe.'' He was cited for fishing without
a State license, and he appealed his case all the way to the
Michigan Supreme Court, which affirmed that our treaty rights
are a real thing and that the United States Constitution means
what it says that treaties are the supreme law of the land.
And actually, our new in-house counsel is Mr. LeBlanc's
granddaughter, and she is here with us today. So we have come
full circle in that effort.
The Federal Government sued the State of Michigan after
that case for violating our treaty fishing rights. And in 1979,
a Federal court affirmed that our treaty rights exist in a case
that is famous to us, known as the Fox decision.
So the history is important and that context is important
for purposes of today's Federal budget, and I will explain why.
Our Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority tribes have been
regulating our commercial and subsistence fishing ever since
that case, my entire lifetime. And those regulations are
spelled out in court judgments that have been negotiated
between our five tribes, the State of Michigan, as well as the
Federal Government.
And the Federal budget at the Department of the Interior
contains this line-item called rights protection
implementation, and a lot of people look at that budget line-
item and they say, ``What the heck is that?'' Well, the
implementation part of that refers to these court judgments and
the need to implement their terms. And these are judgments that
were negotiated by the United States on our behalf with us at
the table.
These funds, rights protection implementation funds, pay
for conservation officers, tribal courts, safety equipment for
our fishermen as well as our conservation officers, biologists
and environmentalists, and folks who monitor the health of the
Great Lakes. So we are asking Congress respectfully not for new
money for this, but to maintain level funding of rights
protection implementation. And if you have it in your hearts,
maybe $40,000 added for Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority so
we can repair some of these docks our fishermen use.
Thank you very much.
[The statement of Bryan Newland follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
[Speaking Native language.]
Mr. Carlson.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
INTERTRIBAL BUFFALO COUNCIL
WITNESS
ERVIN CARLSON, PRESIDENT, INTERTRIBAL BUFFALO COUNCIL
Mr. Carlson. Good morning, Madam Chair and members of the
subcommittee.
My name is Ervin Carlson. I am the president of the
InterTribal Buffalo Council, and also I am member of the
Blackfeet Nation in Montana.
ITBC is a federally recognized charter tribe under the
Indian Reorganization Act with 68 member tribes, and we cover
19 States, with a total of we have 55 herds and we manage
over--collectively over 20,000 animals on trust lands, on
tribal lands.
Our mission is to promote return buffalo back to Indian
Country for our spiritual and our cultural connection to the
animal. And we do--with the buffalo there, this promotes tribal
sovereignty, self-determination by providing jobs, food and are
a source of income through tourism, meat sales, and also with
hunting.
So I am here today to request a funding increase to our
current and also for our future buffalo programs. I have been
here many years, and we haven't really had an increase. We have
been stagnant for many, many years. And each year, our
organization grows by two or three tribes each year. And so,
hopefully, with a little luck, maybe this year we will get an
increase.
A little bit about our funding history. Our funding comes
from the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Indian
Affairs Tribal Management and Development Projects Program, and
like I said, our funding has been stagnant, that $1.4 million
for the past several years.
And this doesn't, you know, sustain all of the tribes that
we do have each year and their programs. Many tribes are
joining each year with this organization. This year, when we
were over asking for an increase and talking to the BIA, they
asked us to do a comparison with the fishing tribes. And I
don't mean--I didn't know I was going to be sitting right next
to one today also. [Laughter.]
But just they just asked us for a comparison and to
determine what the difference was between the two
organizations, and it was pretty kind of shocking as to see the
big difference there. There are at least seven fishing
commissions, and they serve fewer tribes, I guess, than the
ITBC, I think. And that is with our research, they do.
We do serve, you know, 68 tribes over 19 States. So, and
then they do, I guess, have a smaller geographic area than the
ITBC alone. However, the commissions, they receive 100 times
over what the ITBC receives. And I am not here to diminish
what, you know, those tribes there are certainly going through
the same thing that we are doing, trying to return and promote
and to save their cultural food source that we did also as the
Plains tribesmen having buffalo.
But also there are 10 tribes that are within the fish
commission that are a part of ITBC also and helping restore
buffalo back to their lands for food. So in any way, we don't
want to, you know, take any money from them. Or it was a
comparison that the BIA asked us to do, whatever for, just to
see, I guess, what funding difference there is.
And then so some of the justifications for the increase
that we were talking about is of the $1.4 million that we do
receive, $1 million goes out directly to the tribes for their
programs, and that helps enhance their programs. Runs directly
through ITBC and out to the programs.
They do water development, range management, fencing,
hiring the people to run the programs and keep them going, and
equipment. Supplemental feed when we have to at times,
veterinary services, and just all the other needs that go along
with raising buffalo.
So this year, we are requesting an increase to $14 million.
And of that, $3.5 million we would like to see go to the herd
development grants. Last year, $3.5 million was the request
that we had from our members. But each year, we ask them to
send in a letter, a one-page concept letter requesting their
needs, and it far exceeds the money we get. It is usually
around $13 million, $14 million.
So a lot of our tribes will have to hold out years, and we
go through their grants and we help them. So it is always very,
very small the monies that they do get to run their programs.
What we do is we provide technical assistance out to our
people, education and outreach to our member tribes and which,
again, I would say is very--you know, we provide all of the
technical assistance through the organization, the money that
we do keep. Usually, it is $1.4 million. So we use $400,000.
But then all of that money also we use for technical assistance
out to the tribes. So that all goes out there, too.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Carlson. So I guess in conclusion, I would just, like I
said, we have been here, you know, a lot of years and kind of
feeling like maybe this year, maybe we would see the increase
that we do need. And hopefully, that you folks would see that,
and I appreciate being here in front of you today and being
able to report that.
We all have this all in our written testimony, and I hope
you will see that.
Thank you.
[The statement of Ervin Carlson follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Yes, we have it.
Thank you. Thank you.
Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you all for being here.
[Dog barking.]
Ms. McCollum. Is that your dog?
Mr. Simpson. Sorry. That is my dog calling. [Laughter.]
Ms. McCollum. Your dog wants to do Facetime, Mr. Simpson.
Mr. Joyce. I appreciate your testimony and your travel here
today. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Simpson?
Mr. Simpson. Yes, that was my dog calling. We Facetime
every night. [Laughter.]
Anyway, Valerie, I think the chairwoman was right. You are
going to get a lot of questions, but hopefully, they are
friendly questions because I think what you do is very
important and also very difficult. There are how many THPOs
now?
Ms. Grussing. One hundred eighty-five.
Mr. Simpson. One hundred eighty-five. Is it a line-item
that funds those?
Ms. Grussing. Yes.
Mr. Simpson. And what is that amount now?
Ms. Grussing. Eleven-seven-three-five.
Mr. Simpson. You mentioned that it came out of a I guess it
was a $20 million authorization level from Outer Continental
Shelf revenue?
Ms. Grussing. So if the whole Historic Preservation Fund
were fully funded, that would be $150 million. State historic
preservation officers get about $50 million of that, and there
is about 10 other grants programs--underrepresented
communities, historically black colleges, civil rights, things
like that.
Mr. Simpson. But you did mention in your testimony the $20
million from the Outer Continental Shelf?
Ms. Grussing. That is what we are recommending, an increase
to $20 million.
Mr. Simpson. OK. Out of that?
Ms. Grussing. Right.
Mr. Simpson. With the expansion, and it has been a pretty
rapid expansion--up to 185 THPOs across the country----
Ms. Grussing. Right.
Mr. Simpson [continuing]. Did you find any kickback? The
reason I ask this, I think what you do is very important. I
think historic preservation is vitally important, especially
for tribes. We can't lose that history.
And I have been impressed going out on the reservations in
Idaho with the Sho-Bans. I live on the border of the Sho-Ban
Reservation. They have started language schools because they
were losing the Bannock language and so forth among young
people. It is an immersion program. And they want to start one
in the Shoshone language also. It is fascinating to go watch
this, these young kids speaking Bannock.
With the increase in THPOs, comes the possibility of
conflict. Because I often hear, a business wants to do
something, wants to develop some land or something. And it is
not on the reservation. It is off the reservation. And they
say, ``We have got to consult with the tribes on this? It is
nowhere near the reservation.''
I don't think that is the point. It is historic lands, and
you have to consult and see if there is historic preservation
that needs to be done there.
Ms. Grussing. It is all ancestral land.
Mr. Simpson. Yes. I was going to say what is not ancestral
land in terms of Indians in this country? So are you seeing
more conflicts that exist between the historic preservation
offices that you have and, say, development that is not on the
reservation, but off the reservation?
Ms. Grussing. I think there is perpetual conflicts. I think
agencies and project applicants alike don't know what to do
with these sites. They don't know how to identify them.
Their responsibility is government-to-government
consultation. It is the tribe's responsibility to identify
those sites, and this funding would allow these offices to be
staffed and to actually do the work that is required.
Mr. Simpson. Well, I appreciate that. I do appreciate the
work you do. It is, like I said, vitally important, and any way
we can help, I am more than willing to help. And I appreciate
the testimony of the fishing community and also the buffalo
community.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
I loved what you said, Ms. Grussing, that you are the first
responders when a sacred site is threatened. That touched my
heart, and we are seeing more--I would like to call out in
Minnesota we are seeing more opportunities to work with tribal
councils on identifying their areas of interest. We are looking
at doing some possible bridgework across the Mississippi River.
And our office engaged the National Park Service, some of the
local tribes, and then it goes out from there because it was a
trading post along the Fort Snelling area.
And people are looking at how we are building this in. We
are doing it early. We are creating opportunities. But there
needs to be somebody, to your point, to pick up the phone if
somebody calls, so the frustration doesn't start to build. So I
appreciate you asking for more of a request on that.
And I think we are seeing things go up in need as
sovereignty is being more recognized by more States, more
communities, and more Americans want to be engaged in being
partners with the tribes. So I think you are part of your own
success, and congratulations on that.
But now we have to make sure that we don't create
unfulfilled expectations when someone picks up the phone. So
thank you for your testimony.
As a person who eats both fish and buffalo, I am a little
conflicted after your testimony, Mr. Carlson. [Laughter.]
But there is something that was in your testimony that I
have mentioned a couple of times now. I am also on the Ag
Appropriations Committee, and you have asked for some
information to coordinate with healthcare providers so that
they have scientific evidence of the health benefits of eating
natural-fed grass buffalo diets. I thought that was a proven
fact, you know? But obviously from your testimony, it is not.
I am going to look in to see what I can do on that for you.
Mr. Carlson. Well, to us, it is a proven fact, but they
asked for that, I guess, just for their information. I guess,
just agencies. But we, as Indian people, know that that is a
proven fact, how healthy the food is to us.
Ms. McCollum. Right. You are right. You are competing
against so many things--schools, roads, education, everything.
But you have been--you have been here many, many times, and I
think we have worked on a couple of your little glitches out in
the field with some of the harvesting that you were doing, but
I think there is more we can look into and be partners with.
Mr. Carlson. And we work with schools. We are trying to get
buffalo back into food, you know, for the school lunch
programs, to start from there and getting our people back to
eating healthy from a young age on up. So we do work with the
schools a lot.
Ms. McCollum. So I see opportunities, both talking to my
colleagues who fund education and work with the school lunch
program. I am seeing some opportunities here, and we will look
into it.
Mr. Carlson. Yes. And yes, we do work with schools on the
education side also.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Newland, the fund. You shared what
happened in Michigan. I watched with great angst and horror
what was going on in Minnesota with the Mille Lacs Band, and
then when I ended up being a State representative, voting to
protect the Mille Lacs Band hunting and fishing rights in
particular. I remember the newspaper spreads and the news at
night showing the confrontation that you described.
And my question to you is why do you think you have to keep
renegotiating your rights?
Mr. Newland. Well----
Ms. McCollum. And should we be looking towards not having
to renegotiate your rights. A treaty is a treaty.
Mr. Newland. I couldn't agree more, Madam Chair. I think
that the way these have played out in the courts is, you know,
it is the implementation of the rights and how we regulate the
catches, and the Federal judges seem to have a desire to want
to watch this stuff.
But I couldn't agree more, and a treaty is a treaty. It is
the supreme law of the land, and we shouldn't have to come
asking hat in hand to exercise those rights.
Ms. McCollum. I would think there would be a way in which
the State, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and you all, looking at the
same scientific data, can figure this out. We are having big
issues with walleye in Mille Lacs, as you know. And we have
everybody at the table talking about what we need to do
together. But it sounds like Michigan is more confrontational
than that, or am I hearing you wrong?
Mr. Newland. No, actually, it has been--you know, whenever
you have disparate interests rubbing up against each other, you
know there is some conflict. But it has been collaborative on a
number of fronts. But I will say that our fishermen and our
biologists who are funded with RPI funds, you know, they are on
the front lines of seeing the changes in the Great Lakes, the
invasive species, the changes in ecosystems, the slime and the
algae and the rising water temperatures.
And we actually work with State and Federal agencies to
compile that data and put it to use in a way that helps protect
the Great Lakes. And Madam Chair, I know you have been a big
supporter of the Great Lakes restoration initiative, and this
is supportive of that. But thankfully, the physical
confrontations, at least in Michigan, don't exist like they
used to. They don't occur like when my parents were growing up.
But we have serious policy disagreements about how to
exercise and implement and regulate our treaty fishing rights,
and I am very----
Ms. McCollum. And that fund provides you legal
representation to do that?
Mr. Newland. Yes, there is a related line-item at
Department of the Interior. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. All right. Well, thank you for your
testimony, and we will look into--is that the chart that is in
our book? Yes, we have that.
Oh, there is some extra information? As a social studies
teacher, I always love extra information.
So, Mr. Joyce, we will put this extra information on tribal
historic preservation funding, without objection, into the
record?
Mr. Joyce. Is that extra credit?
Ms. McCollum. That is extra credit. If you read it, I will
give you extra credit. [Laughter.]
Mr. Joyce. No objection.
Ms. McCollum. So ordered.
[The information follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Joyce, would you like to
introduce the next panel?
Mr. Joyce. Sure.
Ms. McCollum. I am going to see how good you are speaking
Hopi last names.
[Pause.]
Mr. Joyce. Welcome. Good morning. In case you weren't here
at the beginning, we are going to go in order. We have 5
minutes for each of you to testify, and then we will address
the questions at the end, if you don't mind.
We will start with Chairman Nuvangyaoma.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
HOPI
WITNESS
TIMOTHY NUVANGYAOMA, CHAIRMAN, HOPI
Mr. Nuvangyaoma. Good morning, Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking
Member Joyce, and honorable members of the subcommittee. My
name is Timothy Nuvangyaoma, and I do have the honor of serving
as the chairman of the Hopi Tribe.
We have over 14,000 tribal members that live on the
reservation, half of whom live on the reservation, which is
approximately the size of Delaware. I will be focusing on three
funding issues today.
First, the Hopi Tribe requests that the subcommittee
provide funding for Hopi Arsenic Mitigation Project, or HAMP,
so we can address the arsenic contamination in our drinking
water. The Hopi Tribe has been forced to drink water that is
laced with arsenic since the 1960s when the BIA constructed our
water supply system.
The EPA ranks the Hopi Reservation as one of its highest
priorities. It has one of the longest-running arsenic drinking
water violations in the country, the levels three times the
legal limit. The EPA has threatened to fine the tribe $52,000
per day if it does not fix the BIA-constructed water system.
The tribe has proactively addressed this issue through the
creation of HAMP. The HAMP proposal has two phases. The first
phase, which is shovel ready and partially completed, will
deliver water to the Hopi villages. However, it will not
provide water to secondary sites, such as schools, healthcare
facilities, and employee housing.
Phase 2 of the HAMP would increase Phase 1's capacity to
create a fully integrated regional water delivery system to
both the villages and secondary sites. The tribe requests the
subcommittee increase clean drinking water funding to ensure
that $20 million is available to complete HAMP.
The Hopi Tribe's second request is for the subcommittee to
ensure timely completion of the Hopi Detention Center. In 2016,
BIA abruptly condemned and closed the tribe's detention center
due to structural deficiencies. The closure left the tribe with
no place to process or hold suspects, let alone to incarcerate
prisoners. The police department was forced to transport
suspects and prisoners over 80 miles to the closest detention
facility.
In May 2017, the BIA told the tribe that it had run out of
funds to contract for prison space. The BIA asked Hopi
prosecutors to commute the sentences of all Hopi inmates. This
was done without any consultation with the Hopi Tribal Council.
We had to appeal directly to the Secretary of Interior's office
to get the BIA to abandon this position.
The BIA has promised temporary modular units for detention
and law enforcement offices since 2016. However, that project
was plagued with delays, and today the modular are only
partially operational. In 2017, this subcommittee approved the
BIA's request to reprogram $5 million to construct a permanent
detention center. Once the funding was approved, the BIA
estimated construction would only take 9 months.
However, almost 2 years later, the BIA has not even awarded
a contract to construct the permanent detention facility. The
tribe requests that the subcommittee inquire into the status of
that contract.
Finally, the Hopi tribe would like to see sufficient
funding for Hopi law enforcement services. We have relied on
the BIA to provide law enforcement on the Hopi Reservation for
many years. The BIA is supposed to staff the reservation with
46 law enforcement officers, but it has never met that
threshold.
In recent years, the tribe has witnessed a decline in the
BIA's response to public safety concerns as the number of BIA
law enforcement personnel covering the reservation has
dwindled. Many times, we only have one officer on duty at
night, and they are responsible for protecting a reservation
the size of Delaware.
Our frustration with the BIA's handling of public safety
led to the tribal council to enter into 638 law enforcement
activities on the reservation. The tribe submitted its proposed
budget of roughly $3.5 million in August 2018, which would
cover 39 positions. Unfortunately, the BIA declined the tribe's
proposal because it didn't agree with the level of funding.
We know the true cost of providing law enforcement on the
reservation is $3.5 million. Without this level of funding, the
BIA is jeopardizing the safety of our community and setting us
up to fail. The Hopi Tribe urges Congress to prioritize public
safety funding in Indian Country and to conduct oversight on
how the BIA is currently deploying public safety resources.
I do appreciate the opportunity to testify, and I am happy
to answer any questions.
Thank you.
[The statement of Timothy Nuvangyaoma follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. That was well done, right on the 5-minute mark.
[Laughter.]
Next we have Chairman Rambler.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
SAN CARLOS APACHE TRIBE
WITNESS
TERRY RAMBLER, CHAIRMAN, SAN CARLOS APACHE TRIBE
Mr. Rambler. Good morning. My name is Terry Rambler,
chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, over 16,000 tribal
members strong. I appreciate the opportunity to testify today.
We humbly request your help on two dire public safety needs
on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, which is over 1.8 million
acres. One, the need to replace a condemned BIA public safety
facility called Building 86, which houses our police department
and tribal courts, with a permanent facility. And two, the need
to increase funding to hire more police officer personnel.
I would like to ask Alejandro Benally, Sr., our chief of
police, if he could stand and be recognized.
Ms. McCollum. Good to see you, Chief.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, Chief.
Mr. Rambler. Chief Benally and his officers risk their
lives daily to make our community safer. They put in 12-hour
shifts and often work overtime. They typically patrol the
reservation alone without backup and respond to more than 80
calls a day for help.
Drug traffickers use the highways and roads that cross the
reservation as primary routes for drugs. Four weeks ago, an
Interior opiate task force brought BIA special agents, drug
enforcement officers, and BLM rangers to the reservation to
target drug traffickers. The 9-day operation resulted in the
seizure of 416 grams of meth and 18 Federal indictments.
Federal agents temporarily assisted our tribal officers on
calls for service unrelated to drugs. One agent was shocked by
the number of calls involving violence and commented to Chief
Benally that his squad of 29 is doing the work of 100 officers.
Lack of staffing is only part of the problem. Their jobs
are nearly impossible due to the lack of a functioning
facility. The BIA built Building 86 many decades ago to house
the police, investigative, and court operations on the
reservation. The BIA owns Building 86 and had the
responsibility to maintain it.
In the 1990s, the tribe entered into a BIA 638 contract for
police services. Due to severe structural deficiencies of
Building 86 and its location in a monsoon flood plain, BIA
condemned it in 2009 and tried to hand us the keys. BIA
renovated a nearby Federal building and moved its investigators
there. However, BIA left the tribe's 638 police force and our
tribal courts in this condemned building.
It was not until 6 years later that the BIA finally moved
our police and courts out of the condemned building and into a
modular with the promise to permanently replace the facility.
The BIA modular was designed to be a temporary classroom. It is
not a place that should house public safety personnel.
When Chief Benally starts his day, he walks into an office
with an open crack in the wall where he can see outside. The
generator routinely malfunctions and doesn't provide AC in
parts of the modular, which makes for intolerable conditions in
the scorching heat of the Sonoran Desert.
Water service routinely does not work, and the restrooms
and kitchen are out of service. The flimsy floors do not
support the weight of our safes that hold cash, drugs, and
other evidence. The back door is broken and has to be propped
open with a rock, creating serious safety concerns.
The ground beneath the BIA fuel tanks is eroding, creating
difficulties for officers when filling up police vehicles with
gas. I could go on and on and on. Here are photos of some of
these deficiencies.
Representative O'Halleran visited the modular last August.
During the visit, the water was out, so no one could use the
restroom. Often, the sewage overflows, causing a stench and
health risks. There are portable toilets outside, but the 100
degree, 120 degree heat makes them unbearable.
While the congressman was talking with our chief judge, the
power went out, and we had to complete the meeting using phone
flashlights. No justice system can function without a usable
facility. The time is long overdue to permanently replace
Building 86.
In conclusion, the tribe requests the following. One, we
urge you to provide allocated funding to replace BIA police and
court facilities condemned over 10 years ago on reservations
with high crime rates and where these functions are currently
housed in temporary modulars originally designed to be
classrooms.
Two, to help address severe tribal police staffing needs,
we urge you to increase funding for this staffing to $450
million and prioritize reservations suffering from the highest
crime rates in the country.
And I thank you for the opportunity to testify. I thank
Darren Benjamin for coming to San Carlos and seeing firsthand
our issues. And I invite the committee to San Carlos out in
Arizona. Today, it is swimming pool weather. [Laughter.]
[The statement of Terry Rambler follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you very much for your offer.
Lastly, we will hear from President Nez.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
NAVAJO NATION
WITNESS
JONATHAN NEZ, PRESIDENT, NAVAJO NATION
Mr. Nez [Speaking Native language.]
Good morning, Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking Member Joyce,
and members of the subcommittee. My name is Jonathan Nez, and I
am the president of the Navajo Nation.
And I am joined with me today with the Navajo Nation vice
president, Myron Lizer, who is seated behind me, and many of
our Navajo Nation citizens.
I appreciate this opportunity to provide testimony on our
public safety concerns. I thank the subcommittee for working on
a bipartisan basis to increase funding for Indian programs
these past couple of years.
Public safety is one of our priorities. You know, public
safety, the system as a whole is not just about police
officers. It also includes our attorneys, Navajo Nation
Department of Justice, our prosecutors, our courts as well, and
let us not forget our behavioral and mental health services as
a whole, you know?
Today, we are asking for support, but there is a bigger
public safety system that we should all keep in mind today. Our
public safety division includes the criminal investigations,
department of corrections, our training academy. Let me just
say that we opened our new training academy. It was idle for
over 10 years, and we finally brought our training academy back
to the Navajo Nation. And let me just announce, too, that our
first time we brought this training center back, training
academy back to Navajo, we had 12 new Navajo officers who
graduated. And 2 weeks ago, another 16 officers graduated.
So another 28 officers on the street. So with more police
officers, we need assistance for helping the Navajo Nation keep
their officers on the Navajo Nation. It seems where tribal
communities are training for police officers out there, we
bring them on and other departments around our reservations,
you know, they have a higher salary, and they go to those
higher salaries. And we ask here if we can help increase the
salary for our tribal police officers.
And we also have seven police districts throughout the
Navajo Nation. Every year, we request funding increases, and
even with the small improvements, it does not meet the demands.
We estimate that it would take at least $74 million in
additional funding per year to ensure proper law enforcement
and judicial services.
Recent FBI and Navajo Division of Public Safety data
suggest that violent crime is on the rise in the Navajo Nation,
and it is no different than other nations, as was mentioned by
our--excuse me, by our tribal leaders this morning. From 2010
to 2016, over 44 percent of the calls to our Division of Public
Safety involved violent crimes.
Navajo Criminal investigations responds to approximately 30
to 50 homicides per year, which represents a rate that is about
4 times the national average. In responding to criminal
activity, there are fewer than 205 patrol officers, 27 criminal
investigators, and 4 internal investigators for entire Navajo
Nation and the size of West Virginia, as they say, with about
174,000 people on the Navajo Nation, and that fluctuates. You
know, a lot of our citizens work off the nation.
We have 13.4 patrol officers per 10,000 citizens, which is
less than the national average of 24 officers per 10,000. We
would have to hire 115 more patrol officers and 30 more
criminal investigators to close the gap.
In 2018, the Navajo Nation police department responded to
over 248,000 service calls and made about 27,000 arrests. The
deficit in police officers and the vast travel distance, 27,000
square miles of Navajo land, increases our response times,
allowing more bad actors to evade crime.
Also, police vehicles are subject to wear and tear. The
Navajo police department has about 254 vehicles, and 86 have
more than 150,000 miles.
Gathering and analyzing criminal evidence is also
difficult. We have no funding to hire medical examiners.
Deceased individuals are transported long distance to State
autopsy facilities. We have no crime lab. Evidence for Federal
crimes are submitted the Federal crime lab, but there is no lab
facility for a case that is purely under Navajo jurisdiction.
Navajo also operates 6 adult detention facilities with 345
beds and 4 juvenile detention facilities with 98 beds.
So Navajo also has one supreme court and 11 judicial
districts. You know, just to quickly highlight, we have only 14
prosecutors to handle all these cases. As you can see, we have
many more challenges. We did submit our written testimony. I
ran out of time, but that is included in our written testimony.
And they all--I ask this committee to pay attention to our
public safety concerns, which are likely similar to many other
Indian tribes, as was presented this morning. The Federal
Government has a responsibility under our Treaty of 1868 and a
trust obligation to protect and assist the nation, all tribal
nations, securing and developing our people, land, and
resources.
Thank you.
[The statement of Jonathan Nez follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Those
statistics are staggering.
I will start off with my colleague, Mrs. Watson Coleman. Do
you have any questions?
Mrs. Watson Coleman. Thank you. I do. Thank you.
This is for--I think this is for Mr.--I don't dare try to
say your name. [Laughter.]
Mr. Nuvangyaoma. Nuvangyaoma.
Mr. Joyce. There you go.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. I guess this is kind of for all. First
of all, this is a water remediation issue. Is that--am I
talking to the right person?
Mr. Nuvangyaoma. Right. We are trying to mitigate some of
the arsenic issues in our water at this time.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. OK. Where is the funding coming from
for the work that you are currently doing and have been doing?
Mr. Nuvangyaoma. We received some funding as late as last
year from the IHS. So they are providing $14 million towards
this, with direct input from the Hopi Tribe of $1 million to
look at trying to draw in some power to power the pumps to push
the water out to the affected villages.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. So the proposal for remediating this
issue right now, did I get it right, is to get the proper
water, drinking water to the residents, but not to sort of
facilities like schools and things like that?
Mr. Nuvangyaoma. Right. It will draw the line out to the
villages that are mainly affected with this.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. And that is if you get the $20
million?
Mr. Nuvangyaoma. Correct.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. So what would it cost to be able to
bring drinkable water into those facilities?
Mr. Nuvangyaoma. And that is what we are looking for,
additional funding from appropriations would help pull in some
of this water. Currently, the schools operate on their own. So
it is a high cost to the schools, and whenever there is a
malfunction with the water system, they actually have igloos of
water set up in the schools. So if they have issues like that,
the children, of course, and staff and everybody engaged with
the school, has a resource for clean water.
If I could add to that also, most of our community drink
tap water, which is laced with arsenic. Those that are able to,
buy their own water, which gets costly. And water shouldn't be
a luxury. It should be a necessary resource for everybody.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. We agree. We agree. And to the rest of
you, my understanding is that the issue of public safety on the
reservations is a very important issue from structures to the
number of people that you can hire to work in that capacity
from lawyers to judges to police officers. And this seems to be
something that you all shared.
Mr. Nuvangyaoma. Yes.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. And so when you are asking for this
$74 million, Mr. Nez, President Nez, are you talking about what
the Indian nations need in order to upgrade its public safety
system, or are you talking just about what the Navajo Tribe
needs?
Mr. Nez. Yes, well, thank you for that question,
Representative Coleman, Chairwoman, members of the
subcommittee. Seventy-four million is just for the Navajo
Nation to be close to the level of providing those public
safety services for our Navajo people. And that is just the
bare minimum.
You know, throughout Indian Country, we are talking about
into the hundreds of millions of dollars, maybe even the
billions of dollars. As I was saying earlier, public safety,
the public safety system as a whole needs to be looked at in
that way, and that includes the judges, the courts,
prosecutors, and even behavioral and mental health.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. Just one follow-up. Could you tell me
the population of the Navajo?
Mr. Nez. Wow, that is a good question. You know, we have
close to 200,000 at times living on our nation. We estimated
last census 350,000 to 500,000 Navajos all over the world. We
are all over the world, you know? And some of these tribes have
some of our members working for them. So maybe I will throw a
pitch in today. Are you guys ready to come home and help the
Navajo Nation?
But we have a big nation. Twenty-seven thousand square
miles, as I said earlier, the size of the State of West
Virginia now.
Mrs. Watson Coleman. Thank you very much. Thank you so
much.
Mr. Joyce. You are welcome. Ms. Pingree, do you have any
questions?
Ms. Pingree. I am set, but thank you so much for your
testimony. I really do appreciate that you are here with us.
Mr. Joyce. Madam Chair.
Ms. McCollum. Complications of arsenic poisoning include
cancer, liver disease, diabetes, nervous system complications,
loss of sensation in the limbs and hearing problems, and
digestive difficulties. And you have people who are drinking
water that they know is laced with asbestos.
So all the pipes that had the asbestos in it, were all the
pipes put in by the Federal Government?
Mr. Nuvangyaoma. To my knowledge, they were.
Ms. McCollum. To your knowledge.
Mr. Nuvangyaoma. Yes, ma'am.
Ms. McCollum. And the Federal Government knows that, in my
opinion, it is knowingly morally wrong to have people drinking
poison. It is going to contribute to the cost of what the
Federal Government has as its trust and treaty responsibility
to provide healthcare, and the pipes were put in what year
again?
Mr. Nuvangyaoma. We are looking at as early as the 1960s.
Ms. McCollum. 1960s, and they have failed to replace them.
Mr. Nuvangyaoma. They haven't had any work done on them,
yes, ma'am.
Ms. McCollum. Interesting. Do you know if those pipes, as
with lead pipes, they can extrude some plastic or something to
put in the pipe to kind of block the asbestos from coming out?
Have they talked about--I don't know if that is possible. I am
not an engineer. I am not trying to play, you know, a stump or
a ``got you'' question. But have they ever talked about other
things, or is this full replacement?
Mr. Nuvangyaoma. I thank you for your question, and I was
just going to respond with that. I am not an engineer either,
and since I have been in the office, I haven't heard anything
of any kind of mitigation concerning lining it with any other
material to try to mitigate some of the arsenic.
There have been talks about filtration systems. However,
the cost on that is pretty enormous, and having to change out
the actual filters themselves will, you know, continue to cost.
So in order to fully mitigate this, we are looking at just
rehashing all the piping that needs to be taken care of, and we
are talking about a pretty big project. And there is everything
in place. Again, the wells have already been drilled. It is
just a matter of getting the infrastructure in the places.
So I would welcome you to come out to Hopi and visit where
we are at because we are challenged geographically. We live on
high mesas. So it is not as easy----
Ms. McCollum. I have been out there, but this is the first
time I have heard this.
Mr. Nuvangyaoma. Oh, OK. Well, I am glad we could let you
know.
Ms. McCollum. And that, to our point, is why we are doing
the testimony the way that we are in blocks, so that we can
really delve into things. And we have your full written
testimony on all of the other things you care about, but this
has given this committee an opportunity to hear something new.
So I thank you, and believe me, I don't think you just have
my attention. I think you have everybody's attention.
Mr. Nuvangyaoma. And I thank the subcommittee as well.
Ms. McCollum. So thank you. Mr. O'Halleran has been talking
about what he saw in Arizona. So he came up, ``Do you know what
is going on?''
Ms. Pingree. And now we have seen the pictures----
Ms. McCollum. Because he is in the picture, so I know he
was really there.
You said in your written testimony that the BIA has on its
own just stopped moving forward with doing any remediation,
stopped facilities replacement--the DOJ, excuse me, stopped
facility funding on replacements of tribal justice buildings,
and they are very aware of the backlog. Is that a Department of
Justice issue as well as a BIA issue?
Because we can do some things in our account, but they also
have responsibility in their account, and we have the ability
to speak to each other about these issues. So how much of
this--and you can get back to us--is in DOJ?
Mr. Rambler. I think the last time came from BIA for public
safety facility construction was back in 2009 under the ARRA
funding. But other than that, it has been DOJ, but it bounces
back and forth. And when we have meetings, they blame each
other.
Ms. McCollum. Oh, wonderful.
Mr. Rambler. So I think it is on the Federal Government's
responsibility to make sure that tribes do get these fundings
and that I think everybody knows that the tribes are the most
administratively burdened organization on this world. And so
when we get bounced around like that, it makes it even harder
to fill the needs of our people.
Ms. McCollum. OK. Well, we are going to look into shared
responsibility because our allocation hasn't been going up.
I have been out to the Navajo Reservation. You folks do a
magnificent job training, and we need to make sure that you
have all the tools that you need to keep the recruitment. So
thank you for bringing that to our attention. And that means
not only personnel, the other supportive things that you need,
a crime lab and the rest, but also that you have our support on
trying to solve this.
So thank you.
Mr. Nez. If I may, Madam Chair?
Mr. Joyce. You may.
Mr. Nez. Thank you. And we appreciate you all coming out to
the Navajo Nation. I know many of the House committee members I
think two Congresses ago came out to the Navajo Nation,
experienced our bumpy roads, school buses that travel through
those communities and those rough conditions.
And we are under a state of emergency right now on the
Navajo Nation, and our police officers, our first responders
are doing the best that they can. And this is another reason
why we are wanting to advocate for our public safety personnel
and getting them the resources needed.
They go above and beyond. They have been 24/7, helping
grandmas and our elderlies that are out in the rural area that
have 3 feet of snow. We had high records of snow in Arizona a
couple of weeks ago, and they are doing their very best that
they can to reach out to those high-risk individuals or elderly
and those that can't help themselves.
And we are also asking our folks to volunteer, to get out
and help each other as well, and that is what we are trying to
reteach many of our members. So I appreciate, Chairperson
McCollum and subcommittee, for the hearing today. It will
provide us an opportunity to give you some real-life situations
that we deal with on a daily basis.
Thank you.
Mr. Joyce. We appreciate your testimony.
I am not an engineer either, and I don't pretend to play
one on TV. But I know one thing they do, and it depends on the
size of your water lines. In the City of Cleveland, they would
go through with an auger and then would back-spray it with
concrete in the line. One, because they had a buildup of
whatever it is that is in the lines.
But two, I don't know if there is a way to do it. I don't
think you can necessarily stick a plastic one inside of it, but
certainly something we can look into. For 25 years before I got
here, I was in law enforcement. So I got to tell you I was
talking to the chief, when I wanted to know what was going on.
If I wanted to know about the budget or the politics of an
office, you would see the chief. But if you wanted to know what
is going on in the field, you would go talk to the officers.
But it looks like you do both, and there is certainly an
intimidating figure there.
Part of the discussion and testimony last year from you,
Chairman Rambler, was the fact that you had mentioned that in
2018 we appropriated $218 million to focus on detention
centers. We continue that in 2019 for the same level, but
without the focus being on detention centers.
In response to your testimony last year, we put in that
connection to address--the need to replace your police station.
Have you talked to BIA leadership about the change in
congressional intent for 2019? And if so, what did they tell
you?
Mr. Rambler. I think right now they are prioritizing the
detention facilities, and we want more priority on the police
and the court facilities and to also include the additional
money that we are asking for not only for us, but our sisters
and brothers across the United States.
Mr. Joyce. Were they to be separate and distinct
facilities, or can the police department be located inside of a
detention center?
Mr. Rambler. It can be all inclusive.
Mr. Joyce. But there has been no funding or no work done on
either the detention center or the police station?
Mr. Rambler. Well, we have a detention facility that is at
one point in time used to be adequate, but now because of the
demand, it needs to be enlarged. But we did get a CTAS grant to
design a facility. So we have designed a facility. We just
don't have the construction money to build that facility.
Mr. Joyce. I got it. President Nez, you brought up the
differential between you are doing all this training, and you
are losing the people that you train.
Mr. Nez. Yes, sir.
Mr. Joyce. Having worked in the public sector with
prosecutors, just about the time they were worthwhile, there is
a law firm that came and grabbed them. What is the differential
between your ability to pay and what is being paid out in the
community?
Mr. Nez. Oh, we are right now with the appropriations that
are appropriated each year, it is at a low rate than other
police departments surrounding our nation. And we have been
utilizing some of those additional funds to help supplement
that.
But once that additional funding runs out, we are going to
be pretty much forced into using the general funds, and for the
Navajo Nation and I want to say as well as the Hopi Nation
here, the uncertainty of some of our coal-fired power plants in
the region, the Navajo generating station is one. If that were
to shut down, that would affect the coal mine that we get
revenue from, the Peabody coal mine.
And if those two closures happen, Navajo is looking at
about a $30 million to $50 million decrease of our general fund
dollars. And so it is going to be hard to find additional
dollars to help supplement that higher pay raise for our public
safety personnel. And that is just not police officers. It is
also correctional officers as well, prosecutors. And so that is
the reason why we are all here today is to see, you know?
And then we also brought out the point of this treaty
obligation as well, and one of those is public safety and also
education. But I think if we are to step back and look at the
bigger picture in tribes, how can the Federal Government help
nations to help themselves is the bigger goal. I think a
different plan of diversifying our economy would help Indian
nations throughout the country. And for us, I think to resume
and maybe even renewable energy to bring some of those dollars
that we may lose in the future.
Thank you, sir.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. Thank you all for your testimony and
your traveling here today to be before us and I look forward to
working with you on your matters going forward.
Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Nez, the gentleman over here
handles EPA, and I would like you to update us on the Gold King
Mine. If the two of you, if you could talk to him off to the
side?
Thank you.
Mr. Nez. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
Mr. Joyce. Thanks again.
[Pause.]
Ms. Pingree. We are ready for our next panel. Thank you,
all.
[Pause.]
Ms. Pingree. You are in the panel after this one. So it is
Julian Bear Runner, Rodney Bordeaux, Ella Robertson, and
Mulan--do you want to say your first name?
Ms. Dana. Maulian.
Ms. Pingree. Maulian?
Ms. Dana. Maulian. Yes, perfect.
Ms. Pingree. I should get the one from Maine right, anyway.
Maulian. [Laughter.]
Great. Thank you very much.
Let us go ahead and start with President Bear Runner.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
OGLALA SIOUX TRIBE
WITNESS
JULIAN BEAR RUNNER, PRESIDENT, OGLALA SIOUX TRIBE
Mr. Bear Runner. Thank you, ma'am.
My name is Julian Bear Runner. I am one of the youngest
leaders in the history of my nation. I come from the Oglala
Sioux Tribe----
Ms. McCollum. Sir, is the red light on on the microphone?
Mr. Bear Runner. Yes. Yes, ma'am.
Ms. McCollum. You have a wonderfully soft voice.
Mr. Bear Runner. OK. Is that better?
Ms. Pingree. Yes.
Mr. Bear Runner. OK. Thank you.
My name is Julian Bear Runner. Like I said before, I am one
of the youngest leaders in the history of my nation. I come
from the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, and you know, in
the history, I know a few of you have come out to our country
and visited.
And you know, being one of the youngest leaders, our
struggles have always been the same. Our numbers have always
been the same, but our population has grown. And the disparity
of our problems is growing, you know? And so I am here today to
ask for additional funding, for more funding to meet the needs
of our population and our people.
Specifically, for our law enforcement, we do have a huge
growing meth epidemic in Indian Country. You know, and we
have--we are so spread out within our country, and our response
time for our law enforcement, you know, we have 56 officers,
and that is from the chief to the most junior officer that we
have available. With a population of 40,000 people, you know,
it is--we are stretching our officers pretty thin. And they are
underpaid, they are overworked, and the need is crucial.
I have worked for law enforcement before, and there are
times when you know you are fighting with three or four people
that you are trying to gain control of, and your nearest backup
is over 45 minutes away sometimes. And that 45 minutes seems to
be for a lifetime, and it is really difficult.
You know, we need additional personnel. We need additional
facilities. We did recently have a facility built, and that is
in our furthest southwest corner of our reservation. But coming
from a place the size of Rhode Island, the northern--the
northeastern boundary of our reservation is 2\1/2\ hours away.
Also working for our ambulance service, it is difficult for
them, too. It puts their safety at risk. You know, sometimes
they will have a combative patient, and you know, the nearest
officer is a minimum of 25 to 30 minutes away. And it
jeopardizes our medical personnel, you know?
And all these issues are factoring, you know, all factor
together all the way down to our roads. These officers, their
vehicles are being damaged, you know, because we don't have
enough funding repair the roads. And it is just very
disheartening. But as a young leader, you know, I am looking to
make large advancements within my nation, you know,
technological advances to bring my people into the 21st
century, which is going to be a huge improvement.
But I can't do it on my own. You know, we need the funding.
We need the help to make this possible. And it is just hard.
You know, it is really hard to have a grandma and grandpa over
here suffering, you know, and we can't get them the services
that everyone is required.
And most recently, you know, we had--I, as a president,
come across a man lying in the middle of the road, you know?
And I called 911 for help, and I am left as the leader to deal
with the situation because law enforcement is 25 to 30 minutes
away. They are dealing with other problems.
And you know, one, it is a safety risk, but you know, it is
very hard being the leader, having to--which is no problem, no
problem to me to step in and assist where I can. But we need
the help. We need the funding. We need to be able to hire and
retain these individuals.
You know, we send our--the BIA creates a lot of red tape.
They want certification. And for me, I felt like it infringes
on our self-determination. You know, we have to abide by BIA
standards. So we send our people to train with the BIA in New
Mexico, you know, and most of our staff are recruited straight
out of the academy. So they don't even come home, but yet we
devoted the time and effort into assisting them to gain their
certification.
So I thank you for listening.
[The statement of Julian Bear Runner follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you very much for your testimony.
President Bordeaux.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
ROSEBUD SIOUX TRIBE
WITNESS
RODNEY BORDEAUX, PRESIDENT, ROSEBUD SIOUX TRIBE
Mr. Bordeaux. Good morning, Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking
Member Joyce, and members of the subcommittee. On behalf of the
Rosebud Sioux Tribe, I would like to thank you for the
opportunity to share our tribal priorities in public safety and
justice.
One of the primary responsibilities of the Rosebud Sioux
tribal government and the United States Government is to
provide public safety and justice services to members of the
public. However, this responsibility has been neglected.
Documentation exists that illustrates the fact that tribal
courts and law enforcement agencies have been historically
underfunded by the Federal Government to the extent that
severely limits our ability to ensure safety and justice.
This is especially disheartening, especially because Native
Americans are the victims of violence at the rate two times the
national average. A report issued by Congress and the BIA in
2016 indicated that the annual estimated need for public safety
and justice programs in Indian Country is $1 billion for law
enforcement programs, $222 million for detention, and $1
billion for tribal courts.
Additionally, we are requesting an increase of funding for
BIA law enforcement and detention by at least $2 million over
the 2018--$200 million, I am sorry, over the 2018 funding level
of $373 million.
The Rosebud Sioux Tribe law enforcement services responds
to over 18,500 calls for service every year. Our law
enforcement services serves an area of approximately 1 million
acres, or roughly 1,560 square miles with only 25 patrol
officers and 5 criminal investigators. The national average of
officer-to-person ratio is 3.5 officers for every 1,000 people.
Whereas on the Rosebud, the officer-to-person ratio is 1
officer per 1,000.
An increase in funding will be utilized to hire at least 20
more officers and acquire additional 20 vehicles. The
additional officers and patrol units will significantly reduce
the response time and provide our law enforcement services
personnel with more time to investigate open cases.
The Rosebud Sioux tribal court was established in 1975 and
is a court of general jurisdiction. Statistics provided by our
court handled 5,096 new criminal cases in 2018. Due to the
ongoing meth epidemic plaguing not only Rosebud Reservation,
the entire nation, those numbers will continue to increase, and
the amount of these cases require adequate staffing to ensure
everyone has an equal chance at justice.
In addition to the funding needed to ensure the adequate
level of court personnel, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe needs a new
courthouse or a justice center. Repairs to the existing
courthouse to ensure the continuity of service currently
includes a new roof, three air conditioners that were just
crowded in. There is just not enough room in there.
Our corrections. Rosebud Sioux Tribe adult correction
facility is a 220-bed facility. The facility reports that 60
percent of the inmates they house are being held for meth-
related charges.
The adult correctional facility averages about 220 bookings
per month. Most inmates need mental health treatment, substance
abuse treatment, physical health education. There is also a
dire need for substance abuse, as well detox services not--
currently not provided by the Indian Health Service or anyone.
The ACF, the adult correctional facility is short staff and
needs 10 more additional correctional officers. The facility
currently operates with 4 to 5 officers per shift, with actual
need of 10 to 12 officers. It is not uncommon for 4 to 5
officers in our detention facility to approximately oversee 120
inmates.
If all positions were filled at the facility, they would
have 53 employees that would consist of 7 administrative-level
positions, 4 sergeants, 36 correctional officers, 3 cooks, and
a few maintenance officers. The facility presently operates
with 26 COs and 10 vacancies due to lack of funding. The ratio
of COs to inmates is a security concern, and there is a need of
additional funding of about $600,000.
I want to briefly touch on tribal roads. Quality roads are
critical to the component of ensuring public safety. According
to the Office of Inspector General at the Department of
Transportation, only 17 percent of tribal roads are deemed
acceptable by the BIA, more than 60 percent of tribal roads
remain unpaved, and 27 percent of bridges are structurally
deficient.
It is vital that the recent increase in tribal
transportation funding--oh, sorry. Wow, that happened fast.
Ms. Pingree. Do you want to just wrap up with a couple more
sentences?
Mr. Bordeaux. Yes, I just wanted to, in closing, we need to
enact legislation that provides for advance appropriations so
we are forward funded. So that we are not caught up in this
game, like this recent shutdown really caused havoc on our
reservations as well as Indian Country in general and the
Nation. And it just caused a lot of problems.
Basically, the main thing is our treaty rights. We need to
make sure that, you know, we are fighting all our treaty rights
all the time as you get in Congress, and we are just asking
that they be upheld.
Thank you.
[The statement of Rodney Bordeaux follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you. And thank you for being here today.
Chairwoman Robertson.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
SISSETON WAHPETON
WITNESS
ELLA ROBERTSON, CHAIRWOMAN, SISSETON WAHPETON
Ms. Robertson. Good morning, Chairwoman McCollum. My name
is Ella Robertson. I am the chairwoman of the Sisseton Wahpeton
Oyate, second chairwoman in our history.
I am wearing red today in honor of Savanna Greywind and
recognizing--sorry. And recognizing missing and murdered
indigenous women across Indian Country and bringing to light
the importance of safety in our tribal communities. I am
pleased to testify at this important hearing on fiscal year
2020 appropriations.
The construction of our justice center is our highest and
most important priority. At the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, we
have experienced serious violent crime, drug crime, and
juvenile delinquency. The Governors of North and South Dakota
have recognized the importance of our justice center, and so do
our congressional delegations.
The SWO justice center will enhance the public safety of
the Lake Traverse Reservation and the surrounding areas for all
of our people, Indian and non-Indian alike. I quote Governor
Burgum when I say that the SWO justice center ``will enhance
regional law enforcement, criminal justice, and the safety of
our citizens.''
From fiscal year 2018, the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate received
a grant of $4.875 million for construction of an adult
detention center. For fiscal year 2020, we urgently need to
move forward with funding for detention of the most serious
tribal offenders with TLOA's enhanced sentencing authority,
appropriate BIA detention staff for our new facility to be
constructed, and our drug and alcohol rehabilitation to treat
adult and juvenile alcohol and drug offenders.
And there is rising crime in our community. The FBI reports
that violent crime in the United States was about 383 per
100,000. The South Dakota crime rate was up 2.7 percent. In
North Dakota, the crime rate was up 11.6 percent. And South
Dakota's AG says there is a meth epidemic across the Nation. It
affects the reservations. We need to do everything we can for
prevention and treatment.
The FBI says methamphetamine abuse has been rising in
Indian reservations, correlating to an increase in violence.
And we have seen an increase in violent crime in all the Indian
reservations throughout the State, as President Bordeaux
testified.
Governor Noem says South Dakota has grown increasingly
unsafe as the growth of violence has outstripped the growth of
the population. Drug crime offenses in South Dakota grew 222
percent over the last 10 years. And the Governor has pledged to
fight drug crime.
At Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, we have been continuing serious
increase in drug-related crime and violence, and we are
committed to fighting. This year, we need more help to build
our comprehensive justice center. For fiscal year 2020, the
Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate urgently needs $4 million in additional
funding for secure cells for the most serious offenders
incarcerated under the TLOA Act enhanced tribal sentencing
authority. We need $2 million for BIA detention staff, and we
need $4.84 million for our alcohol and drug rehabilitation
center.
Our tribe is compliant with the enhanced TLOA sentencing
requirements. We are ready to deal with serious tribal
offenders, including rapists, serious violent crime
recidivists, and drug dealers. We need long-term secure bed
space.
Congress should increase BIA detention staff to provide
detention officers for newly constructed tribal detention
facilities. Our new treatment and recovery support center is
the tribe's highest priority for health. Drug and alcohol
offenders are typically recidivist, so addressing the
underlying causes of serious crime is an important avenue to
restore community wellness.
And so I just want to add a couple of comments to that. In
speaking with our probation officer and our parole officer, we
do have a parole program that is unique in the United States in
that our parole officer has dual jurisdiction in the State and
the tribe. So people are really watching what we are doing with
our program, and we are very serious about helping our tribal
members.
And we take--we look at it holistically because it is not
just about incarceration. It is also about getting help for our
tribal members with rehabilitation, with drug treatment. As
President Bordeaux stated, we are in need of a detox facility,
long-term treatment center. So there is many needs that we have
on the reservation.
And in building this justice center, we have put $4 million
of our own money into this project, and so we are committed to
public safety in our community.
Thank you.
[The statement of Ella Robertson follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you very much.
Ambassador Dana.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
PENOBSCOT NATION
WITNESS
MAULIAN DANA, AMBASSADOR, PENOBSCOT NATION
Ms. Dana. Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking Member Joyce, and
members of the subcommittee, thank you for allowing me to
testify today.
Thank you also to Ms. Chellie Pingree for always taking the
time to learn our issues and advocate for the tribal nations
located in Maine.
The Penobscot Nation has approximately 2,400 citizens and
over 123,000 acres of land. We are unique in that a significant
portion of our land consists of about 200 islands located
within approximately 80 miles of the Penobscot River. Our main
community and seat of government is located on the largest
island called Indian Island.
We have lived on our current lands for at least 6,000
years. We are a close-knit community that tries to take care of
each other, but our biggest public welfare and safety issue
right now is an opioid drug epidemic that is tearing up our
community and devastating families.
Our drug epidemic is part of a larger statewide opioid
epidemic. Nearly one person a day died in Maine of a drug
overdose in 2018. One in four deaths in Maine now involve
heroin or morphine.
The statewide epidemic has been trickling down to the
Penobscot Nation. Eighty-seven percent of our child welfare
cases within the last 3 years involve parental opioid abuse.
The drug incidents on our reservation went up by 150 percent
from 2017, and we have seen a 300 percent increase in drug
overdoses.
The most notable story involved a woman with two young
children who was arrested for felony drug charges and spent
time in jail. When she was released, she was home only a few
days before she overdosed on heroin. In that instance, she was
revived by Narcan, and we were able to get her into a substance
abuse program for a short time. But unfortunately, in January
she overdosed and died in her home with her two children asleep
in their bedrooms.
These incidents used to be rare in our community, but they
are starting to become prevalent. We have pulled together all
of our service departments, including law enforcement, social
services, housing, healthcare, and others, and decided that we
needed to take a holistic approach and try and tackle this
issue. We developed a Healing to Wellness Court Program, which
has been our most successful tool to combat this epidemic.
This court program involves collaboration between 10 tribal
departments that work together to develop a treatment and
wellness plan for each participant. Individuals are referred to
the program through our criminal or juvenile justice systems or
through our child custody or abuse proceedings.
Our tribal court performs the administrative components of
this program, and our tribal health clinic performs the medical
aspects. Our health clinic provides primary care services
onsite and access to specialty care services via the Indian
Health Service Purchased and Referred Care Program.
Thirty-nine individuals have successfully graduated from
our Healing to Wellness Court Program, and only two graduates
have reoffended, and they have reentered the program.
So the program works once we are able to get individuals
into the program. In fact, the success is now receiving
recognition from the Maine State court and the Federal U.S.
attorney's office. Our biggest problem is a shortage of
funding, which is incredibly frustrating, given that the costs
of this program, $7,500 per individual per year, are
substantially less than the cost of incarceration, which costs
$38,000 per individual per year.
There is no Federal funding that we are aware of
specifically targeted towards these types of court programs. We
do our best to cobble together our various Federal funding so
that we can develop a comprehensive, coordinated, and balanced
strategy for combating this drug epidemic.
Our healing to wellness court relies on funding from the
BIA's public justice and safety programs and human services
programs. Additionally, we rely on funding from the Indian
Health Service to perform the medical treatment component of
our program. This is our core foundational funding.
We then apply for discretionary grants from the Department
of Justice and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration. However, while this funding allows us to
provide treatment to the individual program participant, the
funding cannot be used for court core personnel.
Healing to wellness courts work, and significant strides
can be made to combat the drug problems we face if the
following can happen. We need an increase in funding for our
tribal court. We cannot operate a healing to wellness court
without judges, essential personnel, and an adequate
administrative process.
We need continued increases in funding for IHS Purchased
and Referred Care Program. Our healthcare providers now rely
heavily on alternative treatments for pain management from
offsite providers, such as physical therapy, to reduce reliance
on chronic opioid abuse. However, these services are
significantly more expensive than previous pharmaceutical
treatment.
There needs to be an increase in funding for BIA drug
investigators. We have been trying to participate in the Maine
Drug Enforcement Agency, but in order to do so, we need to
provide a drug agent to the agency. We don't have one and
cannot afford one.
There needs to be funding at IHS for recovery coaches or
counselors to guide the success of those individuals who
graduate.
Lastly, as the Penobscot Nation battles the ongoing drug
epidemic, we are faced with the problem of how to address the
significant level of trauma, especially on families,
particularly on children. There needs to be some Federal
funding available to help these youth and stabilize families.
Thank you for allowing me to testify today.
[The statement of Maulian Dana follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you very much for your time. Perfect
timing. [Laughter.]
I know from all of this experience it is not easy to get
all that you all have to say into a short period of time.
Ms. Dana. I had a lot.
Ms. Pingree. Mr. Joyce, do you have any questions?
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. I appreciate all of you coming today,
and I certainly--you heard my background. I certainly
appreciate that justice costs money and we need to put the
money into it.
I do want to follow up with Chairman Bordeaux, not
necessarily on point, but following up on Ambassador Dana's
point about healthcare being part of the process. Your hospital
on the reservation had some accreditation issues. Is that
getting any better for you?
Mr. Bordeaux. It is an annual thing. One part of the
hospital gets better, the emergency and out-rooms have gotten a
lot better. But the funding level just, it is just terrible. We
just can't get any doctors. Attracting doctors to the Rosebud
Reservation is pretty remote in terms of the other tribes in
South Dakota.
But yes, we are coming up for another review here this
year, and we are getting ready for that. So the ER part of it
was pretty bad, though.
Mr. Joyce. Good luck on that issue.
I have no further questions. I yield back.
Ms. Pingree. Chairwoman McCollum.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
The Honorable Bear Runner, you were very humble in
introducing yourself. I want to thank you for your infantry
service to our country. And when you were speaking about being
on the roadside and helping someone, you are a lab technician,
which means that you have spent a little time around medical.
They were very fortunate to have you as the person by the
roadside.
I did a little looking at what EMTs, EMSs get paid, and I
am going to slide this over, and you can show it to folks. You
are surrounded by States. Minnesota pays the highest. Nebraska
pays the second. Then Iowa and North Dakota. And even Wyoming.
It is only Montana that touches your border that pays the same,
and that isn't the tribal wage. This is just the average public
wage.
If we don't get the wages right, we can't keep recruitment
up. But if you don't have safe roads to drive on and the
equipment, and as Rosebud had in their testimony, three
ambulances, for the size of Rhode Island, one is probably doing
transport.
Mr. Bear Runner. Correct.
Ms. McCollum. Only two ambulances. So people are waiting
for ambulances. The stress that those people face, who have
gone into this field to help, whether it is law enforcement,
victim advocacy. The stress that these individuals are dealing
with is phenomenal, and we are truly fortunate to have people
in Indian Country that wake up every day and do these jobs, but
I am just going to share this with you.
When we have discussions with the Bureau of Indian Affairs
and others that touch the financing on here, they also need to
be advocating for you because they work for you.
So, with that, I am just profoundly grateful for your
testimony. And with that, I yield back.
Ms. Pingree. Thank you.
Mr. Kilmer.
Mr. Kilmer. Thank you, Madam Chair.
I just want to express gratitude to each of you for coming
and testifying and sharing your stories. I particularly am
grateful for continuing to highlight the murdered and missing
indigenous women and girls. We heard some testimony on that
yesterday. I just think it is horrific, and I think we have to
both shine a greater spotlight on it, make sure that those who
are working in this arena have the data and the resources and,
hopefully, the solutions that they need to address it.
So thank you for shining a light on it.
Ms. Pingree. Thank you. Thank you to all of you for your
testimony.
And I echo what my colleagues have already said, and we are
very pleased to have someone here from my home State. We are
very proud of our tribes and of some of the innovative work you
have been doing, that the tribe has been doing, given such
limited resources that you all really struggle with. So thank
you for doing that.
I had a chance to talk with you a little bit yesterday and
other tribal members, and I was really impressed by some of the
work you discussed about both dealing with the family trauma,
which is, you know, such a big issue, and helping kids. And one
of the things that was brought up was that while there is some
funding once people need the treatment, how do we do more
prevention work?
And can you talk a little bit about some of the interesting
work that is being done in the community and in the schools?
Ms. Dana. Yes, thank you so much for your question.
So we do get the SAMHSA funding, and that goes into our
healthcare systems and the individuals already in treatment.
And we have a youth program that you met some of our council
people yesterday that work in that program, and we have really
been able to incorporate a lot of cultural practices. We have
received grants to build birch bark canoes, and our people are
historically canoers. We have competed in the Indigenous Games
many times.
So we are finding if we can get to children as a preventive
tool in this whole crisis and give them things to do. You know,
I heard a statistic recently that the most dangerous hours of
the day for children are between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. So
getting them after school between--you know, before dinnertime
and when they may be unsupervised.
And we have really great programs, but it is very, very
hard to identify sources of support for those programs. So I
really think that if we take an approach that we want to get
these kids before they are turning to drugs and alcohol, that
is where a lot of our focus needs to be.
Ms. Pingree. I am really appreciative of how the tribe
comes together as a community and uses traditions from the
community to engage people at all levels. Of course, we are
always very proud of birch bark canoes in the State of Maine.
Ms. Dana. Absolutely.
Ms. Pingree. Secondly, just quickly, because I know
sometimes it is harder for my colleagues to understand the real
challenges that Maine tribes face because of the Indian land
claims settlement, and we talked a little bit about VAWA and
how important that is, particularly in many of the issues we
have already talked about here. But how, that happens in Maine
because of the land claims settlement and issues that we are
constantly trying to figure out how to resolve.
Ms. Dana. Yes, so that is incredibly timely because I
believe VAWA hearings are happening as we speak or very, very
soon. And the--we are a tribe that has a settlement agreement
with the State, and it is really we maintain that we never gave
up our sovereign rights to be a federally recognized Indian
tribe. But it has really impeded a lot on our access to Federal
acts and to be covered underneath them. And unfortunately, VAWA
is one that we have been excluded from.
So as we move forward, we really need to be identified in
some way in that legislation. We have--our biggest issue is
that we need to be able to prosecute non-Native offenders on
the reservation in our tribal court.
We have 91 cases right now in our domestic violence
program, and a lot of women don't want to move forward with
their cases on their perpetrators because going through the
State courts, and we have very little success there, it is kind
of revictimizing them all over again. So VAWA protections are
critically important for our tribe.
Ms. Pingree. Great. Well, thank you to everyone on the
panel, and I yield back to the chair.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Kilmer, are you going to be here for the
next panel? Would you like to introduce them?
Mr. Kilmer. That is OK. I have to step out.
Ms. McCollum. I have to step out shortly after Mrs.
Lawrence comes as well.
So I would like the next panel to come up. Thank you so
much, Mr. Kilmer.
You are doing good things, too. Cheryle Kennedy,
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon; Rick
Peterson, chairman of the Red Cliff Band of the Superior
Chippewa; David Z. Bean, vice chair, Puyallup Tribe; and
President Jefferson Keel from the National Congress of American
Indians. Welcome to all of you.
[Pause.]
Ms. McCollum. We are going to submit some additional
testimony in from the Honorable Julian Bear Runner, and without
any objection?
Mr. Joyce. None.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. So ordered.
[The information follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. To this panel, one of my colleagues should be
coming in to switch with me soon, if she is able to. I mean no
disrespect by stepping out. These panels have been a
fascinating day and a half. I have this afternoon still to go,
and everything very impactful that you are sharing with us to
help us do a better job.
So, Ms. Kennedy, if you would please lead this panel off?
Welcome.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF GRAND RONDE COMMUNITY OF OREGON
WITNESS
CHERYLE A. KENNEDY, CHAIRWOMAN, THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF GRAND RONDE
COMMUNITY OF OREGON
Ms. Kennedy. Thank you.
Good morning, everyone. My name is Cheryle Kennedy. I
chairwoman of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde in Oregon.
I want to thank the Chair McCollum and the distinguished
members of this committee for your time and your attention to
the issues that we have today.
I have submitted written testimony that you have on record.
I will be talking and presenting oral testimony as well, and
that is what I will concentrate on today.
I just wanted to let you know who we are as a people. The
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde has suffered severe
injustices. Back in the treaty-making era in the 1850s, the
Government approached us and entered into seven treaties. We
have seven ratified treaties.
We are a strong people. We occupied the area of western
Oregon, a vast land area, a land that was rich in all kinds of
resources, natural resources. We had big game, all kind of
game, fish, clean rivers, gold, all of the shorelines of the
Pacific Ocean. We had people who knew how to take care of the
land. As you know, sometimes wildfires get away. We know how to
control that.
But I wanted you to know that through that treaty-making
era, we also then in exchange for our land, we prepaid for
certain things through those treaty obligations, and those were
to have a homeland. They were to have health, education. We
were to have a place where we could live and raise our
families, a place where we could be--remain self-sufficient.
However, about less than 100 years after we were relocated
to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation in western Oregon, the
Government decided that the policy for dealing with Indians was
to terminate them. We were terminated under the Western Oregon
Termination Act.
We then were left homeless. We were left--we knew who we
were. I was terminated. I lived during that time in the '50s,
and our identity was taken. We did not have the same standing
as other tribes throughout the United States.
So just letting you know about those promises that were
made in our treaties, treaties that healthcare would be there,
that we would live safely, that we would be able to subsist off
our land. All of those were gone.
We fought for recognition. We were restored in 1983, and we
started nation building. And in those efforts of nation
building, we were not afforded certain other rights and
privileges through funding mechanisms to assist us. We never
received one dollar from law enforcement from the BIA even to
today. We bear that on ourselves because we want law and order
in our area.
Our budget that we put forward is $1.1 million. We pay out
of our own coffers 70 percent of that. The others by grants.
Grants don't work for tribes. They have expiration dates. They
have competitiveness about them. They have elements of it that
won't be funded the next year. So it is not ongoing.
I wanted to take the time to talk about how we can secure
funding to address law enforcement. I also would be remiss if I
didn't mention violence against Native American women funding.
We need that. It must happen. It has got to be on the front
burner of all of our mind on how we can address those issues.
Tribes don't have dollars for that. Grants are periodically put
out there. They are insufficient. We need direct funding to
tribes.
I want to thank the committee for looking at an issue
concerning terminated tribes that happened during the fiscal
year 2018. In it, there was a direction given to the BIA to
look at the law enforcement funding of all tribes and to see
how they ranked and what could be done about it.
We participated and met with the BIA. However, no report
has come out yet, and we stand ready to assist in any way that
we can. So wanted to mention that.
In the past, in my career life, I was a health executive
director for over 30 years. So I know the needs of healthcare
in Indian Country. We must have those needs. There was a recent
GAO report that was published that you are probably aware of.
In it, it talks about the levels of funding for Medicaid,
Medicare, the VA, and Indian Health Service.
In it, the lowest funded is tribes, Indian Health Service.
We must have full funding. We have the United States Commission
on Civil Rights report that was submitted to you. It lays out
those same parameters and says the most underfunded are Native
American tribes of the United States. That has got to be
rectified.
Before I conclude, I must say that we are a tribe who
relies upon fish. There are insufficient funds for fish
protection and fish passage. We know that there are a number of
agencies who have pieces of funds----
Ms. McCollum. Ms. Kennedy, I am going to have to ask you to
wrap up.
Ms. Kennedy. OK. Well, I thank you for the time that you
have given me. I appreciate all of the tribal leaders that have
come here and for your time and attention. I would be willing
to answer any question that you might have.
Thank you.
[The statement of Cheryle Kennedy follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. I am dealing with an issue in my
office right now.
So, Mr. Peterson, welcome.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
RED CLIFF BAND OF LAKE SUPERIOR CHIPPEWA
WITNESS
RICK PETERSON, CHAIRMAN, RED CLIFF BAND OF LAKE SUPERIOR CHIPPEWA
Mr. Peterson. Thank you. Good morning.
I also would like to thank the committee, Chair McCollum,
for the opportunity to come here today, halfway across the
country in what I consider a heat wave here. [Laughter.]
Ms. McCollum. I am with you.
Mr. Peterson. I am here today primarily to advocate and to
stress the need of our tribe for the BIA to increase the level
of funding for our law enforcement. As I sat here today, I
heard several other tribes that have the same issue we have in
terms of being underfunded.
Our police department, although we are not a huge
reservation, we have the highest crime rate, pushed primarily
by the meth epidemic within our community. We are allocated
every year by the BIA a total of $160,000, and that is supposed
to pay the wages and benefits and vehicle maintenance and
everything for a law enforcement agency of five police
officers, and we have two staff people.
I don't know how to do that. I can't. I have spoken with
the BIA about why this is. And it is even mandated by the 638
contract per the BIA that tribes pay their tribal police
officers the equivalent of a BIA Federal officer. That is
mandated.
We had an audit last year that by the BIA, and we were--
that was actually a finding that we did not pay our officers
the equivalent of what their Federal officers make. I don't
know how to do that with $160,000.
We do have other funding, but as the Honorable Ms. Kennedy
here said, it is grants. Grants have an expiration date, and
you cannot depend upon grants to build a foundation for public
safety within a community, Native or non-Native. We need to
know definitively what we are working with, and we need to have
the funding that allows us to fight these drug epidemic and the
associated crime that comes with it. And we must also be able
to have the funds to--that allows our officers to eradicate it.
Our police department, I can't say enough about our
officers. They--like I have heard several leaders say today,
they are overworked. They are underpaid. I came here today. I
couldn't put it in a written testimony, but we have letters of
support from the county district attorney and the county
sheriff. They don't understand why we are so underfunded, and
there is no excuse for it.
And when we don't have officers on the street because we
can't pay them, that falls onto the county, which is--and this
has actually happened where we have called for assistance, and
it has taken an hour and a half for a county officer to come
there.
It is something that just boggles my mind that I have to
come here today to ask this committee that question. How do I
do this on $160,000? I have spoken with the BIA, especially
about the audit finding, and a couple of them were sympathetic
and aware that it is an issue. But one of them told me I needed
to go lobby elsewhere. So here I am. Here I am.
We need help. Our police department is not only in need of
these funds, we will be nonexistent very soon if we do not get
them.
I brought our tribal police chief here with me today. That
is the first time I have ever seen him in a suit. But I brought
him with me here today not only in terms to help answer any
questions you may have, but to allow this committee and
everybody else to see that these are real people that are
committing to going above and beyond, fighting the crime and
helping us eradicate this drug epidemic and do what we have to
do to take care of our children, our families, our elders, and
live a life that we feel we deserve.
Thank you.
[The statement of Rick Peterson follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mrs. Lawrence [presiding]. Thank you so much.
Our next speaker will be David Bean, vice president of--Mr.
Bean, yes. Please speak.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
PUYALLUP TRIBE
WITNESS
DAVID Z. BEAN, VICE CHAIRMAN, PUYALLUP TRIBE
Mr. Bean. [Speaking Native language.]
Good day, honorable friends and relatives. We raise our
hands to you, thanking you for this opportunity to provide
testimony here today.
My name is David Bean. I am the vice chairman of the Tribal
Council of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians.
Our nation upholds the sovereign responsibility of self-
determination and self-governance for the benefit of 5,427
Puyallup tribal members and the 25,000-plus members from
approximately 355 federally recognized tribes who utilize our
services.
And I want to echo the sentiments of Chairwoman Kennedy.
You know, our ancestors, they signed a treaty in 1854. And when
they signed that treaty, our ancestors were looking out for
future generations. They ceded 100 percent of their lands for
what they believed in return for 100 percent services, to be
able to hunt and fish and protect our natural resources, to
protect our way of life. And sadly, you know, it remains a
battle today to continue those practices.
Puyallup Reservation is located in urbanized Seattle/Tacoma
area of the State of Washington. We have a checkerboard of
tribal lands, Indian-owned fee land and non-Indian owned fee
land, including parts of six different municipalities--Tacoma,
Fife, Milton, Puyallup, Edgewood, and Federal Way.
Public safety and justice is crucial for the intermixing of
jurisdictions, but it is important to note that public safety
and justice is interwoven in everything the tribe does, not
just those appropriation line-items that specifically say it.
There is justice in upholding our responsibility to manage the
lands, the fish, and wildlife.
Justice requires us to take care of our children, our
elders, and everyone in between through our healthcare system.
We cannot talk about public safety without thinking about the
crumbling infrastructure and roads and bridges.
We cannot talk about justice without thinking of the
missing and murdered indigenous women. You know, the Seattle
Indian Health Board recently conducted a study, with Seattle
being number one and Tacoma being number six with respect to
missing and murdered indigenous women.
We cannot talk about the justice system without noting how
important education is for keeping kids on the right path
instead of going into the justice system.
These Federal appropriations hold up and support whole
communities, not just court systems, jails, and other
individual programs. But these individual programs are
important pieces of the overall picture.
Tribal and BIA detention and correction funding is critical
to us, and there is simply not enough of it. We constructed a
28-bed adult corrections facility a few years back. And when we
submitted our Public Law 93-638 contract request to the BIA to
operate it, the agreed-upon estimated cost of operating the
facility was $2.6 million. The BIA has only funded less than
$750,000 annually. We receive less than 25 percent of what it
takes to fully operate that corrections facility.
In this context, we are concerned with the administration's
repeated requests to reduce appropriations for BIA public
safety and justice, including detention and corrections. This
funding is already not sufficient to allow the BIA to fund
programs at true need.
We appreciate the subcommittee's increase of $2.5 million
for fiscal year 2019 and urge you to continue bringing this
funding closer to where it needs to be. In addition, we operate
a tribal court program through a Public Law 93-638 contract
with the BIA. Our base funding for this program has remained at
$200,000 annually since fiscal year 2015. Like the detention
and corrections funding, this amount represents only a small
amount of the tribe's needs to fully operate the tribal court
program.
We have had to allocate almost $2 million each year from
tribal funds to run a self-determination program, and the BIA
is only allocating 10 percent of that amount. We thank the
subcommittee for its efforts to reject the administration's
past request to reduce appropriations for this important
program by $8 million.
You instead increased it by $1.6 million in fiscal year
2019 appropriations, and we thank you and ask that you continue
to support increased appropriations for tribal courts. Again,
these programs are crucial, as are the related appropriations
topics tribes and tribal organizations have traveled from
across the country to discuss with you.
We understand that the Northwest Indian Fish Commission has
testified, and we understand that Chairman Allen has testified
on behalf of the Pacific salmon. And the Puyallup Tribe
endorses and supports those comments submitted by those
agencies.
We thank you for your work in support of the Puyallup Tribe
and Indian Country.
Again [speaking Native language]. We raise our hands,
thanking you for this opportunity to testify here today.
[The statement of David Bean follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mrs. Lawrence. Thank you so much.
Our last speaker in this group is Jefferson Keel, president
of the National Council of American Indians.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN INDIANS
WITNESS
JEFFERSON KEEL, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN INDIANS
Mr. Keel. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Mrs. Lawrence. Thank you, Mr. Keel.
Mr. Keel. Committee members, thank you for allowing me this
time to come and visit with you.
My name is Jefferson Keel. I am the lieutenant governor of
the Chickasaw Nation, tribe of about 63,000 tribal members, and
I am currently serving as the president of the National
Congress of American Indians. This is my third term as the
president of NCAI, and I am happy to be here.
NCAI's requests are rooted in the treaties and agreements
that our ancestors made with the United States Government.
However, a recent assessment from the U.S. Civil Rights
Commission has found that Federal funding for Native American
programs across the Government remains grossly inadequate to
meet, excuse me, the most basic needs that the Federal
Government is obligated to provide.
Tribal leaders urge--well, tribal leaders have known this
for decades, and we urge Congress to fully fund the U.S.
Government's treaty and statutory obligations. NCAI thanks the
members of this subcommittee who requested the update to A
Quiet Crisis. The update found that in the past 15 years--thank
you. In the past 15 years, efforts undertaken by the Federal
Government have resulted in minor improvements and in some ways
has lost ground.
While Congress has dealt with a spending environment
hampered by an austere fiscal policy, including sequestration
and tight limits on discretionary accounts, the Federal trust
and treaty obligations were no less impaired. The fact that
these solemn agreements that are funded in the Federal budget
have been subject to political impasses, including the recent
35-day Government shutdown, highlights the need for solutions
to protect vital governmental services from interruptions.
The Indian Health Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs
provide core governmental services for tribal nations,
including hospitals, schools, law enforcement, child welfare
programs, social services, and many more. For many tribal
nations, most governmental services are funded by Federal
sources.
In addition to our appropriations request, NCAI urges
Congress to fund BIA and IHS through advance appropriations to
protect tribal governments and citizens from future shutdowns,
as well as cash flow problems that regularly occur at the start
of the fiscal year.
NCAI chose public safety and justice programs to focus on
today because it is one of the most fundamental aspects of the
Federal Government's trust responsibility. In 2018, the U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights found that there continues to be a
systematic underfunding of tribal law enforcement and criminal
justice systems, as well as structural barriers in the funding
and operation of criminal justice systems in Indian Country.
Those undermine public safety. Tribal justice systems
simply need the resources to put their tools to work so they
can protect women, children, and families; address substance
abuse; rehabilitate first-time offenders; and put serious
criminals behind bars. The BIA submitted a report to Congress
in 2017 estimating that to provide a minimum base level of
service to all federally recognized tribes $1 billion is needed
for tribal law enforcement, $1 billion is needed for tribal
courts, and $228 million is needed to adequately fund existing
detention centers.
Based on recent appropriation levels, BIA is generally
funding tribal law enforcement at about 20 percent of estimated
need, tribal detention at about 40 percent of need, and tribal
courts at 3 percent of estimated need.
NCAI requests a total of $83 million for tribal courts,
including those in the Public Law 280 district jurisdictions.
The BIA estimates that full funding for tribal courts would
cost $1 billion--that is with a ``b''--for us. You know, for we
are not even talking about thousands anymore.
NCAI also recommends an increase to BIA law enforcement of
$200 million, for a total of $573 million. As further rationale
for advance appropriations for BIA, during the shutdown, many
law enforcement personnel were working without pay. It made for
terrible morale, as you might imagine. We heard that just in
that short amount of time, six officers resigned. They said
they couldn't even afford the commute to work.
And these people are very hard to replace, as you have
heard from tribal leaders before me. These families couldn't
handle the uncertainty. Officers on the beat reported an
impression that there was an uptick in crime. They had 75
missing persons reports. They had to try to track these people
down, but victim service specialists weren't there to help.
More people would have been able to help cops on the ground.
Mrs. Lawrence. Mr. Keel, your time is up. I am going to let
you finish your statement.
Mr. Keel. Well, that is fine.
Mrs. Lawrence. OK, good.
Mr. Keel. I am good. Thank you very much for holding this.
[The statement of Jefferson Keel follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mrs. Lawrence. OK. Thank you.
At this time, I will take any questions from the panel.
Mr. Kilmer. Thank you. Right here.
Mrs. Lawrence. OK. Go ahead, please.
Mr. Kilmer. Thank you.
Thanks to all of you for being with us. I appreciate your
leadership and your testimony.
Vice Chair Bean, I recognize the value of the investments
that the Puyallup Tribe has made in your correctional facility
and tribal court system, what that has meant to public safety.
I remember when you testified, I now can't remember if it was a
year ago or 2 years ago, when you said if you had known that
the BIA wasn't going to uphold its financial commitments, the
tribe would have probably made a different decision there.
I know that there is chronic underfunding of the BIA's
tribal courts and law enforcement programs, and I think that is
something that this committee absolutely has to address. I want
to get your sense--so on one hand, part of that is increasing
those pots of money, but are there other steps that this
committee ought to be taking to ensure that the BIA is fully
supporting its 638 contract commitments to the Puyallup Tribe
and others?
Mr. Bean. You know, I think you are on the right path. I
mean, it is bridging that gap. I mean, I don't think there is
any other--anything that can be done other than bridging that
gap.
Tribes are incredibly resourceful, and we know how to
stretch a dollar. We have had to stretch our dollars, and you
know, we have had to come back here hat in hand. It feels like
begging for what the Federal Government promised us, you know,
when those treaties were signed.
So bridging that gap between the actual need and the actual
funding is, I think, a great start. So thank you for that
question.
Mr. Kilmer. Thank you.
Can I ask one more? Is that all right?
Mrs. Lawrence. Yes.
Mr. Kilmer. President Keel, thank you for being with us,
and I appreciate you highlighting the update of the Quiet
Crisis report. I think that provides a roadmap for our
committee.
In your written testimony, you mention the EPA's Tribal
General Assistance Program and how those dollars can help build
some capacity to help tribal communities address sometimes some
unique environmental priorities. I want to get your sense of
how this committee can help build on the success of that
program, and I wonder if that success could be replicated
across other Federal programs, too?
Mr. Keel. Well, thank you for that question.
All agencies in the Federal Government, you know, there
is--as you have heard, tribal nations ceded over about a half a
billion acres of land in exchange for services and things that
were supposed to be provided by the United States of America in
treaties. The United States demands that other nations, that
treaties around the world are honored. We simply ask that the
United States honor its own treaties, treaties that we have
made with the tribal nations.
In terms of funding not just EPA, but all agencies across
the Federal Government, it seems that there is a lot of money
that is allocated or appropriated for different tribal nations'
needs across the Federal Government, but they are in silos.
They are located in different places, and it is very difficult
for tribes to access a lot of those pools of money because if
tribes don't have grant--really skilled grant writers, they are
left out of the process.
If they don't have really skilled technical advisers in
many ways, even the EPA and those things, then they are left
out of the process. The fact is many tribes cannot afford those
technical advisers, those grant writers, because they don't
have the resources. Some tribes do. Others do not.
But in order to replicate that, I think you would have to
come--you would sit down with tribal nations across the country
that have expertise in this. I would ask that you bring them
together in one place and share that knowledge with some of the
congressional committees so that you can get a feel for where
we are and how we can move forward. And NCAI would be happy to
help you facilitate some of those discussions.
Mr. Kilmer. Thank you. Thanks so much.
Mrs. Lawrence. Thank you.
Mr. Joyce, you have some questions?
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Chairwoman Kennedy, I appreciate you bringing up the GAO
report about healthcare funding. This subcommittee actually
commissioned that report last year.
Ms. Kennedy. That is wonderful. Thank you.
Mr. Joyce. It is nice to have to shine a light on the
disparity for the Indian Health Service, and the Federal
Government has committed to the groups, and we shouldn't be
picking winners or losers. We should be taking care of the
problem. So I appreciate you bringing that up.
But I wanted to ask President Keel, one of the witnesses we
had yesterday talked about the fact that this opioid crisis is
really a trauma crisis and that if the opioids were gone, there
would still be these underlying causes, that it would be
replaced by something else because we are not doing enough to
address the underlying causes.
Do you feel you could expound on that at all?
Mr. Keel. Well, I think when you talk about the underlying
causes with poverty, there is a lot of--a lot can be said for
poverty. Poverty breeds a lot of other types of actions. You
know, opioids, we have dealt with. We have dealt with crisis
and trauma in Native American communities throughout our
history.
Mr. Joyce. I believe that is how it was labeled, a trauma
crisis.
Mr. Keel. I believe it is. You know, 20 years ago, we were
talking about a fetal alcohol syndrome. Then we moved on to
methamphetamines a few years ago. Now we are talking about
opioids and prescription medications and those things. It still
leave trauma because those families that are--that fall victim
to these, they still have to deal with the aftermath.
We have children now that are growing up being raised by
their grandparents because their parents simply are not there,
or they are addicted. And in fact, in some areas, we see
children as early as elementary school bringing drugs to school
or being tested positive for meth or opioids or other types of
drugs.
And so it is traumatic because, you know, when you take a
child to the emergency room because they are having some kind
of difficulty, it is traumatic for the whole family.
Mr. Joyce. Right.
Mr. Keel. And so how do we deal with that? You know, if we
were somehow to be able to eradicate drugs and those things
from our communities, we still have to deal with the poverty
and all the other things that have been left behind. And it
is--it is a traumatic experience.
Veterans, something we haven't talked about, but today,
there is two words that should never be used in the same
sentence, and that is ``homeless'' and ``veterans,'' you know?
It should not be, but it is.
And today, many of our veterans are on the street. They are
addicted. They have addictions, and they have this trauma. They
are dealing with wounds that we can't see. So there is many,
many other levels and types of trauma that we have to deal
with.
I thank you for your interest and thank you for allowing me
that.
Mr. Joyce. I thank all of you and thank Chairman Peterson
for his service, too.
Thank you. No further questions. I yield back.
Mrs. Lawrence. Thank you.
I just have a quick question. A couple of the members of
the panel referred to the civil rights report, and tell me how
the civil rights laws, that are not adequately being applied or
that you feel there is more we need to do to ensure that we are
appropriating correctly to the tribes.
Mr. Keel. Well, civil rights, in many Native communities,
we--law enforcement, lack of law enforcement always is a
problem when we talk about civil rights because in many Native
communities, we have non-Native perpetrators who cannot be--we
can't try them in tribal courts. And so we believe that is a
civil rights violation.
If someone--if a tribal member goes outside here and
commits a crime, they are subject to the jurisdiction, the
local jurisdiction here. If someone comes on the reservation
and commits a crime, they are not subject to--if they are not
Natives, they are not subject to the tribal court jurisdiction.
And so there is a problem there that needs to be resolved.
We have looked at it, and it has been ongoing for years.
There are gangs and other people who will--other perpetrators
who will bring drugs and alcohol and other types of illicit
practices onto the reservations because they know they can't
be--they are not subject to the jurisdiction.
And so there is many types of those activities that are
taking place in our communities. We simply want the right to be
able to protect our own in our communities, and we want the
ability to put those criminals behind bars, try them in tribal
court.
You know, I served on the Tribal Law and Order Commission
several years ago, and there was a judge that came and
testified to us. He was a law professor at the time. And he
said, as a judge, as a municipal judge, I can go and sit down
in this court and try cases and all that stuff. And he said my
cases can go all the way up to the Supreme Court and be
sanctioned. But if I take that, just move from this step, take
this thing, this nametag away and call it municipal court,
change it to tribal court, now I am no longer--I am no longer
valid, you know? I am not qualified.
So it doesn't make sense, and that is what he said. So when
we talk about civil rights, there has been many, many studies.
We know that many times there is a level of prejudice in many
areas, many communities that exist today, bias. People don't
like to talk about it, but many tribal members will be treated
differently if they are outside in the community than they
would if they were arrested by their own police.
Mrs. Lawrence. Thank you all so much. I want to thank each
member for your testimony today.
And we will now assemble the next panel. Thank you all so
much.
[Pause.]
Mrs. Lawrence. We have Genevieve Jackson, Carrie Billy, and
Angelique Albert.
Thank you all for coming. We will start with Ms. Genevieve
Jackson.
Ms. Jackson. Genevieve Jackson.
Mrs. Lawrence. Yes.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
DINE BI OLTA SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATION
WITNESS
GENEVIEVE JACKSON, PRESIDENT, DINE BI OLTA SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATION
Ms. Jackson. Thank you very much. And I want to say thanks
for giving us this time to address you all.
I am president of the Dine Bi Olta School Board
Association, which is comprised of 279 school board members on
the Navajo Nation, which comprises 45 percent of the Bureau of
Indian Education schools. As a former teacher, educator,
administrator, school board member, county commissioner, and
Navajo Nation Council delegate, I have been here to DC many
times, and I lend my voice in support of all of my brothers and
sisters who are testifying here today regarding the chronic
underfunding in all areas of our lives.
And but today, I will speak only to the education portion
since I am president of the school board, and I will do this on
bullet point to save time.
And the first one I want to address is the Navajo--the
Kempthrone settlement agreement that the Navajo Nation took to
court several years ago and made the settlement where under 95-
561, the authorized Indian education line offices work with 66
BIE-funded schools and 8 residential/dormitory programs. And
since that reorganization of 2014, the ELOs are nonexistent,
leaving questions of who is to work with schools and supervise
the performance of school principals in all areas of finance
and H.R. and personnel and so forth?
And my first one, the first bullet point is the Every
Student Succeed Act. I am on that negotiated rulemaking
committee. We are meeting next week in Phoenix to complete our
task, and it is our last meeting. And we are making changes and
recommendations to that committee, and we hope that it will be
honored--those amendments and recommendations will be honored
by everyone here who is involved in that work.
And then the next one is the BIA administrative program
costs. The ISEP program adjustment fund should not be used to
fund BIE staff positions. The Education and Program Enhancement
Account should be funded under education program management,
not under the elementary and the secondary program's forward-
funded activity.
And then the BIE established with the OMB an agency
priority goal to convert four BIE-operated schools to be
operated, and this contradicts longstanding policy that it is
up to the tribes themselves who determine whether they want to
be tribally operated or either a BIE or BIA program. And we
request the full funding in the amount of $81 million for
fiscal year 2020.
And we also agree with the language contained in the House
report and Senate report calling on the Department of Interior
to develop a long-range comprehensive school construction and
maintenance plan, which is lacking today.
The BIA reorganization that we are concerned about, and it
continues to reorganize in a manner that ignores statutory
requirements contained in 25 U.S.C. 2006 and 25 U.S.C. 2009.
The GAO has published reports about the problems that are
created for schools by having administrative functions located
within the BIA instead of the BIE for service-level agreements
entered in agreement between the BIA and the BIE in October
2013 violate the law.
And then I will address the fiscal year 2020 budget request
very briefly. We request full funding to the equivalent of
fiscal year 2018 enacted levels as below--the Indian School
Equalization Program. And I won't go through the funds since
that will be time consuming, but we are concerned about that,
and also the engine--I can't speak. I am so nervous. I am
trying to stay within 5 minutes.
Mrs. Lawrence. Oh, don't be nervous.
Ms. Jackson. Education program enhancements, tribal
education department, student transportation, early childhood,
tribal grant support cost, school facilities and construction,
facilities operations personnel, facilities maintenance,
education, contract support cost, our juvenile detention
center. We have only one, which is in operation on the Navajo
Nation. And when we are the largest Indian nation in the United
States, I mean, that is inexcusable. Johnson O'Malley
assistance programs, tribal technical colleges.
And I just want to say that Dine Bi Olta School Board
Association strongly opposes the funding cuts in the fiscal
year 2019 President's budget and strongly requests the U.S.
Congress and its Appropriations Committees of the House and
Senate to restore all BIE school funding amounts to fiscal year
2018 enacted level for fiscal year 2020.
And I also want to then----
Mrs. Lawrence. Your time is up.
Ms. Jackson. OK.
[The statement of Genevieve Jackson follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mrs. Lawrence. Thank you.
Our next speaker will be Carrie Billy, please. Thank you.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
AMERICAN INDIAN HIGHER EDUCATION CONSORTIUM
WITNESS
CARRIE L. BILLY, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN INDIAN HIGHER EDUCATION CONSORTIUM
Ms. Billy. Madam Chair and members of the subcommittee and
staff, on behalf of the American Indian Higher Education
Consortium, which comprises the Nation's 37 tribal colleges,
thank you for all that you have done for tribal colleges and,
just as important, thank you for your faith in the tribal
colleges and the potential that higher education holds for
transforming Indian Country and building a better future for
our tribes, our lands, and our children.
Last year, this subcommittee included a desperately needed
increase of about $6 million for TCU operations. The final 2019
agreement fell short, but please continue to support tribal
colleges. Every $1 invested in TCUs returns at least $6 to the
Federal Government in just 1 year. So the more you put in, the
more that comes back to the Federal Government.
Indian tribes in our 16 rural States have an even higher
rate of return. This year, we are celebrating the 40th
anniversary of the Tribal College Act. In four decades, our
colleges have never been fully funded, but we are close, and we
don't give up.
TCUs take their little payments, and they work big
miracles. Increase the payment, and the miracles will compound.
And we are not even asking for that much more. We just need an
increase of $11 million in fiscal year 2020 to fully fund the
tribal colleges at about $8,000 per student.
One factor driving the need for the increase is the growing
number of tribal colleges. In the past several years, we have
had four new colleges, and soon at least three more could join.
In addition to the growth, the need is simply overwhelming.
Take infrastructure. One tribal college, Ilisagvik College,
pays more for Internet access than any other college in the
country. It also has the slowest Internet access of any college
in the country, 6 megabits per second.
In fact, although most tribal colleges have OK Internet
access, average connectivity at 236 megabits per second doesn't
even come close to the average for other community colleges,
which is 513 megabits, or to the--much less to the average of
4-year colleges, which is 3.5 gigabits per second. Yet TCUs are
held to the same accountability measures as other colleges.
Food insecurity and homelessness are real at tribal
colleges. Many of our colleges can't afford dorms. So students
often sleep in their cars during the week. It is not
comfortable, but it saves 100 to 200 miles a day. That is a lot
of gas money or money to buy food. Hundreds of tribal college
students face the same dilemma every day. Do I eat or buy gas
to drive to campus?
TCUs do what they can. Sinte Gleska offers free breakfast
and lunch. Little Big Horn College gives students free
cafeteria meals. Sitting Bull College runs a monthly food
pantry. Faculty and staff even donate their own food and leave
cans of soup in the student lounge. They do this because they
know that students cannot learn if they are worried about their
next meal.
All of this comes out of the operating budgets of the
tribal colleges or the pockets of faculty and staff. Yet TCUs
continue to perform miracles, saving our languages, creating
new jobs, and training teachers and more. Only about 200 Creek
speakers remain on the Muskogee Creek Nation. Most are elderly.
So the College of Muskogee Nation developed Native Language
Certificate Program. Now young college students are giving
their language new life, finding a new way to speak Creek by
infusing daily conversation with Creek words and slang. It is
the cool new way to speak, and it is restoring identity. It is
saving a nation.
Salish Kootenai College and Navajo Tech are leading the
tribal colleges in job creation, which is the only way to end
generational poverty on our reservations. SKC and its partners,
including the tribe and Northrop Grumman, are training students
to build advanced materials for the Air Force and NASA.
When the college realized the incoming students couldn't do
the STEM courses they needed, the college started a high school
STEM academy. Now young students attend their high school half
the day and spend the other half learning math and science at
SKC.
In the early 1970s, only five tribal members from Turtle
Mountain Chippewa Reservation had college degrees. The tribe
established Turtle Mountain Community College. Now thousands of
tribal members have college degrees. And of the 350 teachers in
and on the reservation, about 300 are Native. That is the power
of tribal education.
Our detailed funding requests are in our written testimony.
So I am not going to go over them, although we do have a new
request for a never-funded facilities program. So please take a
look at that.
The bottom for operating funding is that we are asking for
only $11 million more. Think how many teachers, Native language
speakers, healthcare professionals, and innovators we can
create. It is possible, and you can do it, and tribal colleges
will help.
Thank you.
[The statement of Carrie Billy follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mrs. Lawrence. Great. And within your time, great
presentation.
Our last speaker will be Ms. Albert.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
AMERICAN INDIAN GRADUATE CENTER
WITNESS
ANGELIQUE ALBERT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICAN INDIAN GRADUATE CENTER
Ms. Albert. Wow, how do I follow that? [Laughter.]
Good day, Madam Chair, Ranking Member Joyce, and the rest
of the distinguished members of the subcommittee.
[Speaking Native language.]
My name is Angelique Albert. I am a member of the
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of northwest Montana. I
have worked in Indian Country for 25 years in various
capacities.
I am honored to present testimony to you today as the
executive director of the American Indian Graduate Center. I am
here today to request the continued and increased funding for
the Bureau of Indian Education's Special Higher Education
Program, which I call SHEP, and the Science Post Graduate
Scholarship Fund, SPGSF.
I am also here to express gratitude for your continued
support of these vitally important programs in the past and
share with you the impacts of both. Whether you measure success
of a higher education program through educational indicators,
return on investment, or the lives transformed, these
programs--these programs, these specific programs have produced
results second to none. Graduation rates and attainment are two
educational indicators I would like to take a moment to
discuss.
The National Center for Educational Statistics indicates
graduation rates for American Indian students pursuing
bachelor's degree is 39 percent. Data analytics of our first 4
years of the SPGSF program show an unprecedented graduation
rate of 95 percent.
When you look at educational attainment, the Center for
Native American Youth report Native students attain master's
degree or higher at 2.1 percent, compared to the general
population of 9.2 percent. This means that a mere 2.1 percent
of our students have the professional degrees needed to excel
in industries across this Nation and our tribal nations.
I am happy to tell you that the SHEP funding is responsible
for funding over 1,700 Ph.D.s and 1,300 law degrees. These are
only two examples of the professional degrees funded through
SHEP.
This year, AIGC had an economic impact study conducted and
are pleased to report the return on investment of our
scholarship programs is an impressive 16.3 percent.
Additionally, the study shows the annual rate of return for
investment--rate of return for taxpayers is a phenomenal 27.2
percent. I could go on about the significance of these numbers,
but I will only say that the SHEP and SPGSF programs are
clearly a sound investment.
Investing for fiscal reasons is only one half of the story.
The true impact lies in the stories and lives of the
individuals and communities transformed. Alumni for the SHEP
and SPGSF programs span over 500 tribes in all 50 States. They
have given back through public and private sectors, with a high
number returning to their tribal communities to serve their
tribal nations.
I am always touched to come to DC to see the number of
alumni who have chosen public service as their career. I was
also extremely moved this year to learn that someone I admire
deeply for their legacy and continued contributions to tribal
higher education is a SHEP fellow.
In speaking to Mr. Rick Williams, he indicated he credits
his service and career to receiving SHEP funding, of which he
said, ``That single event changed my life beyond all
imagination.'' His legacy of serving Native students is due in
part to the support of one of these programs.
The SHEP and SPGSF programs provide scholarship awards
ranging from $1,000 to $30,000, with the average award being
$5,000. As tuition costs for graduate school at a public
university average in excess of $30,000 per year, funding from
these programs clearly do not eliminate the student's
obligation to pay for their own education. The funding
generally reduces the burden of student debt they take on in
pursuit of their academic goals.
AIGC has an immense amount of gratitude for the
subcommittee's past support of the SHEP and SPGSF programs. We
also recognize the fiscal challenges that control the
subcommittee's actions this year. However, I would like to
respectfully request funding for the SHEP program to increase
to $3.4 million and the SPGSF program to increase to $3.2
million, allowing the ability to modestly scale these programs
and provide the much-needed intellectual capital for our tribal
nations.
Education is essential and a sound investment. Education
transforms the lives of the students, but ultimately, the lives
of our entire community.
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.
[Speaking Native language.]
[The statement of Angelique Albert follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mrs. Lawrence. Thank you so much.
I have a couple questions, and then I will give it to you,
Mr. Joyce. I have a question. How many tribal colleges do we
have currently?
Ms. Billy. There are 37 tribal colleges in 16 States, but
they operate 75 sites throughout Indian Country.
Mrs. Lawrence. Sixteen sites, but 75----
Ms. Billy. Thirty-seven tribal colleges, and they operate
75 sites and campuses.
Mrs. Lawrence. OK. And you were very clear, $11 million
would be needed, and $11 million would answer what concerns?
Ms. Billy. An $11 million increase would fully fund at the
authorized level the tribal colleges--most of the tribal
colleges are funded at about $7,285 per Indian student. So they
are funded based on a formula. And if we added $11 million, it
would fully fund them to the level that is authorized in the
law and help to stabilize their operations.
Mrs. Lawrence. OK. The dorms issue that you brought up,
would that fall under this $11 million?
Ms. Billy. If the tribal colleges could stretch the money
that far, but they--and they put some operating money into--
well, all their maintenance comes out of and security comes out
of that fund, their operating funds. But for new construction,
they usually seek other sources, and there just aren't that
many.
Mrs. Lawrence. Yes. Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to thank all of you for coming and I appreciate your
testimony. We have come a long way. Certainly education is the
key to all children growing up and having more opportunities
and better lives. So I am with you completely, and I appreciate
your coming here today.
Mrs. Lawrence. I want to thank all of the witnesses who
came today, and we really do appreciate this information as we
take on our task as appropriators.
This session is adjourned, and the subcommittee will return
at 1:00 for the afternoon session.
Thank you all so much.
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
AFTERNOON SESSION
NATIONAL INDIAN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION (NIEA)
WITNESS
DIANA COURNOYER, INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INDIAN EDUCATION
ASSOCIATION (NIEA)
Ms. McCollum [presiding]. Good afternoon, and welcome back
to our last public witness hearing covering tribal governments
under the jurisdiction of the Interior, Environment
Appropriations Subcommittee. I have to say this has been full
of excellent conversations, excellent testimony. We have
learned a lot, and so I am very appreciative of everyone being
here.
We have heard about our failed trust and treaty obligations
in regards to lands, trust, and natural resources, the impacts
that climate change is having on Native Americans. We heard
about public safety and justice needs this morning and the
challenges facing the Bureau of Indian Education schools. We
begin this afternoon's hearing with the last panel with a topic
that is still education focused, moving to tribal government
and then human services.
As I mentioned yesterday at the start of the hearing, this
is the first time we have organized witnesses according to
topic testimony. And we would very much appreciate your
feedback on how you think it went and how we can improve the
process for next year.
As we begin, I would like to go over the hearing logistics
again. We are going to have each panel, and the first panel is
right here ready to go. And we are going to have each witness
for 5 minutes to present their testimony. We are going to use a
timer to track the time. When the light turns yellow, you will
have a minute left, and when it turns red, we would like you to
conclude your remarks if you would, please. I am going to
lightly tap the gavel. I don't mean to be rude, but I know
everybody in this room has other appointments on their schedule
and people have planned accordingly to the slots we have.
If votes are called during the hearing, and that is very
unlikely, but if it does happen we will let you know. And then
we will take a brief recess for members to vote, and then we
will return back to where we left off. But it looks like we are
good. And we aren't going to have votes until 4:00 or 4:30, so
it looks great. Witnesses are asked to stay close to the
hearing room in case that does happen, though, so that we can
return right away.
I would like also to remind those in the hearing room that
there are committee rules, and they prohibit the use of cameras
and audio equipment during the hearing by any individuals
without a House-issued press credential or House Members'
personal staff.
And with that, I would like to turn to my good friend, Mr.
Stewart, for any opening remarks he might have.
Mr. Stewart. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I will be brief
knowing that we want to get right to work. Thank you for
continuing these important hearings to get input from our
tribal leaders on what is obviously a wide array of programs
under this subcommittee's jurisdiction. An especially warm
welcome to the distinguished leaders, the tribal elders as they
will be here testifying today, including some from the Ute
Tribe in Utah. My great State was proudly named after the great
Ute Tribe. We have other tribal entities there as well.
But it is important to me, it is important to the West.
But, frankly, as you have made the point, Madam Chair, this is
a responsibility that is important to all of Congress. We have
a special responsibility in our relationship with the tribes in
honoring the tribal trust and the treaties. This isn't just
something that is important to individuals in the West or other
pockets around the country.
So we look forward to listening and to learning from you,
hearing what is on your mind, and maybe just a bit of
housekeeping if you will, and that is my apologies in advance
to some of those who will be testifying today. And as the
chairwoman has pointed out, many of us sit on other committees,
and we are going to be bouncing back and forth. Please don't
take that as any indication that we are not interested. We
clearly are. We will have your written testimonies and other
ways of communicating with you. And we look forward to and are
grateful for you being here, and we will spend as much as we
possibly can and look forward to that.
Thank you. I yield back.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Amodei, anything you would
like to add?
Mr. Amodei. Madam Chair, I would just like to associate
myself with your remarks and those of my colleague from the Bee
Hive State, and I yield back.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. We are going to first hear from
Diana Cournoyer. I might not have said your name totally right.
Please correct it for the record if I did not pronounce it
right. The interim executive director for the National Indian
Education Association. Welcome.
Ms. Cournoyer. Diana Cournoyer.
Thank you, Chairwoman, members of the subcommittee. I want
to thank you again for this opportunity to provide testimony on
behalf of the National Indian Education Association.
NIEA is the most inclusive national organization advocating
for culturally-relevant educational opportunities for American
Indian, Alaska Native, and native Hawaiians. Each day our
organization equips tribal leaders, educators, and advocates to
prepare the over 650,000 native students across the Nation for
success in the classroom and beyond.
Native education is a bipartisan effort. We understand
this. It is a Federal trust responsibility to tribal nations,
and I thank you for making that comment at the beginning. NIEA
thanks the subcommittee for this ongoing commitment to
fulfilling this constitutional responsibility by rejecting
severe cuts proposed for native education programs and services
in fiscal year 2019. In particular, we appreciate the
subcommittee's oversight of BIE programs and services for
native students as well as the $238.3 million investment in
construction for safe and healthy schools for native students
in fiscal year 2019.
As the subcommittee considers funding levels for the
upcoming fiscal year, Congress must continue to invest in and
oversee BIE programs to ensure native students have access to
resources necessary to thrive. From competitive salaries for
highly-effective, culturally-competent educators through the
Indian Schools Equalization Program, to technological
infrastructure of a modern classroom, to native language and
culture-based programs, Federal appropriations are vital to
ensuring equity for the only students to which the Federal
government has a direct responsibility--native students.
NIEA urges you to continue your commitment to native
students by fully funding native education within the BIE in
fiscal year 2020 appropriations. As the subcommittee considers
appropriations for fiscal year 2020, NIEA urges Congress to
consider the full scope of need for education programs in the
Department of Interior through the BIE and the BIA.
Three of NIEA's key appropriations priorities for fiscal
year 2020 are: Bureau-funded schools must be appropriated $430
million for urgent school construction and repair. NIEA
appreciates the recent steps to address this critical
infrastructure need in BIE schools through education
construction in fiscal year 2018-2019 appropriations. Despite
these strides forward, funding continues to fall short of the
full need, slowing progress in the three remaining schools from
2004 school construction list and 10 schools from the 2016
construction list.
In 2016, the Office of the Inspector General at the
Department of Interior found that it would cost $430 million to
address immediate facility repairs in the BIE. In addition,
that report estimated over $1.3 billion in overall need for
education construction at the BIE schools. Though current
funding levels fail to fully address the $634 million need, the
need for construction and repair in BIE schools is too great to
wait for a possible infrastructure package without ongoing
funding to address construction needs. In addition, seven
schools on the 2016 construction list have yet to receive these
funds for design and construction.
The Indian School Equalization Program should be fully
funded at $431 million for fiscal year 2020. And finally, NIEA
requests that Congress invest $35 million to develop
assessments for the Bureau-funded school under the Every
Student Succeeds Act.
Like you, NIEA is concerned about BIE accountability. Over
the past year we have reached out to Secretary Zinke, the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of Indian Education
regarding outstanding requests from Congress contained in
previous appropriation reports. We look forward to working with
the subcommittee to ensure that native students have access to
highly-effective, culturally-relevant education programs no
matter where they attend school.
In conclusion, healthy education systems are key to
thriving tribal nations and communities. Though tribal leaders
and legislators juggle a number of priorities, don't forget
that education is also one of them. Appropriations have the
potential to promote equity and ensure access to excellent
education options which prepare native students to thrive. NIEA
urges Congress to uphold the Federal trust responsibility by
fully funding key programs that support effective and
culturally-appropriate native education programs.
Thank you.
[The statement of Diana Cournoyer follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Marlene Watashe. Please for the
record introduce yourself [off audio].
Ms. Watashe. Yes.
Ms. McCollum. Yes.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
DINE GRANT SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION
WITNESS
MARLENE WATASHE, PRESIDENT, DINE GRANT SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION
Ms. Watashe. OK. Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the
subcommittee. My name is Marlene Watashe. I am the president of
the Dine Grant School Association, DGSA. DGSA is comprised of
school boards of seven Bureau of Indian Education-funded
schools which operate under the Tribally-Controlled Schools
Act, Public Law 100-297. Our member schools are located on the
Navajo Nation Reservation in New Mexico and Arizona.
The Indian School Equalization Program formula is the core
budget account for educational and residential programs for the
BIE elementary and secondary schools and dormitories. We
appreciate that Congress has provided program increases in this
area the past several fiscal years. For most BIE-funded
schools, a chronic shortfall in the other key school accounts
has a negative impact on ISEP formula funding because ISEP
formula funds are often diverted to make up the shortfalls in
other accounts, such as facilities operation and maintenance
when a tribe or tribal school board has no other source of
funding to cover these shortfalls. This means fewer funds are
available for instructional activities. We are tremendously
grateful that Congress has increased funding for these critical
accounts so ISEP formula funds can be used for its intended
purpose.
The $1.28 million program increase for a total of $404.2
million that Congress provided in fiscal year 2019 from 2018
was very helpful. However, the total amount still does not
acknowledge the shortfall that has been building up for many
years. Therefore, we respectfully request an additional
increase in ISEP formula funding for fiscal year 2020.
TRIBAL GRANT SUPPORT COSTS
Since the 1988 Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Reauthorization, tribally-operated elementary and secondary
schools have received funding for the administrative expenses
incurred for the operation of BIE-funded schools through an
administrative cost grant, now called tribal grant support
costs. These funds are used for essential services such as
grant contract administration, program funding and development,
required annual audit, and other overhead expenses. We would
like to express our appreciation for this subcommittee's
commitment to fully funding tribal grant support costs and
express support for its continuation in fiscal year 2020.
The early childhood and family development budget category,
commonly referred to as the FACE Program, is designed to, one,
strengthen family/school/community relations; two, increase
parent participation in education; and three, support parents
in their role as the child's first and most important teacher.
Many of DGSA's member schools run successful FACE programs.
There is a marked academic difference in outcomes for children
who have access to a FACE Program and those who do not.
Further, these programs strengthen families and communities and
help increase parent engagement.
We respectfully ask that the subcommittee continue to
reject any administrative proposal to zero out this vital
program and to continue to provide adequate funding to support
the FACE Program in fiscal year 2020.
ROAD MAINTENANCE
This subcommittee have highlighted the poor conditions and
backlog of deferred maintenance of unimproved roads and bridges
in Indian Country that are used by school buses to transport
students. We would like to thank the subcommittee for
attempting to hold the BIA accountable and for providing
additional funding directed to these school routes. We
respectfully request that the subcommittee increase funding
directed to these school bus routes for fiscal year 2020 and
continue your effort to hold the BIA accountable.
I appreciate the opportunity to provide this testimony.
Thank you.
[The statement of Marlene Watashe follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Maxine Coho, vice president of
Ramah Navajo School Board, Inc. Thank you for being here.
Ms. Coho. Thank you.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
RAMAH NAVAJO SCHOOL BOARD, INC.
WITNESS
MAXINE COHO, VICE PRESIDENT, RAMAH NAVAJO SCHOOL BOARD, INC.
Ms. Coho. Good afternoon, honorable chairwoman and
subcommittee members. I am Maxine Coho, the vice president for
the Ramah Navajo School Board. On behalf of the Ramah Navajo
School Board, Ramah Navajo community, thank you for giving us
this opportunity to give our oral testimony.
I want to focus my remarks today on our facilities. We
appreciate that the facilities operation and maintenance budget
have seen some increases in recent years. While the recent
increases for these budget categories are important
improvements, we note that the fiscal year 2017 budget
justification points out that the amount requested would only
fund 78 percent of the calculated facilities operation and
maintenance across BIE-funded schools.
Neither the fiscal year 2018 budget justification nor the
fiscal year 2019 budget justification bothered to provide an
estimate for what full funding would be. Additionally,
continuing resolutions and government shutdowns make it much
more difficult to manage these facilities efficiently and
effectively. Deferred maintenance and inadequate facility
conditions directly affect our student learning opportunities.
At Ramah Navajo on the Ramah Navajo Reservation, our library,
our kindergarten, and our gymnasium have all suffered impacts
from leaking roofs, and we lack funding to take action to
address these problems, which could possibly cause serious
health and safety problems for our students and teachers and
community. And I often wonder how this is going to affect our
community, our students, and our parents in the future.
At Ramah, due to the black mold, we had to close our
library and kindergarten and move them to portable buildings,
which provides very limited space for a library, and those
portable buildings do not have lightning protection. Pine Hill
Schools are on the highest peak in our area, and lightning has
hit our antenna, our water treatment, and this is a serious
safety concern. The BIA does not want to invest resources for
lightning protection on these portable buildings.
Our gymnasium remains in use. Fiberglass ceiling tiles have
deteriorated from water damage, and we now have concerns
because the students breathe the dust from these tiles. We host
sporting events in our gymnasium, and the condition is very
damaging to our reputation. Ramah Navajo was the first to
operate a school under the Indian Self-Determination Act. This
is a proud history for the Ramah Navajo community. But when
students and parents from other schools see the condition in
our gymnasium, it is very embarrassing to our students, our
parents, and our community.
We believe this is having a negative impact on our
enrollment. Parents don't want to send their kids to a school
facility that is deteriorating and in very bad conditions.
Additionally, the New Mexico Athletic Association reported to
our school that they were very concerned about the health and
safety issues at our gymnasium, and requested we address these
problems.
We at the Ramah Navajo understand we are not the only BIE-
funded school with deteriorating facilities. The Department of
Interior budget justification indicates that 1 out of every 3
BIE-funded schools is in poor condition. As a result, many BIE-
funded schools are written up for health and safety violations,
but there is no funding to make the needed changes.
The subcommittee is fully aware of the close relationship
between poor facility conditions and poor student and staff
performance. That inadequate learning environment in many BIE
schools put our native students at an unfair advantage. The
schools are then blamed for low academic performance. We
respectfully ask the subcommittee to provide full, consistent
funding for facility operation and facility maintenance.
According to the Department of Interior, the backlog is as
high $1.3 billion. The BIE stated that the next step is to
develop a long-term construction plan that will address the
needs of the BIE-funded schools determined to be in poor
condition. We respectfully request that Congress and the
Administration consult with tribes when developing this long-
term school replacement and repair plan.
We are grateful for your leadership in addressing the BIE
facilities and addressing our outdated and poor condition
schools that are very dangerous to our students and our staff
and our community. Given the state of school facilities across
the BIE system, we ask the subcommittee to continue increasing
school construction and replacement funds. And thank you for
giving us this opportunity to make our oral testimony [speaking
Native language].
[The statement of Maxine Coho follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Forty years.
Ms. Watashe. Yes.
Ms. McCollum. Independent school district. I saw that in
the testimony. Pretty amazing.
Russ McDonald.
Mr. McDonald. Yes.
Ms. McCollum. I saw that that is what you prefer to be
called, and I remember that from last time. Welcome. United
Tribes Tech College. Good to have you here.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
UNITED TRIBES TECHNICAL COLLEGE
WITNESS
LEANDER ``RUSS'' MCDONALD, PRESIDENT, UNITED TRIBES TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Mr. McDonald. Thank you to the subcommittee and thank you,
Madam Chair, for allowing me to share a few words. My name is
Leander McDonald. I am an enrolled member of the Spirit Lake
Dakota Nation, and a proud descendant of the Sahnish, Hidatsa,
and Hunkpapa people. I am president of the United Tribes
Technical College located in Bismarck, North Dakota. We are
thankful for the opportunity to present and thankful for your
efforts for passing the fiscal year 2019 budget as we now
prepare for fiscal year 2020.
I also want to thank you, Madam Chair, for your opening
statements yesterday regarding trust responsibility, and also
Mr. Stewart's comments this afternoon.
United Tribes Technical College is celebrating 50 years of
educational service, 25 years as a 1994 land grant institution,
and 37 years of accreditation by the Higher Learning
Commission. With a legacy of workforce development and
employment, training continues through the offering of three
certificates, five associate applied science, nine associate of
science, and four bachelor of science degrees.
BIE funds are essential to the viability of the United
Tribes core postsecondary, career, and technical education
programs, and the overall mission as a tribal college and
university. We serve some of the most impoverished, high-risk
Indian students from throughout the Nation. Despite such
challenges, we have consistently had excellent retention and
placement rates.
United Tribes is one of the only inter-tribal colleges and
universities in the Nation. We are governed by the five tribes
located wholly or in part in the State of North Dakota. We are
not part of the North Dakota University system, and we do not
have a tax base. However, we do receive limited State-
appropriated for non-native students. The Federal BIE
appropriations UTTC receives are critical to the postsecondary
education of American Indian and Alaska Native students to
obtain the skills necessary to become employed.
The funding request for United Tribes for fiscal year 2020
BIE/BIA are twofold: $10 million for the line item tribal
technical colleges, which compares to the fiscal year 2019
enacted level of $7.5 million, and two, establishment of a
tribally-administered Northern Plains Law Enforcement Center at
United Tribes Technical College. United Tribes administers our
BIE funding under the Indian Self-Determination Education
Assistance Act agreement and has done so for 42 years.
The United Tribes portion of the tribal technical colleges
line item should be $6.8 million based on a $10 million
appropriation. Acquisition of additional base funding is
critical to our struggle to maintain course offerings and
services to provide educational services at the same level as
our State counterparts. Funding for United Tribes Technical
College is a good investment. We have an unduplicated count of
525 students in 2017-2018 with 494 of those being degree-
seeking.
Approximately 84 percent of the 494 degree-seeking
undergraduate students are low-income and received Pell Grants
for 2017-2018 academic year. United Tribes had a 2017-2018
fall-to-fall retention rate of 51 percent, and a 2017 fall-to-
spring semester persistence rate of 75 percent. Using the North
Dakota State Longitudinal Data System, which tracks graduates
who gain employment within North Dakota, United Tribes
graduates attained a placement rate of 64 percent. Note this
number does not include those who may have been employed
outside of North Dakota. That system doesn't track those who
leave the State.
The fall graduates from December 2017 who are employed in
North Dakota earned an average of $7,400 in the third quarter
after they graduated, which averages to about $30,000 annually.
Campus services include a child development center, family
literacy program, wellness center, area transportation, K
though 7 BIE-funded elementary school, tutoring, counseling,
and single student housing, and campus security. A North Dakota
State University study reports that the five tribal colleges in
North Dakota made a direct and secondary economic contribution
to the State of $192 million in 2016, and United Tribes had a
$59.6 million direct and secondary economic impact on the
Bismarck/Mandan communities for the same period.
A few words on the Northern Plains Indian Law Enforcement
Academy. The Great Plains Tribal Chairman's Association via
Resolution 5-1-20-16 requests that the Secretary of Interior
and the BIA consult with the tribes on the details of a plan
for establishment of Northern Plains Indian Law Enforcement the
Academy. Given our established criminal justice programming,
our tribe's location, and campus resources, we ask that you
direct the Secretary of Interior and BIA to work with the
Northern Plains tribes and others to establish an academy to
better serve the tribes residing in the Northern Tier of the
United States.
We recognize collaboration and the sharing of resources
among tribal, State, and Federal training initiatives, such as
the proposed Savanna's Act legislation, are critical to
decreasing criminal activity throughout Indian Country. This
model, once developed, may allow additional opportunities to
collaborate on related issues, such as decreasing dangerous
drug activity and trafficking. The Senate Committee on Indian
Affairs is holding a field hearing on March 20th on our campus,
and that is a joint law enforcement activity and the importance
of collaboration between tribal and non-tribal law enforcement
agencies.
United Tribes stands ready to assist educationally by
ensuring a well-trained law enforcement workforce is available
to address these social ills should a Northern Plains Law
Enforcement Academy be considered. We know members of the
subcommittee have made a point to visit places in Indian
Country, and we would love to be able to arrange for you to
visit the United Tribes Technical College campus.
Thank you for your consideration of the request.
[The statement of Leander McDonald follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. I haven't been taking the first
question all the time, but I am on this one. So pre-K is
something that in our States everybody is talking about. You
mentioned the FACE Program, and some of you have Head Start,
and there are different programs out there. Having kids with
that little bit of extra comfort with going to school or
feeling confident that they can succeed when they walk in, even
for kindergarten, can be a huge game changer. Head Start is not
funded out of this committee. It is out of the Education
Committee. I realize that.
But what has been your experience, because you talked about
the FACE Program, which is a little different because that
involves parents, and you even have GED available and that. I
would be interested in knowing what is going on with the
daycare situation, if you have highly-qualified daycare, if you
are providing Head Start programming or that at the technical
college, because you have got me on the buildings. We are
working on the buildings.
You know, when a child walks in a building and we say here
is your opportunity to build for your future, and the building
is crumbling around them, we send them very mixed messages.
This is something that our committee is trying to address, but
we also want to make sure that we have parents who are engaged
in schools. And with the historic trauma that some parents
still are facing with schools, I would think being engaged in a
preschool setting might be a gentle way to kind of get them
more engaged than just first grade, hit the ground running, and
this what a school is.
I am going to talk to my counterpart Chair DeLauro, and she
is interested in working more in Indian Country. How well are
your students prepared when they come? What can we do more of
to make those first couple of years successful so that they are
excited about learning to read and to do math, and engage their
parents so that we retain them to graduate from high school and
go on to the technical college and other colleges? Anybody can
just jump in.
Ms. Coho. At the Ramah Navajo School Board, we have a Head
Start Program, and our Head Start Program, there is a lot of
parent participation. Parents come into the classroom. They
have, like, a family-style dinner or lunch or breakfast with
their kids, so. And they interact with the kids. There is a lot
of reading. There is a 1-to-1. There is a lot of reading. Then
the parents are also involved, it is called a parent committee
where they come together. It is like a school board, almost
like a school board.
So the parents come together, and they all serve on a
committee. They all are involved in the education of their
kids. And the kids do come. They ride on the bus. They come to
school. They have teachers that they work closely with, and
there is a lot of interaction, a lot of reading.
This is where some of our kids learn how to read, learn how
to cut papers, learn how to use a pencil, learn how to
socialize. So there is a lot of parents involved, and even
parents, we have parents that have through the Head Start
Program, they have now become teachers. We have parents that
have served on the parent committees that are now school board
members, and I am one of those people. I used to belong on the
committee for the Head Start Program, and now I am a school
board member.
So it is not only the children, but it is also the parents,
too. We have parents that are now certified teachers.
Ms. McCollum. That is exciting. Anybody else want to----
Mr. McDonald. I appreciate the discussion, especially on
our campus we inherited an old fort. And so the Indians took
over the fort here in Bismarck. [Laughter.]
But our buildings are 108 years old, and so in our
buildings just regularly, we have sewer pipes outside and
conduit for electrical outside because those were added after
the buildings were built----
Ms. McCollum. Oh, sure.
Mr. McDonald [continuing]. You know, for the time period.
So that is happening. Also is that we have Theodore Jamison
Elementary School on our campus, and they were identified by
the Bureau of Indian Education as one of the 71 schools that
were in need of rehabilitation, that existing facilities had
outlived their livelihood for the time period.
Just talk a little bit about daycare is that we a North
Dakota certified center, so all of our providers are required
to have that certification. As a result of that certification,
we are able to obtain State reimbursement to our students, to
our college students, so their daycare is paid for as a student
for United Tribes Technical College. And then as far as a
curriculum for the daycare students is that teaching occurs
there, and we have an established curriculum for those students
or the babies that are being provided care, too.
Ms. McCollum. We have to get the buildings right. We have
to get the housing for teachers and the roads and all of that
right. That is all integrated. But this is my chance to take
your voice and lobby for some more support. It is frustrating
to me when I hear everybody talk about pre-K, and there is so
much need in Indian education. You are here advocating for what
is traditionally in our bill, but I also know what happens
before that. That student shows up for the first day of ``K
through 12'' is critically important to the student. So you
wanted to add something?
Ms. Watashe. Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am the
president of the DGSA Association, but I am also a school board
member for the Ramah Navajo School Board. And for our facility,
we would like to see more teacher training, more assistance in
regards to consultants. Right now we have a math consultant
that comes to our school maybe once a week, and they work with
the teachers in strategies, provides strategies and
recommendations and guidance, I guess, in teaching our students
at the lower level, 3 to 5, with how to learn math. And it is
all hands-on, fun and games, and that is the way the students
learn.
So if we could have more money in areas for consultants,
for teachers to get that training, then we can, you know,
enhance those areas--reading, math, science. Even science at
the lower level would be great, but sometimes we just don't
have that money. And then with Head Start there are all these
restrictions, like administrative costs. You can only get so
much percent, and you can't cram everything in there. So, you
know, the director can only do, you know, so much with, you
know, that amount of money, so.
Ms. McCollum. I will let you have the last word before I
turn it over to my colleague.
Ms. Cournoyer. OK. I just want to acknowledge the trauma
comment, the comment that you made about the healing, and
reiterate what everyone has said, that it starts at that pre-K
level. And so Head Start and early learning, investing in Head
Start/early learning programs, not just on our tribal
communities, but in our large urban areas that are serving high
native-populated.
Ms. McCollum. True, yeah.
Ms. Cournoyer. Those students go on to public school, but
we don't have Head Start/early learning opportunities for those
native students who live in Denver, and Phoenix, and
Albuquerque. You have to live outside of the area, outside of
that region or that city area.
And then to follow up on the teacher training, it is not
just teacher training opportunities. It is providing
opportunities to tribal colleges to certify language and
culture teachers.
Ms. McCollum. Yeah. Yes.
Ms. Cournoyer. So that they are going into our Head Start/
early learning opportunities, those programs at the lower
level, the community education-based level as well, so.
Ms. McCollum. Well said.
Ms. Cournoyer. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Amodei, do you have any thoughts?
Mr. Amodei. No, Madam Chair. Well, I mean, I thought you
meant questions. I have some thoughts. [Laughter.]
Mr. Amodei. I used to. Just out of curiosity, Madam Vice
President Coho, did you say in your testimony when your gym was
built?
Ms. Coho. Our gym was built in 1976.
Mr. Amodei. OK. And does----
Ms. Coho. No, 1974. It was in the early 1970s.
Mr. Amodei. Does the committee have any photos of any of
your buildings?
Ms. Coho. Yes, we do. I can----
Mr. Amodei. OK. If you could provide them at some point in
time if that is OK. That would be great.
Ms. Coho. Yes, I will. I will give you those.
Mr. Amodei. Thank you. I yield back.
Ms. McCollum. I can show you lots of photos of schools. We
have to figure this out.
Mr. Amodei. I would like to see photos of the gym because--
--
Ms. McCollum. We have to figure this out.
Ms. Coho. Well, Pine Hill School----
Ms. McCollum. Here they come.
Ms. Coho. A State tournament, we are having the State
tournament, and if you were to come visit our gymnasium, I
think you would be very, very surprised. I don't know if you
would want to even stand in there for a minute, but right now
they are going to cover it. They have our facility maintenance
guys are going to be covering the ceiling so that they can have
this tournament.
Ms. McCollum. Covering a problem does not fix a problem.
Ms. Coho. Yes.
Ms. McCollum. I would like to thank you all for your
testimony. I have your full testimony in the book, and thank
you for educating the next generation not only for your
communities, but for our country at large. Thank you.
Ms. Coho. Thank you.
Ms. Cournoyer. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. And we will have our third panel come
forward. Pretty shocking what those buildings look like, isn't
it, Mark?
Darrell Seki, tribal chairman, Red Lake Band of Chippewa
Indians; Aaron Payment, chairperson, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of
Chippewa Indians; Vice Chair of Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the
chairman.
Mr. Seki. Seki.
Ms. McCollum. Seki. Did I say it wrong? I am sorry. And
Jason Schlender. Everybody here? Before the Red Lake chairman
starts off, I am noticing more and more people asking for the
Tiwahe program that you are going to be talking about in all
their testimony, more funding and wanting to see more of it. So
congratulations on all the hard work the tribe did putting that
program together.
Sir, would you lead it off?
Mr. Seki. Thank you.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
RED LAKE BAND OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS
WITNESS
HON. DARRELL SEKI, SR., TRIBAL CHAIRMAN, RED LAKE BAND OF CHIPPEWA
INDIANS
Mr. Seki. [Speaking Native language.] Start over?
Ms. McCollum. Start over. The time is yours.
Mr. Seki [speaking Native language]. Miigwech. My name is
Darrell Seki, Sr., chairman of Red Lake Nation. Good afternoon,
Chairwoman McCollum and all our friends around the table. I am
here today to talk about five appropriation requests along with
other requests described in my written testimony. Funding these
requests would help improve the lives of Red Lake's 12,000-plus
members and the wellbeing of our 840,000-acre reservation in
remote northern Minnesota.
First, we support advanced appropriations for BIA and IHS
funding. The government shutdown created a cash flow crisis for
Red Lake. While we decided not to lay off program staff, we had
to suspend construction work on two fire halls, a dialysis
treatment center, and an opiate treatment center. Reopening the
government did not fix our cash flow crisis because it seems
the Federal bureaucracy has taken an awful long time to release
our funds.
Moreover, in our analysis, the final fiscal year 2019
numbers accepted at Senate funding levels, not the House-passed
levels. That meant $26.5 million less for the BIA, $99 million
less for IHS from what the House approved last July. So the
government shutdown also caused a real loss in much-needed
funding because the regular appropriations process was upended.
Please take this in account as you consider the fiscal year
2020 Interior request.
Second, we request that you restore all funding cuts
President Trump proposes for fiscal year 2020 just like you did
for his fiscal year 2019 budget cuts. Last March, Interior
associate deputy secretary, Jim Cason and then deputy
secretary, David Bernhardt attended a tribal Interior budget
council meeting here in DC I questioned both of them about the
massive fiscal year 2019 cut they requested for BIA, and I
asked why BIA was being cut the most, $220 million more, in
fact, then that National Park Service.
Mr. Cason responded by saying that some national parks have
issues with flushing toilets, leaking roofs, and running water.
Tribal leaders quickly pointed out to Mr. Cason that many
tribal homes lack flushing toilets, running water, and, much
worse, even a lack of electricity and heat, threatening the
lives of our children. If President Trump once again seeks to
fix bathrooms in parks instead of Indian homes, we will once
again have to ask you to fix that bankrupt proposal.
Third, we request that you fully and make permanent and
expand BIA's Tiwahe recidivism reduction initiatives. Tiwahe
addresses many vital needs in our community. It has helped
strengthen our youth suicide prevention efforts. I am happy to
report we had zero youth suicides last year, a huge improvement
from our high suicide rates in the previous years. Tiwahe has
made it possible for our children's healing center to implement
a 24/7 youth residential treatment program for rehabilitative
mental health and substance abuse services. Tiwahe has also
helped combat tribal members unemployment rates by providing
classes, training, and workforce development programs to meet
the welding and certified nursing assistant workforce shortages
in our region.
Fourth, we request an additional $20 million in fiscal year
202 for tribal law enforcement operations in the field,
regulate law enforcement as it wages a war on drugs. Last year
we received over 27,904 grams and other drugs valued at over $1
million. We executed 54 search warrants and made 355 drug-
related arrests. We are holding drug dealers accountable, and
our crime rates are going down. But we need more resources if
we are to succeed in stopping the tidal wave of drug crime.
Fifth, we ask that you direct the BIA to expedite its
approval and funding of lease agreements for our government
buildings, that you expressly add funds for BIA leases with
tribe under 25 U.S.C. 5324. Red Lake has borrowed millions of
dollars to replace BIA's dilapidated fire halls and law
enforcement center that the BIA condemned, but would not
replace. BIA should at least pay a fair, credible lease cost to
us. By requiring the BIA to quickly and fully fund our proposed
new lease agreements, we will be able to pay off debt we took
on to build and maintain buildings that BIA failed to replace.
In my hand I have the Red Lake Treaty Agreements outlining
the Federal government's trust responsibility to the tribe.
Miss, you must continue to enforce these agreements because
they are very binding. And it is the United States government
that should take care of what they agreed to bond to the
tribes.
Thank you for allowing me to request your support for some
of our most immediate needs at Red Lake. As you enact our
fiscal year 2020 appropriations that directly impact my
constituents. And I say Miigwech to the table here.
[The statement of Darrell Seki follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you, and you were speaking in your
mother tongue, and I did not hold that time against you.
Mr. Seki. OK. [Laughter.]
Ms. McCollum. But your whole testimony, Mr. Payment, is
helpful if it is all in English for me.
Mr. Payment. OK.
Ms. McCollum. Aaron Payment, chairperson of the Sault Ste.
Marie Tribe of Chippewa Individuals.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
SAULT STE. MARIE TRIBE OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS
WITNESS
HON. AARON PAYMENT, CHAIRPERSON, SAULT STE. MARIE TRIBE OF CHIPPEWA
INDIANS
Mr. Payment. I will only say one word in Objibwe [speaking
Native language]. Thank you for hearing from me today. As
elected chairperson of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe----
Ms. McCollum. We want to hear all of it.
Mr. Payment [speaking Native language]. Thank you for
hearing from me today. As the elected chairperson of the Sault
Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, I am speaking on behalf
of my tribe. A little later I will testify for the Tribal
Interior Committee as co-chair and co-chair along with Darrell
for the Midwest Region, and also the National Congress of
American Indians for which I serve as the first vice president.
For now I will focus on Federal recognition of tribal
sovereign rights, Federal treaty and trust obligations to the
tribes, the need for mandatory funding, and advanced
appropriations.
Let me start by noting that every time I meet with
representative of the Federal government, I explain the meaning
of the tribal sovereignty treaty rights and the Federal
government's trust obligation to tribes. When I request funds
for tribal programs and services, Federal representatives, not
all, often behave as if I am begging for handouts, reparations,
or some sort of public welfare for my people. They fail to
recognize we prepaid in full for what we get.
My tribe and four other 1836 tribes ceded 14 million acres
to the Federal government that allowed Michigan to become a
State. The tribes across the country ceded 500 million acres
that made America great. Unfortunately the Federal government
is well aware of its treaty and trust obligations to tribes,
yet often chooses to ignore these obligations.
In December of 2018, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
published a Federal study entitled, ``Broken Promises:
Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans,''
which was made widely available throughout the Federal
government. This study reported the Federal government is not
meeting its treaty and trust obligations to tribes. Yet the
study follows up on the ``Quiet Crisis Federal Funding and
Unmet Needs in Indian Country'' report from way back in 2003.
These and numerous studies say the same thing, that the Federal
government has failed to meet its treaty and trust obligations.
Some enduring needs of adequate appropriations include
across the country 25.7 percent of American Indian and Alaska
Native people in the United States live below the poverty level
compared to 12.4 percent for the general population.
Unemployment rates in Indian Country average 22 percent. Basic
living characteristics for Native Americans on Indian lands
contribute to the Native American health crisis. For example,
32 percent do not have telephone services, 50 percent live in
overcrowded homes, 11 percent of native homes lack kitchen
facilities, 14 percent have no access to electricity, and 12
percent lack complete plumbing. This data shows why programs,
like the Home Improvement Program, are so important. Last year
the President proposed to eliminate the Home Improvement
Program. Thank you for saving the program. I recommend that
Congress continue to fully fund the Home Improvement Program.
Another key program for our tribal people is the Low Income
Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP. This program helps
families keep their homes adequately heated. We have had a
record cold in the Midwest this year and snow. I believe that
this program has kept tribal elders and some of our tribal
children from freezing to death. I urge Congress to fully fund
LIHEAP.
Our Head Start Program is essential to meeting the early
education needs of tribal children. Our Head Start Program has
not had a base funding increase for 17 years. I strongly
recommend base funding increases for both Head Start and early
Head Start as well as funding increases for facilities
maintenance.
Our Tribal Court Program, in integral component of our
tribe's sovereignty, is significantly underfunded as well. In
fact, the Federal government provides 3.7 percent of the base
funding needed to operate a tribal court capable of meeting our
tribe's service population and jurisdictional needs. We
recommend Congress to fully fund tribal courts base funding
levels to meeting the budget model provided by the BIA.
I would be remiss if I didn't reinforce our Chippewa Ottawa
Resource Authority $500,000 litigation support request as the
1836 Treaty Tribes approach our treaty consent decree
negotiations. You are our trustee. You were a party to this
decree. It is your duty to fund the litigation support for
litigation for which the Federal government is a party. We have
tried to get the Department of Interior to request these funds,
but the Trump Administration simply refuses. I am advised that
the President proposes and Congress disposes, so I am asking
you to propose and dispose--well, not dispose once you propose
it, but to propose your own budget. If the Interior and Trump
Administration will not, I am asking you to.
In conclusion, the lack of adequate funding limits our
tribal governments can provide for their people and prevents
tribes from lifting themselves from a state of dependence to
self-determination, self-governance, self-sufficiency, and
empowerments. To advance this goal, I urge advanced
appropriations for Federal programs and services impacting
tribes.
According to a September 2018 GAO report--it is GAO 18652--
it identifies the challenges of IHS health delivery for
American Indian and Alaska Natives and how advanced
appropriations can fix this. Tribes are already faced with
critically underfunded health general welfare programs. And
finally, in addition to my request that you institute advanced
appropriations on federal funding services impacting tribes, I
request you appropriate funds for those programs and services
specifically recommended by inter-tribal organizations, like
the National Congress of American Indians, National Indian
Health Board, and National Indian Housing Council, and NIEA.
And then I did bring, and I am not going to go over it, but
I did bring copies of advanced appropriations detailed
information for you. Thank you.
[The statement of Aaron Payment follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. We will enter that for the record.
[The information follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. So Mr. Taken Alive, good to have you here.
You are next. Vice chairman of Standing Rock Sioux Tribe where
many of us visited back a while ago. Welcome.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
STANDING ROCK SIOUX TRIBE
WITNESS
HON. IRA TAKEN ALIVE, VICE CHAIRMAN, STANDING ROCK SIOUX TRIBE
Mr. Taken Alive. Thank you. Good afternoon, Madam Chair,
and esteemed members of the committee. My name is Ira Taken
Alive, and I serve as the vice chairman of the Standing Rock
Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota. I bring glad tidings
from the over 16,000 enrolled Standing Rock tribal members,
including those who are serving in the United States military
here and around the world.
Madam Chair, it is wonderful to see you again. As you had
mentioned, you had visited Standing Rock back in 2011 with
Congressman Cole and as well as then Congressman Rick Berg. You
probably don't recognize me because I had blacker hair then,
but----[Laughter.]
Ms. McCollum. My hair was darker, too, but we are not going
to talk about that. [Laughter.]
Mr. Taken Alive. That was a remarkable and memorable day
for us at Standing Rock because we had the opportunity to
showcase our community development efforts, share our vision,
and to highlight the critical needs that we have. As you had
witnessed at Standing Rock, Standing Rock Reservation is a very
beautiful place. The hills, river valleys, sunrises and sunsets
can take your breath away, and, of course, the people are
beautiful as well.
While you were there, you were able to see not only the
beauty, but also the significant challenges faced by our
communities: an unemployment rate above 50 percent, a poverty
rate that is 3 times that of the national rate, and the sixth
and seventh poorest counties in the entire Nation. Add to these
figures, Standing Rock has a median age of 26.9 years old. With
such a young median age, our population is projected to double
within the next decade, and certainly as a tribal leader,
tribal elected official, this is cause for alarm because we
currently struggle to provide basic services with our
government services.
I share this to underscore the importance of funding for
the BIA, the IHS, and the BIE at Standing Rock. While we have
very dedicated BIA staff, caring IHS providers, and inspiring
BIE educators at Standing Rock, there is only so much that can
be accomplished with limited funding, especially with funding
that is subject to a Federal government shutdown.
As an example of how every little bit helps when it comes
to the funding of BIA, IHS, and BIE, like other communities
across the Midwest, Standing Rock is battling the scourge of
methamphetamine and opioid abuse. To help tackle the problem,
the recently-appointed BIA Office of Justice Services chief of
police and his crew at Standing Rock focused on roadway traffic
policing over a
3-month period from October 2018 to middle of January this past
January. In that operation, they were able to net over 200
drug-related arrests, seize large amounts of drugs, and seize
over $100,000 in cash from these arrests.
And due to an inadequate number of law enforcement officer
positions at Standing Rock to patrol our 2.2 million-acre
reservation over the years, there is a belief, especially among
non-natives, that there is lawlessness at Standing Rock, and
that drug trafficking can go unabated. Through the hard work
and dedication of our law enforcement and the addition of
several more officers over the past several months, drug
traffickers now know to steer clear of Standing Rock. This
addition of several officer positions proves that every little
bit helps.
As another example, Madam Chair, as you may know, Standing
Rock made national news several years due to a heartbreaking
outbreak of youth suicide and suicide attempts. I had served as
director of the Standing Rock Wellness Program in 2015 during
such an outbreak. Thankfully the IHS national office was able
to provide emergency funding to Standing Rock to respond to the
crisis and to provide additional supports.
There is nothing more gut wrenching than to lose our young
people to suicide. This is why creating a new initiative, like
the Mental Health Substance Abuse Pilot Program, which
hopefully will be proposed for fiscal year 2020, that will be
based on the Special Diabetes Program for Indians, is such a
great idea. A pilot program of dedicated, targeted funds to
address these issues will place tribes in the driver's seat
before these issues become a crisis.
As has been quipped many times over many years at Standing
Rock, it is not a coincidence that our greatest challenges and
greatest needs are what are promised in our treaties with the
United State. Education, healthcare, infrastructure, and law
enforcement support are critical to a vibrant economy, trained
workforce, and, of course, a healthy citizenry.
Madam Chair, as evidenced by the testimony provided
yesterday and today by other elected tribal officials, our
stories of partnership with the Federal government to address
our community's challenges and needs are based on the
obligations outlined in our respective treaties with the United
States. May the record reflect that they are not handouts. May
the record reflect nor are they welfare benefits. And may the
record also reflect that they are not reparations.
At Standing Rock, our 1851 and 1868 treaties are considered
[speaking Native language], or sacred, because they were forged
in good fifth, peace, and with the belief in our future
generations. Whether it is 1851, 1868, or 2020, our treaties
encompass all that is sacred to us: our lands, our water, our
healthcare, our safety, and the desire for a good life for
future generations.
Madam Chair, I am very grateful for having had this
opportunity to serve as a witness today [speaking Native
language]. Please know that you and your colleagues have an
open invitation to visit Standing Rock again, and by then
hopefully our 8-foot snow drifts will have been melted. I
conclude my remarks.
[The statement of Ira Taken Alive follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. I don't want them to melt too fast. They come
my way eventually.
We have the vice chairman of La Courte----
Mr. Schlender. La Courte Oreilles.
Ms. McCollum. La Courte Oreilles.
Mr. Schlender. Yeah.
Ms. McCollum. It sounds a lot better when you say it. Band
of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. Welcome, Vice Chairman.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
LAC COURTE OREILLES BAND OF LAKE SUPERIOR CHIPPEWA INDIANS
WITNESS
HON. JASON SCHLENDER, VICE CHAIRMAN, LAC COURTE OREILLES BAND OF LAKE
SUPERIOR CHIPPEWA INDIANS
Mr. Schlender. [Speaking Native language.] First of all, I
want to acknowledge Madam Chair McCollum and the members of
this committee for the opportunity to speak on behalf of La
Courte Oreilles and other tribes in this country.
Miigwech to this committee for its substantial efforts to
protect the interests of LCO, or Las Courte Oreilles, in the
fiscal year 2019 Interior appropriations, and for once again
rejecting the President's inadequate budget request for tribal
programs. Chronic underfunding of tribal programs and treaty
obligations has taken a toll on our tribe. We urge Congress to
provide advanced appropriations for BIA and IHS so their
crucial program are not impacted by government shutdowns or
delays in funding.
So you have my testimony for the record. I would like to go
off and just speak personally as a beneficiary of our treaties
that we have signed with the United States. And for Las Courte
Oreilles, we have significant treaties signed in 1837, 1842,
and 1854, of which I am a beneficiary of. I am also a
beneficiary of all of the leadership that has come before you
to request the necessary funding in order to run our programs.
One of the huge issues that we have in Indian Country is
the opioid epidemic. The opioid epidemic is ravaging Indian
Country as you have heard, but the true center of it is on the
historical trauma that impacts tribal communities and this
country. The day I arrived here in Washington, DC, I spent 6
hours in our museum, the National Museum of the American
Indian, and I spent another 4 hours in the Museum of the
African-American Culture and Museum. And it reminded me of the
tragedies that have happened in this country. It reminded me of
the trust obligation, you know, that the United States has with
tribes.
So with that, trauma-informed care is needed, and so I
request for increased funding for behavioral health to
implement preventative measures to battle addiction,
depression, suicide, diabetes, and heart disease. Our children
need those necessary programs in order to fulfill their purpose
in life. We do need facilities for recovery as well, and so
that is why the necessary request or the request for necessary
increased funding for our Indian Child Welfare Act, which
provides child protective services, neonatal services, foster
care, are crucial for our community.
In addition to that, the Bureau of Indian Education is also
in dire need of an increase of funding, especially for our ISEP
formula, which was mentioned in the prior testimony, our FACE
Program. Also, the construction costs and contract support is
desperately needed. We need those programs and the necessary
funding in order to keep our teachers at a competitive wage
because we lose them to public schools. And so with that, more
programs can also be implemented. In our community, culture-
based programming is what is paramount for us. It is what has
kept us alive from the beginning. You know, through everything
that tribal people have endured, our culture and our language
has been there for us and has kept us alive and kept us
standing upright.
So with that, I would also request that, in addition to our
educational obligations, that we include roads and housing
improvement programs, the Tiwahe Initiative, which includes
tribal courts and job placement and training. Also in addition
to that is the wildlife and parks, for more funding for water
quality initiatives and law enforcement and biological services
so that we can determine what a safe harvest level is for our
people in our communities. In addition to that, go back to
education with Title 3 funding, which is Part A and Part F,
which is due to sunset in 2020, we just ask that not be done,
and that funding for charter schools be directly funded as
well.
Also, I would also ask for this committee to support
Abigail Echo-Hawk in her efforts to create additional
mechanisms to attract missing and murdered indigenous women
across this country. As I mentioned before, our culture is the
cure for many of our social ills, but we strive on our partners
and our treaties respecting their responsibility and honoring
their part as well.
So I close with this comment and this statement from
Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black: ``Great nations like great
men should keep their word.'' But I only want to add that great
nations like great men and women should keep their word as
well. And that is a testament to all the women that have been
recently elected to Congress. We acknowledge them, and we say
Miigwech to the two ladies, Sharice Davids and to Deb Haaland,
for their recent appointments.
Miigwech [speaking Native language].
[The statement of Jason Schlender follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Amodei.
Mr. Amodei. I yield back, Madam Chair.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. In yesterday's testimony I
mentioned Congresswoman Haaland and Congresswoman Davids, and I
was talking to them on the floor after I left in between the
testimony yesterday. They have access to everything. They have
been tuning in on and off in their offices in between their
committee assignments. And I couldn't be more excited, I
couldn't be happier than to have their voices at the table.
Mr. Schlender. Absolutely.
Ms. McCollum. And Ms. Haaland's role as the new co-chair of
the Native American Caucus, as I stepped aside for that great
honor of having her take on that is just absolutely amazing. So
their voices are going to be very involved as we put this
together, so thank you.
And, Chairman, Mr. Trump's budget when it comes to Indian
affairs appropriations is not popular with this committee.
Unless he, you know, gives us an A-plus budget this time for
tribal affairs, you will see the House step forward and do
everything that we can to do right by our Native American
brothers and sisters.
I would like to take an opportunity with you gentleman
here. As I was reading through all the testimony, the Tiwahe
Program came up a lot, which I got to know well when visiting
the chairman up at Red Lake. It deals with an integration of
many things, and other tribes are saying they would like to
have a pilot or they would like to do something similar. And
for me, the core of it was children because the out-of-home
placements that the chairman has shared with us was
heartbreaking. All of you have brought up children in different
ways, whether it is child protective services or whatever.
Just for a second, let's focus on the most vulnerable among
us who are sometimes our elders, but quite often are children.
What are the one or two things that you think if we got right,
as we put this through, could really be impactful for the next
generation? We have to work on the generations here and their
healing and their job opportunities, but all of us want to get
it right for the next generation. Any top priorities within the
child protection area?
Mr. Schlender. If I may just for a minute just to kind of
elaborate on our child protective services, which is within our
Indian child welfare department. So our department is in dire
need. Our department is understaffed, you know, and we have
just so much need there, you know. So with an increased funding
amount, we can get a larger staff. We can also increase the
capacity for foster care and other things so our children can
be surrounded by relatives and family, that they don't have to
be, you know, separated from them or anything like that because
that is what is the desperately----
Ms. McCollum. [Off audio.]
Mr. Schlender. Yeah, right, and increases to that, it just
adds to the trauma that is already there.
Mr. Payment. Just real quickly, I had the pleasure of
testifying on Heidi Heitkamp's bill for the Child Commission.
And so I would say that getting that fully functioning and up
and running and accountable back to you to get reports across
the spectrum. The challenge for Indian children is that our
funding is piecemealed across budgets. And so the intent of the
Child Commission was to get a good picture of the state of
Indian affairs as it relates to our kids, our future
generations. So I would say bringing that back and asking for
accountability and reports back from that committee.
Mr. Seki. My answer to that is, you know, I know you talked
about the Tiwahe Initiative. The Tiwahe Initiative, you know,
we have courts, but what helps Tiwahe is that the parents, you
know, they get their kids back. The families get back together
after they lost their children. What really helps is to
continue to fund these programs that helps our native children.
The other thing is the court system. We need immediate
family to be considered to take the kids when they take the
kids away from them. The grandparents, you know, the immediate
family should get them instead of sending them out to non-
native families for the kids because our kids are very
important in our nation, our Indian Country, because they are
our next generation. And someday they will be sitting here
talking to your replacements or whoever comes there.
And education is very important, to educate our youth, to
understand, and also the culture we have, they got to
understand our culture. They got to speak our language and all
that because everything is important on this table here for our
families, all the way to elders, women, men, the younger
generation that is coming, all these initiatives that we need.
We got to protect our children. Children are very important to
everyone.
Mr. Taken Alive. Thank you for the question, Madam Chair.
At Standing Rock we have the benefit of having the State border
of North Dakota and South Dakota straddle our reservation. And
there is a stark difference in the access to quality healthcare
that the expansion of the Medicare Program has had. For
instance, in North Dakota where the State has elected to expand
Medicaid, you see children having greater access to basic
services such as dental care, and including mental health care,
so. And South Dakota has yet to embrace that, and there is
definitely a difference.
So certainly we have IHS to provide healthcare services on
the reservation, but to have that extra resource for our
families and for our children to tap into certainly enhances
that care.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you
for your thoughtful testimony. Miigwech.
Mr. Amodei, would you like to introduce the next set, and I
will help you out. It is Assiniboine.
Mr. Amodei. Well, with that offer, Madam Chair, I would
respectfully decline because I don't want these people to hate
me----[Laughter.]
Ms. McCollum. No, they won't----
Mr. Amodei [continuing]. For not doing the job of that.
Ms. McCollum. They will not hate you. I used to go fishing
around Fort Peck. So the next panel, you can do it.
Mr. Amodei. Yeah, this looks pretty good.
Ms. McCollum. Go ahead.
Mr. Amodei. For the next panel, tribal government and human
resources. Mr. Chairman Azure. I am Amadelli, too, so come on
up. [Laughter.]
Chief William Harris. I like the last three. Sorry about
that, Mr. Chairman. Chairman Luke Duncan and Secretary Casey
Mitchell. Madam Chair, I would like to, since you asked me to
do this, I would like to yield back to you to correctly
pronounce the names of the tribes, please, since you are the
leader of the band here. [Laughter.]
Thank you, and I yield back.
Ms. McCollum. Good afternoon, gentlemen. We will start the
clock at 5 minutes, and I know some of you came in afterwards.
When it goes to yellow it is about a minute left, and we would
ask you to be prepared to conclude your remarks. Welcome, and
we will start out with the chairman of the Assiniboine Sioux
Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation.
Voice. [Off audio.]
Ms. McCollum. Oh, I am sorry. You are right and I am wrong.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX TRIBES OF THE FORT PECK RESERVATION
WITNESS
HON. FLOYD G. AZURE, CHAIRMAN, ASSINIBOINE AND SIOUX TRIBES OF THE FORT
PECK RESERVATION
Mr. Azure. Thank you very much. I am Floyd Azure, chairman
of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Fort Peck Reservation. I
would like to thank the subcommittee for the opportunity to
present this testimony.
I grew up on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. I started my
business and I raised my family on the Fort Peck Reservation. I
love my home. I love my people who have entrusted me with their
future. There is no place I would choose to live than the land
my ancestors preserved for us.
My people are facing challenges that for many communities
are just abstract news stories. Their father is found
overdosed. A child was taken from her parents. A mother commits
suicide. But in my community these are not abstract news
stories. Each of these tragedies is personal to me because I
grew up with these people and their families, and, yes, because
they trust me with their futures.
In my house, it is not only I who bears the burdens of
these tragedies. My wife, Geri, has been a kindergarten teacher
in the Poplar School for almost 30 years now. She is one of the
many unsung heroes throughout Indian Country who is making sure
that no matter what is happening in a child's home life, when
he or she comes to school they are safe. Because of Geri and
people like her, I think Indian Country has a lot to celebrate.
At Fort Peck, like many tribal communities across the
Plains, we are celebrating our basketball teams. I am so proud
of our Poplar Indians who are the 2019 Northern V Division
champions. The last time this happened was 35 years ago.
Ms. McCollum. Thirty-five years.
Mr. Azure. But last night they began their successful bid
for the State championship. They won their first game. It was
great. And I can say as a politician, it is quite a sacrifice
to be here with you this week and not home with this team
cheering them on. I got a cousin that is on the team, a young
cousin who is playing, so I cheer him on.
This is a school that 10 years ago we had a CD identified
suicide cluster. Five of our children in middle school
committed suicide and 20 more 7th and 8th graders tried. The
children who are playing in the State basketball tournament
this week are the peers of the children who took their lives.
Notwithstanding the pain and grief that they had seen and
experienced in their young lives, they made a different choice.
They chose to work to play a sport for the joy and for the love
of our community. Whatever made these children get up and keep
going to school, making their grades and going to practice, is
what we need more of.
I wish I could say that this week I will go home and it
will be a Hollywood movie and all will be right, but that will
not be the case. Our children will go home to a community that
is overrun with drugs. This last summer we had a rash of drug
overdoses, including two fatal overdoses in one month. Every
month a child is born testing positive for meth or some other
drug. We have entire families that are using from grandmothers
to grandchildren. This level of social dysfunction is no doubt
the cause of the high suicide rate in our communities.
I wish I could say that this plague has passed over Fort
Peck and that we found the magic bullet to stop this tragedy.
But just last summer, Michel Lee, a 13-year-old boy, took his
life. This boy was, really this baby, really had a family that
loved him. He played sports and he was determined to go to
college. In many people's minds, he had so much promise, but
something happened and we lost this child. Who knows what we as
a tribe lost because this young man lost hope and took his own
life? I can only tell you that it is time that we stop burying
our children and start working together to combat this tragedy.
We would urge the subcommittee to continue to emphasize the
need for additional mental health and substance abuse
treatment. In particular, we support the effort to develop a
special behavioral pilot program to combat behavioral mental
health issues in a holistic and culturally-appropriate way. If
the Poplar basketball team's success this year teaches us
anything, it is that our children are resilient. We cannot give
up on them. We need to have hope, and we need to fund the
programs that will give them the tools they need to live a
healthy lifestyle.
I want to thank the committee for the time. Thank you very
much. I appreciate it.
[The statement of Floyd Azure follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Harris.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
CATAWBA INDIAN NATION
WITNESS
HON. WILLIAM HARRIS, CHIEF, CATAWBA INDIAN NATION
Mr. Harris. Good to see you again. It is good to be before
this committee. Thank you, Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking Member
Joyce, and members of the subcommittee for the opportunity to
testify on critical funding needs for American Indian and
Alaska Native programs under your jurisdiction.
The people of the Catawba Indian Nation thank you for your
hard work on behalf of Indian Country and for inviting tribal
leaders to submit witness testimony on their communities'
behalf. My name is William Harris. I am the chief of the
Catawba Nation, the only federally-recognized tribe in the
State of South Carolina. And like our traditional pottery, the
Catawba have been created from southern soil to be shaped and
fired over time by unimaginable hardships, and now stand tall
as a living testament to our ancestors and to our nation and
the land we call home.
To advance the socioeconomic development and wellbeing of
Catawba and other communities, I offer the following budget
recommendations for the fiscal year 2020. Increase support for
non-gaming tribes. As a sovereign nation and industrious
people, we are committed to achieving economic self-
sufficiency. For the Catawba Nation, this goal is immeasurably
complicated by the terms of our 1993 settlement act with a
State that inhibits meaningful tribal economic development. For
example, our tribe is currently prohibited from establishing
gaming operations on tribal lands, but we are allowed to
operate two bingo halls, neither of which ever turned out a
marginal profit due to the fact that the State was taking 10
percent straight off the top.
So it our hope to come back to Congress and ask for
amendments to our settlement agreement that will restore some
of lost sovereignty and free up social potential. In the
interim, we continue to explore innovative avenues for economic
growth. We urge Congress to invest in economic development
programs for non-gaming tribes to further the Federal
government's policy of promoting tribal self-determination and
economic self-sufficiency.
Expanded access to investment opportunities in Indian
Country. Given adequate support and the appropriate resources,
the majority of tribes would likely become, assuming they are
not already, significant contributors to their local and
regional communities. Tribes are economic engines of the
tourism industry, renewable energies, and small business
commercial services, among many others. However, limited access
to capital and investment financing remain substantial barriers
in Indian Country. We struggle with uniquely burdensome Federal
regulations, poor infrastructure, and other issues that limit
their economies from flourishing.
It is important to create avenues for investment funds,
financial resources, and business models that are mutually
advantageous to the tribes and potential partners for economic
advancement, stability, and diversification. We encourage
Congress to provide increased support for investment
opportunities in Indian Country for the 2020 fiscal year
budget.
Connect tribal communities to the local and regional
economy. Increase BIA roads construction and maintenance
funding. Adequate and well-maintained roads are essential to
connecting tribal members, businesses, and partners with
economic opportunities both on and off the reservation. The
quality of road work network is often used to access local
development and the capacity of a region to support economic
development. If we were to evaluate the roads on our
reservation as well as across Indian Country, many investors
would find the infrastructure conditions to pose a business
risk. Unsafe and undeveloped roadways discourage from
partnering with tribal communities. They also contribute to
lost employment opportunities because companies hesitate to
operate businesses in an area that lacks the necessary
infrastructure to efficiently move people and products between
different markets.
Funding for the BIA roads maintenance projects--excuse me--
has been level funded at about $30 million for several fiscal
years despite the accumulation of over $490 million in backlog
needs. Our reservation, for example, has 33 miles of roads
included on the BIA roads inventory. Maintaining these road
costs is $215,000 annually. We receive $25,000--thank you--in
Federal assistance. As a small non-gaming tribal community, we
need to be able to rely on our roads for economic growth. We
urge Congress to provide $50 million for the BIA Road
Maintenance Program to protect the health, safety, and welfare
of Indian Country.
Provide advanced appropriations for the Indian Health
Services. The United States has a trust responsibility to
provide for Indian healthcare, yet decades of underfunding and
under resourcing IHS has contributed to a severe healthcare
crisis across Indian Country. Full advanced appropriations of
the IHS could promote greater stability and services, medical
personnel recruitment and retention among the facilities. It
would also provide IHS with the ability to address the Veterans
Affairs Administration. So I encourage Congress to provide
advanced appropriations for the IHS in 2020.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
Mr. Harris. But thank you for the opportunity of being here
today.
[The statement of William Harris follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Luke Duncan, chairman of the Ute
Indian Tribe. Welcome, sir.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
UTE INDIAN TRIBE
WITNESS
HON. LUKE DUNCAN, CHAIRMAN, UTE INDIAN TRIBE
Mr. Duncan. Thank you. Thank you. Good afternoon, Madam
Chair, and members of the subcommittee. My name is Luke Duncan.
I am the chairman of the Ute Indian Business Committee in
northeastern Utah, Ute Indian Tribe, and I thank you all for
the opportunity on behalf of my people, the Ute people. Thank
you.
And we ask for your attention to four issues that fall
under the area of tribal government and human services today.
These are education, housing, justice services, energy
development. Of these areas, tribal government and human
services are directly impacted by your funding decisions.
Most importantly, the subcommittee must start a new effort
to prioritize and fund Indian education through tribally-run
schools. We ask that you remove the moratorium on Bureau of
Indian Education funding for new schools and create a new
source of funding for tribally-run schools. This funding is
needed to fulfill the United States treaty and trust
responsibility for the education of our youth.
Currently, 2 percent of our tribal youth go to public or
State public schools, and only 8 percent go to BIE schools,
which are boarding schools. No matter what school they go to,
100 percent of our youth are taught according to Federal and
State standards. We on the reservation, we started a charter
school, and we all know that the funding goes directly to the
States from BIE, and from there, there is a headcount of our
native students, and the funding all goes to there. And we have
witnessed on our reservation where a lot of our children after
the headcount is taken, they are moved away from the majority
of students. They end up in our charter school that we
established on the reservation, and they end up there.
It is a self-paced school, and our school on the
reservation is not just for tribal members. There are non-
tribal members there as well that graduate with our students.
And like I always say and proud to say, we are the warriors,
and when they graduate, the non-natives, they are warriors,
too, when they leave our school. And I am glad to say that just
last weekend, our team, our ladies'-girls' team, won State, and
we are very proud of them.
But I think it is very important. Almost all our children
go to State schools and are taught Federal and State standards.
These State schools are modern-day boarding schools to us. This
unlawful delegation of Federal treaty and trust responsibility
to States reaches State school budgets, as I mentioned. The
States even keep the funding after our children are removed and
sent home for whatever reasons,--behavior problems, whatever
they come up with and they are removed. Children are constantly
called in with their parents and try to address the issue, and
in the end, they end up leaving.
Aside from BIE's limited budget, all Federal funding for
the education of tribal youth goes to States, as I mentioned.
The Federal government must stop funding States to educate our
youth according to State standards. It is very important now to
our people, and I live on the reservation, and we do not want
them to get further away from the culture as it did in the
boarding school era. We want them to know who they are. We have
lost enough of our children that way. Identity is lost, and we
don't want to do that anymore. So we are asking today that the
funding be increased for tribally-owned schools. And also with
that I would like to say that, yes, they could be funded
through the BIE and for tribal schools only.
Also the tribe, we had a justice center that was outdated
and condemned more or less about 10 years ago. The tribe put
money into a new center, almost $36 million of our own funds to
build one, and it was built, and it sits on the reservation
now. And, you know, the BIE is more or less controlling that
now because we don't have the funding to run that, enough
funding. So we would like to ask for additional funding to help
us with that.
And also one issue I would like to bring up is housing. As
we all know, you know, we have the housing problems on the
reservations, and we have three or four generations under one
roof. We would like to see that increased to where our homes
can be built there for our people.
And finally, we would like to ask your support for Indian
energy development on the reservations. We are an energy tribe,
and we ask you to protect funding for the Department of
Energy's Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program. This is the only
Federal program that help tribes access capital for commercial-
scaled energy products. Despite this energy dominance agenda,
the President has eliminated this program, or trying to, and we
ask you to support us and keep that there, if you would.
I would like to say at this time thank you very much for
allowing me to testify in front of you. Thank you.
[The statement of Luke Duncan follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Welcome.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
NEZ PERCE TRIBE
WITNESS
HON. CASEY MITCHELL, SECRETARY, NEZ PERCE TRIBE
Mr. Mitchell. Thank you. Good afternoon, Madam Chair, and
members of this subcommittee. I am Casey Mitchell, secretary of
the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee. Thank you for the
opportunity to provide testimony on behalf of the Nimiipuu
people.
I want to begin my remarks by acknowledging the invaluable
work of this subcommittee. I express our deep gratitude for
your efforts to advocate for increased appropriations for many
years on a bipartisan basis to the multitude of programs in
your jurisdiction which tribal nations administer and benefit
from. Funding increases to tribal programs included in the
final fiscal year 2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act build on
increases you have helped secure for Indian Country in fiscal
years 2017, 2018. [speaking Native language]. Thank you.
I also want to add the voice of the Nez Perce Tribe to
those of other tribal leaders who have expressed support for
continuing to increase funding in fiscal year 2020 for tribal
programs at BIA, IHS, EPA, and Fish and Wildlife, also your
work, Madam Chair, with others to provide advanced
appropriations for BIA and IHS. Urging you to continue to fund
programs in the Interior and Environment bill at current levels
that we anticipate the Administration's budget request will
propose to eliminate. Continue to fully fund contract support
costs, keeping funding for the Special Diabetes Program for
Indians mandatory rather than discretionary, and keeping
harmful riders out of appropriations bills.
The Nez Perce Tribe does a tremendous amount of work
administering programs of the BIA and IHS and EPA through 638
programs and direct services. I would like to briefly describe
some of these programs and interactions with agencies under
this committee's jurisdiction.
Law enforcement and social services are two of the larger
departments of the tribe. However, funding for these programs
is lacking. Currently the tribe has substantially subsidized
our law enforcement program to ensure services are provided
throughout the reservation. More monies are needed in these
areas. Much of my work for the tribe has been in fisheries
resource management. BIA natural resource tribal priority
allocation and endangered species program funding has been key
for our work related to Chinook salmon and steelhead.
The BIA Rights Protection Implementation Account supports
our exercise of treaty reserved off-reservation hunting,
fishing, gathering, and our monitoring of fish harvests. In
addition to BIA programs, the tribe operates a healthcare
clinic on the reservation in Lapwai and a satellite facility in
Kamiah that provides services for over 4,000 patients. This
computes to over 40,000 medical provider visits.
The tribe's funding through EPA comes from a variety of
programs. A number of these programs have been funded at the
same levels for several years, and the tribe recommends
increases to them in fiscal year 2020. The Nimiipuu are river
and salmon people. Since time immemorial we have fished the
Columbia and Snake Rivers. The tribe requests that this
subcommittee continue to fund EPA's Columbia River Basin
Restoration Program. We recommend no less than $1 million
provided in fiscal year 2019 be appropriated in fiscal year
2020. We hope, however, that that number can be substantially
increased.
We also work with Fish and Wildlife Service to operate the
Kooskia National Fish Hatchery and to co-manage Dworshak
National Fish Hatchery. Also, the State and Tribal Wildlife
Grants Program has enabled the tribe to monitor gray wolves,
conduct research on big horn sheep and condor habitat, and
conserve rare plants. It is important that the tribal share of
these competitive grants be increased.
The Nez Perce Tribe Reservation encompasses 11 national
forests. We work with both the Forest Service and the Bureau of
Land Management on the management of these treaty-reserved
resources, such as big horn sheep within the tribe's aboriginal
territories on these lands. As you can see, the work of the Nez
Perce tribe with these agencies benefits 18,000 tribal and non-
tribal citizens who reside within the Nez Perce Reservation.
These resources, such as air, land, the water, the four-legged
and the winged creatures are sacred.
The U.S. has a trust obligation to protect and preserve
these through adequate funding, and in my language [speaking
Native language]. I just want to say [speaking Native
language]. Thanks a lot, and I want to refer back to a
statement you made, Madam Chair. You know, all of us want to
get it right for the next generation. I believe we all sitting
in these seats and at this table are here because we want to be
and that people believe in us to make that choice for them, not
only our people, but, you know, all the programs and services
that this subcommittee does as well.
There was mentioned before that, you know, soon we will be
the ancestors, and are our future children going to say that
our ancestors made the good choice for me like our ancestors
made good choices for us to be here today. So thank you, Madam
Chair, and [speaking Native language].
[The statement of Casey Mitchell follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you all for being here. I certainly
appreciate your astute leadership on behalf of your tribes. We
both realize the importance of making sure that we try to get
the funding to meet your needs, so I don't have any questions.
I just want to thank everyone for being here.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. I do have a question. In your
testimony you talk about rural water----
Mr. Azure. Yes.
Ms. McCollum [continuing]. Which is also funded in another
committee which I managed to get myself on. And all of Indian
Country, I mean, if we looked at your budget, it comes out of
so many different lines.
Mr. Azure. Yeah.
Ms. McCollum. Would you take a moment and elaborate a
little more on your rural water comments that are in your
testimony so it is on the record publicly?
Mr. Azure. Our rural water program is awesome----
Ms. McCollum. The mike.
Mr. Azure. Oh, sorry. Our rural water project is awesome.
We have just about completed it. There are about 2 to 3 years
left in it. We have been working very hard, very diligently on
it. We service everyone in northeastern Montana, probably from
Glasgow, Montana all the way to the North Dakota/Montana
border, also from the Missouri River north to the Canadian
border. It is not only on our reservation. We service outside
communities also, like Culbertson, Glasgow, Nashua.
And it has provided the Fort Peck Tribes with excellent
water because prior to that our water was contaminated by the
oil industry, and that was in our groundwater. We had a dam put
on our Poplar River, which is one of the main rivers that run
from Canada to Poplar, right by Poplar, and that there has now
got a coal-fired power plant on it which was built back in the
80s, and it slows the water down considerably. We have the Milk
River that runs on the west side of our reservation which is
going to be crossed shortly here if it goes through the KXL
Pipeline, which will also cross the Missouri River which is
where we get our water right now.
We are adamantly opposing that. We want them to redirect
it, and if that goes, we will have no more fresh water sources.
Oil does not float. It sinks. We have no idea how they would
clean it up. It not only would affect our drinking water for
all those 30,000-plus people that we supply water to right now,
but it will also affect the irrigation systems that we have,
not only that is on our reservation, but south of the Missouri
River on the other side off the reservation. Those people also
irrigate, and it will also harm them.
I am adamant about this. I always feel that we are always
overlooked. It has always been like that. We have never, ever
been consulted on it. It came forward later. We have had
numerous visit with KXL-TransCanada. They have been basically
giving us a commercial, is what I call it, of how they are
going to do this and what they are going to do, not really
addressing our needs or our requests. We have requested
numerous times to have information from them on how they came
about with the science backing them on the Missouri River
because we disagree with it because the river that they are
using is nothing like the Missouri River. And the place that
they put it is nothing like where they had any other pipeline
going through.
So that is where we are right now, and that there is one
thing that I think that we should take another look at.
Ms. McCollum. Well, one of the reasons why I asked is my
grandfather was from the Sidney/Fairview area. I spent a lot of
time up and around there, and I know how special the water is
and the fish that we pulled out of there.
Mr. Azure. Oh yeah.
Ms. McCollum. So I thank you for your comments. It is very
dear to my heart, the water that you are talking about.
Mr. Azure. Yes, thank you.
Ms. McCollum. The other question I have, you mentioned the
number of children that are being tested positive for drugs,
basically upon delivery. Is there anything that the Bureau is
doing with identifying early interventions, because there could
be interventions to help these children as they develop or work
with family on that? I mean, they are tested. They know when
they are born. Is there any follow-up that the Bureau is
offering the tribe?
Mr. Harris. No.
Ms. McCollum. None.
Mr. Azure. We are working on something right now where we
can try and keep that family together, and I want to thank you
for the expanded Medicaid and Medicare. It has been an absolute
help on our reservation. And through that we have identified a
rehab facility in Seattle, Washington, where they will take the
whole family and help them rehabilitate themselves with that,
including they will put the child back with the family and the
mother, and they will take the whole family. And that there, I
believe, is for a year.
But we would have never, ever been able to do that without
the funds we get from the Medicaid and Medicare third party
billing expansion. That there has been awesome for the Fort
Peck Tribes. I got individuals in my administration, in my
offices that basically would have been considered disabled if
they weren't able to take advantage of that. One of them had
two knee replacements. One of them had one knee replacement.
And right now they are back at work, which is great not only
for us, but for the State of Montana because disability
payments come out of the State of Montana. So I want to thank
you very much for that.
Ms. McCollum. Well, thank you. Thank you for sharing. Could
you give me an example or two, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Harris? You
both mentioned environmental protections and that. We have
heard a little bit about the tribal priority allocation, and
that there are not enough dollars to go around. What are some
of the things that you would do if you had increased funding
for some of the environmental work that you would like to do?
Anybody who would like to comment on that. Some things that
would be targeted with more dollars for environmental
intervention.
Mr. Harris. I know for Catawba, and I will only speak for
Catawba, currently right now our water is being on our
reservation from a local city, and what we had an episode that
happened that took us about a year and a half to get rectified.
The water they were putting through their system was not
meeting our standards, which is, you know, we can do equal to
or better than. And so we spent a lot of dollars trying to get
that water level to acceptability, and with that we weren't
able to do that.
So what we are looking at now is trying to find fresh water
wells on our reservation that will allow us to test those sites
and see if we can get that water and be self-sufficient and get
it away from the city.
Ms. McCollum. Anybody else on any environmental projects?
Mr. Duncan. For the Nez Perce Tribe, you know, the funding
comes from a variety of programs, you know, the Clean Water
Act, Indian General Assistance Program, Tribal Brownsfields
Program, underground storage, Clean Air Act, Region 10
pesticides, circuit rider programs, as well as others. You
know, these programs have helped the Nez Perce Tribe
tremendously in our environmental protection.
For us it would be also the water system there has been
some water quality standards that have been suggested to our
area that are well below what our fish consumption rate may be
for tribes. So, you know, some of the water quality standards
have been suggested that are just not adequate for what the
tribe's standards are.
Ms. McCollum. Anything else you would like to add on the
environment?
Mr. Duncan. Yes. Right now, you know, our water system on
the reservation, you know, it is not adequate. And your
question, yes, we would increase our staff to make sure
everything is placed. We are kind of getting to that point
where we are looking at an outdated water system for all our
people, and that serves all of the reservation and non-members
as well. So that is what we do.
And also in the area of air EPA, right now, you know, we
are an oil and energy tribe, and we have been having problem
with the ozone layer, and we do have departments that are
dealing with that. But we have been meeting with the EPA and
trying to work out something with the EPA, and they promised
us, you know, with the FHIP Program and to get us on a national
FHIP, but it has been a drag, drag, drag.
It is time consuming, so, you know, we have met with them
again here today. And, you know, hopefully we will get that in
place to get something in place for us. And our tribe, because
we are a non-gaming tribe, Utah will never be that. But, you
know, our existence is on oil and gas. We have been in oil and
gas for 70 years now, and that is what we would do. We would
add additional staff with that. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Well, thank you. Thank you, gentlemen, and I
will let Ms. Pingree call up the next panel, and I have to
leave. And I just want to thank everybody for their
participation. This was amazing, and you have helped us hone in
our budget better. Thank you.
Voice. Thank you.
Ms. Pingree. [presiding.] Great. Very nice to have you all
here. I am Chellie Pingree. I represent Maine, so we have had a
visit from one of our tribes earlier today, and we are very
happy to have all of you here today. And let's start with Dr.
Payment.
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
TRIBAL INTERIOR BUDGET COUNCIL
WITNESS
HON. AARON PAYMENT, MIDWEST REGION CO-CHAIR, TRIBAL INTERIOR BUDGET
COUNCIL
Mr. Payment. I want to thank the committee again for
holding this hearing for tribal witnesses. Again, my name is
Aaron Payment. I testified a little bit earlier. In addition to
serving as chairperson of my tribe, again, I serve as the
Midwest region co-chair for the Tribal Interior Budget
Committee and first vice president of the National Congress for
American Indians.
As background, TIBC provides a forum for the BIA budget
government-to-government consultation with statutory authority
that originated in the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Act. Today I will talk about the ways the subcommittee could
incorporate the information from the BIA budget formulation
process in your work.
The budget formulation and consultation process is critical
to identifying potential efficiencies, while at the same time
ensuring the Federal government uphold its solemn treaty and
trust obligations to Indian Country. As part of the fiscal year
2020 budget consultation process, tribes from each of the BIA
regions across the country completed a survey to outline which
10 budget line items they would prefer to provide increased
funding to and why. The results of this process showed that the
BIA social services, ICWA, tribal court, aid to tribal
governments, scholarships and education, criminal
investigations and policy, road maintenance, housing and home
improvement program, Johnson-O'Malley, detentions and
corrections, and welfare assistance made up the top 11. This
oral testimony will address some of these issues, but not all,
but it is in my written testimony.
In human services, the Social Services Program provides the
only BIA and tribal-specific funding available to child protect
services for both Indian children and adults in Indian Country.
Native American families are exposed to domestic violence and
child endangerment situations at a higher rate than in non-
native communities. These disparities are related to problems
of poverty, violence, and substance and child abuse. In 3 of
the past 5 years of budget formulation, tribes have identified
social services as the top program area in BIA needing
increases. The Social Services Program is drastically
underfunded, and tribal programs, families, and children suffer
as a result.
Another important human services program is ICWA funding,
which is the foundation of most tribal child welfare programs.
In order for native children and families to receive the best
possible services in tribal and State systems and allow tribes
to assist State agencies and courts, adequate funding must be
provided to tribal governments to support their child welfare
programs. We recommend that ICWA on and near reservation
program appropriations receive at least $20 million, and an
additional $5 million for the off-reservation ICWA
implementation which has never been funded.
The last program I will address is the welfare assistance
line item which provides five important forms of funding to
American Indian and Alaska Native families: general assistance,
child assistance, non-medical institution or custodial care of
adults, burial assistance, and emergency assistance. Child
welfare programs and social services agencies need to have
these resources necessary to support families in times of
crisis and uncertainty.
In our written testimony, we have included much more
detail. I also want to emphasize that it is so important that
the BIA and IHS receive advanced appropriations to provide
budget certainty.
We appreciate the work of this committee, and I want to
thank you for protecting our treaty and trust obligations in
the Federal appropriations process. Thank you.
[The statement of Aaron Payment follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you. Thank you very much. And we will go
ahead with Ms. Martin.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
NATIONAL INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ASSOCIATION
WITNESS
AURENE MARTIN, BOARD MEMBER, NATIONAL INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ASSOCIATION
Ms. Martin. Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity
to be here today. My name is Aurene Martin. I am a member of
the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Objibwe, and I am here on
behalf of the National Indian Child Welfare Association. I am
on their board of directors.
The National Indian Child Welfare Association, or NICWA, is
a national American Indian and Alaska Native organization with
over 25 years of experience in public policy development
related to native children and families. Our mission is
twofold. First, we try to address the issues of child abuse and
neglect through training, policy development, research, and
community development. Our other main goal is to support
compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act.
The primary focus of my testimony today will be BIA
programs serving native children and families, and so it is
going to actually dovetail well with Aaron's testimony. Before
I go into my comments, though, I would like to thank the
committee and its staff for their--I am trying to suck up----
[Laughter.]
Ms. Pingree. Go ahead. It is good.
Ms. Martin [continuing]. For your support of child welfare
and social service programs for Indian tribes. Without your
support, the situation would be so much worse, and I do really
appreciate your efforts to help Indian Country.
So as Aaron discussed, native children are placed in foster
care at a much higher rate than those children in the general
population. And, in fact, in some States the level is 10 times
as many children. Yet tribal governments are some of the most
underfunded when it comes to programs that deal with these
issues. And in some situations, they don't have any direct
access at all and have to go through States for funding. Some
examples of that are the Social Services Block Grant, Medicaid,
and the Mental Health Block Grant.
We also know and studies have shown that the surest way to
reduce the number of children in the child welfare system is to
have full capacity to treat the children while they are still
in the home, but also when they are in State care. And although
Federal law recognizes that tribe's rights, their inherent
sovereign rights, to intervene in child welfare cases and to
provide services for their children, with the lack of funding
it makes it extremely difficult to enforce your rights or to
provide basic services. So it is for these reasons that we
provide our recommendations.
I am only going to talk about three. We have got additional
recommendations in our written testimony. But our priority
recommendation is that Indian Child Protection and Family
Violence Prevention Act grant programs--that is a mouthful--be
funded at $43 million. And this act, Indian Child Protection
and Family Violence Prevention Act, was enacted in 1990 to
address the lack of reporting, investigation, and treatment,
and prevention of child abuse in Indian Country.
It sought to do two things, one, to identify incidents of
abuse and family violence in Indian Country and to reduce those
incidents, and also to provide funds for mental health
treatment for victims of abuse and family violence. It created
mandatory reporting requirements and required background checks
for professionals that deal with native children, and it has
been pretty successful in addressing those incidents. However,
the other main goal of the act was to provide funding for abuse
prevention and mental health treatment for native families,
particularly children who have been abused, and that has never
been funded. And we feel that particularly right now with all
of the attention on VAWA and domestic violence, that the
children who are the victims of these situations as well
receive treatment.
Our other request, or second request, is to fund ICWA
programs both on and off reservation. The on-reservation ICWA
funding was originally intended to help tribes provide basic
social services for ICWA cases, and it has been successful, but
it is woefully underfunded. And so it is funded at about $19
million right now, and almost every tribe receives it. However,
over two-thirds of the tribes receive less than $30,000, and
with that $30,000, the list of things that they have to do is
long. They have to provide child protective services, family
reunification and rehabilitation services. They have to provide
case management. They have to recruit and retain foster care
families and provide adoption services. And that is not even
money for one full-time position.
Additionally, off-reservation ICWA programs provide the
same services as an on-reservation ICWA program, but they have
not been funded for a number of years. With 67 percent of the
native population living off reservation, we feel it is vitally
important to provide those services.
I will sum up. We know that prevention, intervention, and
treatment of childhood trauma saves not only lives, but money,
because children who experience violence are more likely to
have problems and end up in the system later. So that is the
reason for the recommendations, and I thank you for the
opportunity to testify.
[The statement of Aurene Martin follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. That is great. Thank you very much. Mr. Black.
----------
Thursday, March 7, 2019.
NAVAJO-HOPI LAND COMMISSION OFFICE
WITNESS
ROBERT BLACK, JR., EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NAVAJO-HOPI LAND COMMISSION
OFFICE
Mr. Black [speaking Native language]. Good afternoon. My
name is Robert Black, Jr. I serve as the executive director for
the Navajo-Hopi Indian Land Commission. I was recently
appointed by the Navajo Nation president, Jonathan Nez. I also
want to introduce myself in my Navajo clanship protocol
[speaking Native language]. And thank you for the introduction.
Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking Member Joyce, members of the
subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to testify on
behalf of the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission Office of the Navajo
Nation. We thank the subcommittee for its commitment to
bringing a humane end to the tragedy of Navajo relocation. We
are deeply appreciative of the subcommittee's 2015 visit to the
Navajo Nation to witness firsthand the effects of relocation.
We are also thankful for the increased funding that the
subcommittee provided which accelerated the process whereby the
Office of Navajo-Hope Indian Relocation provides homes to
Navajo relocatees. In addition, we thank the subcommittee for
hosting a roundtable last June to discuss the remaining
obligations of ONHIR.
We continue to believe that the United States made a
commitment to provide infrastructure for the people who are
relocated and that this promise had remained unfilled. However,
one idea that came out of the roundtable could make a big
difference. ONHIR is authorized to call upon any department or
agency of the United States to assist in carrying out the
relocation plan.
In the Commission's 1983 report and plan update, the Agency
stated its intention to initiate coordination efforts to
establish joint governmental agency involvement for future
relocation to deal with such areas as employment, roads,
utilities, and like areas of need. However, there has been
insufficient involvement by other agencies with the funding
necessary to fulfill Congress' promises. If other resources can
be brought to bear, much can be accomplished. We, therefore,
urge the subcommittee to include language in their
appropriations report supporting this multi-agency approach.
We must also note that there are a couple hundred Navajos
who can potentially appeal their negative determinations. A
number of them will succeed, so additional housing will still
need to be constructed. If these appeals reveal any concerns
with the eligibility determination process, those concerns will
also need to be addressed.
The Padres Mesa Demonstration Ranch has been a success and
must be protected through any ONHIR transition. Padres Mesa has
taught relocatees the benefits of cattle management, range
management, and beef/cattle marketing to produce a brand know
as Navajo beef, which is recognized for its quality and
generates nearly twice the economic return as the families
previously realized.
In 1966, commissioner of Indian Affairs, Robert Bennett,
imposed a development freeze that lasted for 40 years,
devastating a 1.6 million-acre area, encompassing nine Navajo
chapter communities. Going back to the War on Poverty and the
Great Society Program, and continuing through numerous Federal
economic and anti-poverty initiatives, as well as programs
directed at Indians, in particular, this area was ineligible
for aid. For the former Bennett Freeze Area to recover, there
must be a sustained development program.
The Nation fully supports the need for an independent and
adequate audit of ONHIR, which Interior has suggested it would
undertake. The Navajo Nation strongly encourages that any audit
include assessments of the relocation houses and relocatee
facilities that ONHIR built. The Nation and ONHIR have long
disagreed over the workmanship of those homes and facilities.
We believe that the best way to resolve those issues is with an
independent audit to ensure that the relocatees who receive
shoddy houses and facilities can have them repaired.
The Navajo Nation understands that ONHIR has remained open
for longer than the Federal government originally expected, but
that is the fault of the Nation nor the relocatee families who
still not received the full benefit of the promises that were
made for them to leave their lands. The Navajo Nation is deeply
appreciative of the support and compassion of the subcommittee,
and we request that this subcommittee continue to work and
advocate for the United States to honor its commitments.
Thank you for this opportunity to testify [speaking Native
language].
[The statement of Robert Black follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Pingree. Thank you very much. Mr. Joyce, any questions
or thoughts?
Mr. Joyce. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I don't
necessarily have any questions. I hear what you have to say. I
appreciate the opportunity to spend the last 2 days listening
to dozens of witnesses who have testified about the IHS, BIA,
BIE, and our failure to live up to our treaties and obligations
and our need to do so. I am sure my colleagues would agree to
work on the rest of our committee and the rest of our body here
in the House to do what is necessary in the Interior bill this
year to take care of it, as best we can.
As you know we are always hamstrung by the amount of money
we can get, but I know that our chairwoman is in there fighting
hard to get us a bigger number than we even had last year so it
can be distributed accordingly. So thank you all because I know
you have come from a long way to be here, and I certainly
appreciate your taking the time to teach us of our failures.
Ms. Pingree. Yes, thank you, and I would certainly echo
that. As you heard, the chair had to pop over to one of her
other committees, but I concur with everything Mr. Joyce had to
say, and do believe we are going to work hard to try to
increase the funding levels. The testimony that we have had and
that you have been a part of over the last couple of days is
just a constant reminder of how we're not meeting our treaty
obligations. And, we don't want to be the people responsible
for allowing that to continue.
I just wanted to point out, too, I really appreciate the
work you are doing on childhood trauma and family separation. I
have learned a lot from some of the work that has been going on
in Maine and people really digging into their past about what
challenges they face personally being separated at a young age.
It is just clear this country has made so many mistakes along
the way. Let's try to help people, work through it in their own
lives, but also just make sure we stop making those horrible
mistakes again.
Thank you very much on behalf of the committee for being
here. I think we are going to adjourn with you guys, so thanks
for wrapping it all up and doing such a nice job.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you.
Ms. Pingree. This committee is adjourned.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019.
MEMBERS' DAY
Ms. McCollum [presiding]. Good afternoon. The hearing will
come to order. Welcome, members of Congress, to the witness
hearing for the Interior, Environment Appropriations
Subcommittee. Today we hear from members of Congress on
pressing issues ranging from Indian Country funding, to Great
Lakes restoration, to the clean up of abandoned coal mines.
Members testifying today represent the interests of both
Republicans and Democrats from diverse States and a broad range
of ecosystems.
Before I begin, I will touch briefly on hearing logistics.
I would like to remind those in the audience that committee
rules prohibit use of cameras and audio equipment during a
hearing by individuals without House-issued press credentials
or an official staff credential from a member that is present
at this table.
Each witness will have 5 minutes to present their
testimony, and we will be using a timer to keep us on track.
After we hear each testimony, members will have an opportunity
to ask questions. And with that, I turn to my friend, my
colleague, my ranking member, Mr. Joyce, for any of his
remarks.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for
continuing this important hearing to get input from our
colleagues on programs in this bill that are important both in
their districts and across the Nation. I applaud my colleagues
for bringing the voices of their constituents to this hearing
today. We pledge to do what we can to try and be helpful in the
coming weeks and months as I work with my chair and the rest of
my colleagues on the subcommittee to pass this bill. I yield
back.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you so much, Mr. Joyce. I would like to
turn to my chairman from the Defense Committee, Mr. Visclosky
from Indiana. And we are interesting in hearing your public
testimony. Thank you for being here.
----------
Wednesday, March 27, 2019.
WITNESS
HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF
INDIANA
Mr. Visclosky. Thank you very much. The first thing I want
to do profoundly is to thank both you and the ranking member,
Mr. Joyce, for your efforts on behalf of the Indiana Dunes
National Lakeshore. You ensured passage of legislation that
provided the first national park for the State of Indiana, and
I deeply appreciate that in the consolidated act you provided
for the welfare of my congressional district. I deeply
appreciate your help and the members of this subcommittee.
Secondly, relative to parks, as you are well aware, the
deferred maintenance backlog is about $11.9 billion and would
encourage you to every extent possible to ensure robust
funding. The second priority relates to the Agency for a Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry, which essentially has been,
even for a number of years, which given the rate of inflation
means they have had a decrease. The President has exacerbated
it in his budget request, and, again, would ask that you pay
special attention to that account.
And finally, the third relates to chemicals, PFOS and PFOA.
The chairwoman is very familiar with this. We have had a number
of hearings, and we are looking for cooperation between the
Department of Defense, EPA, and the setting of standards, and
know that we will have that cooperation. And I thank you for
that.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you very much, Mr. Visclosky, for your
remarks, and I appreciate you bringing up PFOS and PFOA as
well. This committee will be looking at that. Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. I appreciate being brought up to speed on the
matter with the Department of Defense. I am not as
knowledgeable as you both are, but I look forward to helping
any way I can. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Visclosky. Thank you very much.
Ms. McCollum. I hope to get out to the Indiana Dunes
National Park at some point.
We did have assigned times for folks, but I think we can
take members as they are here. Mr. Posey, please come up, and
we will change that nameplate out for you, sir.
----------
Wednesday, March 27, 2019.
WITNESS
HON. BILL POSEY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA
Mr. Posey. Well, thank you, very much, Madam Chair and
Ranking Member, for having us today and actually listening to
the concerns of members. So much appreciate it.
This request is for a national priority, but it is also
very close to home. Our district is bounded on the east by the
Indian River Lagoon. The Indian River Lagoon is North America's
most biodiverse estuary. The lagoon is home to over 4,000
animal and plant species, including manatees, dolphins, sea
turtles, and several species of sea grass. As the name implies,
our estuary is a lagoon, meaning it is an estuary separated
from the ocean by barrier islands.
Inlets from the ocean provide an exchange of waters between
the lagoon and the sea. Our lagoon needs tides and storm rain
to avoid stagnation. We know that this flushing is limited,
especially in the northern end of the lagoon. While the lagoon
is 156 miles long, it is only a half mile to 5 miles maximum in
width and averages just 3 feet in depth. The lagoon is a
wonderous nursery for sea life, and its physical features make
it especially vulnerable to environmental threats.
We depend on citizens, local, State, and the Federal
government to protect and restore the functions of our lagoon.
This objective is not merely aesthetic. A vibrant tourism and
fishing industry depends on the lagoon. When our lagoon
suffers, so do people. The struggle to preserve the Indian
River Lagoon is a fight for our economic sustainability.
More is at stake. Preserving the natural functions of our
lagoon is an ethical matter. Our community includes the lagoon,
and we are part of the lagoon community. Taking care of the
lagoon not only takes care of us, but it is the right thing to
do. The story of our district and the Indian River Lagoon plays
out along our entire national coastline. The entire U.S.
coastline depends on the health of estuaries. More than half of
the U.S. population lives in coastal areas, with the coastal
watershed counties providing an estimated 69 million jobs and
contributing an estimated $7.9 trillion to the gross domestic
product annually.
That is why I partnered with Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici
to found the bipartisan Congressional Estuary Caucus to work to
advance policies that preserve and restore our estuaries, to
support sustained authorization and funding of the National
Estuary Program, and to help support other efforts, like
research and development, that contribute to healthy estuaries.
I am pleased to be here today as co-chair of the Congressional
Estuary Caucus and to submit to you a request for funding for
the National Estuary Program.
This great program is truly a national response, but it is
deployed regionally. The NEP is really 28 unique, voluntary
programs under the Clean Water Act that seek to protect,
restore, and improve estuaries of national significance. Each
individual-designated estuary mobilizes its own local community
in a collaborative, non-regulatory investment strategy that
meets local needs while contributing to the national
objectives.
For every Federal dollar, the designated regional estuary
programs leverage the Federal participation with $19 in local
funds to protect and improve coastal environments. And I want
to repeat that. This is just not, you know, coming and asking
for funding by the Federal government and not doing their part.
Nineteen local and other dollars are leveraged for every
Federal dollar that goes into this to improve our coastal
environments, our communities, our assets of national
significance, and, of course, our economies. That is great
performance for the way we should pursue national programs:
Federal support with a local delivery system.
I respectfully ask that as you develop the fiscal year 2020
Interior, Environmental, and Related Agencies Appropriations
Act, the Committee will continue to fully fund--not increase--
the National Estuary Program at the authorized level of $750
million--$750,000--I wish----
[Laughter.]
Mr. Posey [continuing]. For each of the 28 estuaries and
fund the competitive grants program once again at $4 million.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you. I would be
delighted to answer any questions you have.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you, sir. We were very disappointed in
the President's budget with the proposed elimination for the
National Estuary Program because it is so very important, so I
really do appreciate your testimony on this. And as Mr. Cole
says, the President proposes and Congress disposes. As you
know, we had this in our bill last year under Chairman Calvert.
Mr. Posey. Exactly the same thing, and tables reversed.
But, you know, so it has been an interest of both sides of the
aisle to work on this stuff, and I just really appreciate your
attention to it.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you, Mr. Posey, and I am well aware of the
Indian River Lagoon with my parents and brothers having been
residents of Vero Beach.
Mr. Posey. Yeah.
Mr. Joyce. So I have had the opportunity to enjoy it and
fish. And one day I am going to catch an edible snook in the
size and slot available. I have never been able to do that, to
enjoy one, but it is great fishing and a beautiful area. Glad
to help.
One question. Are you having a problem with the algal
blooms?
Mr. Posey. Oh, heck yes.
Mr. Joyce. OK.
Mr. Posey. Every estuary is having a problem with the algae
blooms, and it is not just in this country. They have
discovered some of the same algae in South America.
Mr. Joyce. Right.
Mr. Posey. Massive fish kills there. We have had them in
unforeseen proportions previously now. There have been fish
kills since I was a little boy, you know? And we could see in
the Indian River Lagoon not just the bottom and not just fish,
but it was clear enough in most cases to tell what kind of fish
it was. It was, you know, not too deep, you know?
Mr. Joyce. Sure.
Mr. Posey. Now you are lucky to see past the surface, the
surface runoff of a whole lot of other problems that population
brings. And it is not something that is easy to get the public
alerted to unfortunately until it reaches really----
Ms. McCollum. Right.
Mr. Posey [continuing]. Almost disastrous consequences.
Then everybody says, hey, where has everybody been.
Mr. Joyce. Right.
Mr. Posey. So, but the Federal government in this funding,
the National Estuary Program has been vital and very helpful,
and I am proud of the NEP's participation in all the estuaries.
And they are all funded the same, you know. Each estuary gets
the base of $750 is what you have historically done, and then
the extra is sort of grants based on a competitive basis, but
based on need. So the worst problem would be first in line to
get one of the competitive grants, and I think they also look
at the bang for the buck, you know, what will do the most good.
Mr. Joyce. Well, the 19-to-1 leverage is certainly----
Mr. Posey. Huh?
Mr. Joyce. The 19-to-1 leverage that you enjoy----
Mr. Posey. Yes.
Mr. Joyce [continuing]. With the Federal dollars is
certainly something to be envied. I have no further questions.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. Mr. Rooney was in my office talking
about some issues and this came up as well, so I know it has
broad support in your caucus. Thank you.
Mr. Posey. Well, great. Well, thank you both so much.
Ms. McCollum. I see Mr. Gallagher. I am looking around for
some of the other members. I am not seeing them right now. Mr.
Gallagher, welcome.
Mr. Gallagher. Wow. I get to go to the front of the line.
Ms. McCollum. You bet.
Mr. Gallagher. Very exciting.
Ms. McCollum. The world belongs to those who show up on
time, right?
Mr. Gallagher. That is right. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, we
operate by Lombardi time, which is if you are on time, you are
15 minutes late, so. [Laughter.]
Ms. McCollum. Yeah. Well, this Vikings fan will not hold it
against you. [Laughter.]
Mr. Gallagher. Well, rather than stress our differences, I
want to talk about something that I am sure we agree upon
today. [Laughter.]
Ms. McCollum. My high school team were the South St. Paul
Packers, so we will leave it at that.
Mr. Gallagher. OK. Good. So you are a Packers fan in your
own way.
----------
Wednesday, March 27, 2019.
WITNESS
HON. MIKE GALLAGHER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF
WISCONSIN
Mr. Gallagher. Well, thank you, Madam Chair and Ranking
Member Joyce. Thank you for the opportunity to address this
subcommittee and particularly for your leadership on behalf of
the Great Lakes. I know you and many others on this
subcommittee have been tireless advocates for the Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative. So while I know I will not be saying
anything new today, please bear with me as I spend a bit of
time explaining about why I believe this program is so
important to northeast Wisconsin--my home--and beyond.
Anyone who has visited the Great Lakes knows they are a
national treasure. They not only hold over 20 percent of the
world's fresh water supply, but support thousands of family-
sustaining jobs. Industries from agriculture, to
transportation, to tourism depend on the health and
preservation of these waters. These lakes, however, provide for
more than just our economy. They provide for a way of life.
Lake Michigan is the backyard of my district. From swimming
and boating in the summer, to ice fishing in the bitter cold
winter, Lake Michigan provides countless hours of enjoyment and
has a special place in the lives of northeast Wisconsinites.
Given the central role Lake Michigan plays in our community, it
should be no surprise that Wisconsinites are passionate about
the health of our waters. We do not take threats to our
ecosystem lightly. We know all too well that when agricultural
runoff or chemicals contaminate the waters, they make our lakes
susceptible to toxic algae outbreaks, which not only damage our
ecosystem, but our way of life.
GLRI dollars support projects to counter these threats. In
northeast Wisconsin, we have seen firsthand how successful
these projects can be. For example, the Fox River fell victim
to side effects from the paper manufacturing industry boom.
PCBs, toxic chemicals used in the paper industry from 1954 to
1971--I think the ranking member was alive during that period--
I am sorry, Joyce--devastated the river and the economies that
it supported. Today the Fox River is still considered a GLRI
area of concern, but because of these dollars and the projects
they support, we hope to complete the Fox River cleanup next
year. And I can't emphasize how important that is for my
district and my hometown. This is a landmark achievement for
northeast Wisconsin, and it is just one of many examples that
highlight the significance of GLRI to our waters and
communities.
And while we have made progress, we cannot reverse course.
Eliminating or reducing funding for GLRI would undo years of
this program's achievements and will create extreme uncertainty
for the future health of our waters. At a time when we see new
contaminants, like PFAS, threatening our rivers, streams, and
lakes, the stakes are simply too high to abandon a program that
helps safeguard our natural resources.
What is reassuring to me is that even amidst calls for cuts
to the GLRI, there is bipartisan support for this important
initiative. You both are at the leading edge of that, and I am
proud to work with you, to call my colleagues, and all my other
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to lead the way for
continued support of GLRI funding.
And as we look to the future, we simply must consider how
we can build on our GLRI investments. And since GLRI funding
has been flat at $300 million since 2014, this year, I urge the
subcommittee to include at least--at least--$300 million in
fiscal year 2020. And this is an important investment that my
constituents and the health of our waters depend upon. And with
that, I thank you for your time and I appreciate your
consideration. Thank you for all the hard work you do.
Ms. McCollum. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Gallagher. It
is very timely that you are here. The President's budget for
GLRI is 90 percent below the fiscal year 2019 enacted, and 90
percent is a cut that, to me, looks like they are hoping the
program will shut down, or not be able to be as successful as
it has. This has been very important to the economy of all the
Great Lake States.
Mr. Joyce and I, representing Great Lakes States, we also
look out for the other regional endeavors, whether they be on
the East Coast Chesapeake Bay, West Coast Puget Sound. So we
appreciate you being here. Mr. Joyce, anything you want to add?
I have Lake Superior.
Mr. Joyce. We have a lake that is Erie----
[Laughter.]
Mr. Joyce [continuing]. And a tower that is terminal. Other
than that we are doing fine. Mr. Gallagher, I couldn't possibly
agree with you more that the Great Lakes are a national
treasure and that we should make an national investment in them
and continue the national investment to restore them. I don't
think it is necessarily this presidency. We certainly had
problems with the last Administration, but it is the people and
members of this Congress that stood up and supported it, and
specifically, Madam Chair and this committee putting together
that funding. And we look forward to doing it again for you.
Mr. Gallagher. Thank you. Well, no matter who you support
in the NFC North, we can agree on GLRI and its importance for
us.
Ms. McCollum. Absolutely.
Mr. Gallagher. Thank you.
Mr. Joyce. Just watch out for the Browns. [Laughter.]
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Comer, please join us up here. We are
anxious to hear what you want to share with us.
----------
Wednesday, March 27, 2019.
WITNESS
HON. JAMES COMER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF
KENTUCKY
Mr. Comer. Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking Member Joyce, and
members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to
speak with you today. I appreciate the Appropriations Committee
allowing members from outside the committee to weigh in on
their funding priorities as you craft next year's fiscal
appropriations.
Today I am here to highlight an issue that is a problem
threatening not just my congressional district, but our entire
inland waterways system. That threat is Asian carp. As many of
you know, the term ``Asian carp'' refers to four species of
non-native fish: bighead, silver, black, and grass carp. These
species were brought to the United States decades ago, soon
entered our major waterways, and have since spread to a
considerable portion of our country's interior river system.
Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake in my congressional district
are home to some of the top outdoor recreational sites in all
of Kentucky. Boating, camping, fishing, and other activities
have an estimated $1.2 billion economic impact on the region.
However, Asian carp threaten that economy. These invasive fish
are known to jump out of the water at the sound of approaching
boats, striking boaters and skiers. They also eat the food
sources of native fish species. All of this is driving boaters
and fishers away from our region.
As an example, Asian carp are ruining the annual fishing
tournaments that draw hundreds of visitors to the area and
infuse millions of dollars into the local economy. Last year, I
held a field briefing, an oversight committee field briefing,
to discuss this subject in Kuttawa, Kentucky. Over 400
constituents attended and wrote letters to express their
concern over the destruction caused by Asian carp. The
community sent a clear message: Asian carp are inflicting
serious damage on local tourism and threatening our hotels,
restaurants, bait shops, and numerous other small businesses.
This is not a problem just in Kentucky. For years funding
to combat the threat posed by Asian carp has been focused on
preventing their spread into the Great Lakes with hundreds of
millions dedicated to stopping their spread. However, little
funding has been appropriated to controlling and eradicating
Asian carp where they already are. Lakes and reservoirs
throughout the Southeast are facing similar threats from Asian
carp, and members from Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and
Alabama all share a growing concern for our waterways.
State agencies utilize State Aquatic Nuisance Species, or
ANS, plans to combat the spread of invasive species in their
waterways. In fiscal year 2018, we appropriated $2 million for
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services to support these plans.
However, when that funding is distributed amongst the States,
that comes out to about $47,000 per State. To better support
State-based efforts, I am asking for a $4.4 million
appropriation to support State ANS plans. That would allow for
$100,000 per State.
In fiscal year 2019, $11 million in U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service's funding was dedicated to controlling and eradicating
Asian carp. My constituents are grateful for that start, but I
believe we can do more. That is why I request $25 million in
funding for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services for carp management
and report language to clarify that all our Nation's river
systems are eligible for that funding, not just the Upper
Mississippi River.
Again, thank you for your time today. I look forward to
working with you to fund our ongoing war on carp, and I am
happy to address any questions you might have. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you, Mr. Comer. I am going over some of
the funding that was in the 2019 enacted report. We did have
$11 million that was provided. We did have report language
which included Mississippi, Ohio River Basins, Kentucky Lake
Barkley, Tennessee River Systems, the Ohio River Systems, to
prevent them from getting into the Great Lakes. And that was
something Mr. McConnell----
Mr. Comer. Right.
Ms. McCollum [continuing]. In the Senate was very
supportive of.
Mr. Comer. It is a priority for McConnell.
Ms. McCollum. It is good to have your voice added to this,
too, in light of the fact that the President has a reduction in
his budget of 28 percent. I don't mean to put you on the spot,
but the U.S. Geological Survey is a big partner in this, and we
also want to make sure that the USGS, funding and research is
included in that. Would that be something you would be
supportive of as well?
Mr. Comer. I would be interested in sitting down and
talking to them to see what their plan is because, you know, it
has just been devastating on the region. And even though there
has been money appropriated in the past, it doesn't seem that
any of the dollars have made it to Kentucky. The majority,
almost all the money, has been focused on trying to keep them
from getting into the Great Lakes, because when you have your
lakes infested with these fish, you can't imagine. They are 4
to 8 pounds. They jump out of the water. You can't do skiing.
And it just has that detrimental effect on the economy. It is a
safety issue. And if there is any entity that has got a plan
other than studying it, if they have got a plan to actually do
something to eradicate it, I am 100 percent for it.
Ms. McCollum. Well, we are certainly working with USGS on a
whole variety of things, not just trying to block them from
going any farther, but also research and eradicating the
population. So we would be happy to get you some more
information on that----
Mr. Comer. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum [continuing]. Because we really would
appreciate the support.
Mr. Comer. Right.
Ms. McCollum. It is a whole-of-Interior approach----
Mr. Comer. Absolutely.
Ms. McCollum [continuing]. On Asian carp, and that also was
cut in the President's budget, the USGS portion of it. So we
look forward to working with it. We want to hunt them, kill
them, and eat them. [Laughter.]
And Ms. Pingree on our committee wants to cut them up for
bait now for lobster.
Mr. Joyce. Lobster.
Ms. McCollum. What other ideas do you have, Mr. Joyce?
Mr. Comer. We have a company in Kentucky that is purchasing
the fish to use as an ingredient in their dog food. It is a
national dog food company that is using it.
Mr. Comer. So there are uses for it, and we in Kentucky
with State and a little Federal dollars have been trying to
incentivize local fishermen to greatly enhance their fishing of
the Asian carp to try to get them out of the water. But it is
not even making a dent in the population.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. That was one of the questions I was
going to have is what is the end use for those who are
fishermen. I agree with you, Mr. Comer. Obviously this is a
huge problem. Do you think putting a bounty on Asian carp for
the contract fisheries is the way to go, or do you think that
there are other approaches that we should take to eradicate
these fish completely?
Mr. Comer. Well, I think that would help. We have through
the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife increased the cost share, so to
speak, the subsidy, incentive, whatever you want to call it,
for local fishermen to try to catch more fish. We have three
main purchasers of the fish now, and human consumption is one
of them. In fact, there is a restaurant in Paducah, Kentucky
called the Freight House, and the chef was runner up in the Top
Chef contest that just recently concluded on TV. And one of her
main entrees is Asian carp. It is branded as Kentucky blue fin
I think. [Laughter.]
It sounds a little more appealing to the palate. But, you
know, we are trying to find every use possible. There is a
startup that is looking at using it as an ingredient in organic
fertilizer. We are just desperate to try to get more commercial
fishing in there. There are some studies that I think maybe the
Corps of Engineers is doing to try to have some type of
mechanism in the water that attracts the fish and to corner it,
be able to fish them out more.
But these fish multiply faster than any species I have ever
seen, and it is just a huge problem. It has been studied for a
long time, and the residents between the lakes areas are
getting pretty impatient now, as you can imagine, because of
the devastation to the local economy.
Mr. Joyce. Is there a bounty that they are paying now on
the fish?
Mr. Comer. Yes. If you catch so much, you are paid per
pound. They are incentivizing that. They are doing a double.
Whatever the market rate is, they are adding to that, like an
incentive.
Mr. Joyce. So you are taking it to the guy who is making
the fish meal to put in the dog food and will pay you a dollar
a pound----
Mr. Comer. On top of so much a pound, on top of what the
going rate is. And we are trying to help with the companies
that are processing the fish, trying to help with their
markets. Kentucky Economic Development is working very closely.
The governor and Senator McConnell and my office are in
constant communication with the processors now because we are
just trying to do everything possible to get rid of these fish
out of the waterways.
Ms. McCollum. Well, let's hope the businesses don't become
too successful with that.
Mr. Comer. Well, hey, that is good for me. That would be a
good end result.
Ms. McCollum. Well, I think you know that Mr. Joyce and I
are big fans of not having them come upstream, so we want to do
everything we can to help you downstream.
Mr. Comer. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you for coming.
Mr. Comer. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Ms. McCollum. Please look into the USGS findings.
Mr. Comer. I will. I will. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you. Congresswoman Haaland. Welcome.
Ms. Haaland. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. We are very excited to have you here at the
Interior Subcommittee hearing. So please.
Ms. Haaland. Thank you so much.
----------
Wednesday, March 27, 2019.
WITNESS
HON. DEBRA A. HAALAND, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF
NEW MEXICO
Ms. Haaland. Thank you. I am very happy to be here.
Chairwoman McCollum, Ranking Member Joyce, and members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to speak today
about some key priorities for the Interior and Environment
Appropriations bill. It is an honor to be here with all of you.
My district is blessed with natural beauty--300 days of
sunshine per year and more--and abundant wind, and I can vouch
for that specifically. I urge you to support the swift
transition to clean energy and away from dirty fossil fuels
that damage public health and our public lands.
As chairwoman of the Subcommittee on National Parks,
Forests, and Public Lands, I urge you to fully fund the Land
and Water Conservation Fund at the newly-reauthorized $900
million level to conserve irreplaceable lands and improve
outdoor recreation. We must also support areas where the
Federal government owns land, including much of New Mexico. I
urge you to fully fund the Payment in Lieu of Taxes and Secure
Rural Schools programs, and I am committed to finding a
permanent SRS, Secure Rural--trying saying that 3 times fast--
Secure Rural Schools Program solution for forest counties.
As one of the first Native American women elected to
Congress and co-chair of the Native American Caucus, I urge you
to address the serious problems indigenous peoples face. The
funding needs of American Indians and Alaskan Natives on
reservations and in urban areas must be a priority to begin to
work towards fully honoring the Federal government's unique
government-to-government relationship and trust responsibility
to Indian tribes. This trust responsibility arose from the
forced surrender and reduction of aboriginal lands to the
United States, which resulted in a significant loss of life and
great suffering.
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights' Broken Promises report
analyzes Federal spending on fundamental services for the
American Indians and Alaska Natives, all of which are required
by treaties, statutes, and established Federal trust
agreements. This report details the underfunding and neglect of
Federal obligations for decades that has gone on, and the
breach of the U.S. government's trust responsibility. Based on
this, I will introduce legislation aimed at correcting these
budgetary shortfalls and reaffirming the trust responsibility
that we have to tribes.
One issue I want to highlight is public safety. The
underfunding of tribal law enforcement and justice systems
directly contributes to Native Americans experiencing one of
the Nation's highest rates of crime and victimization in the
United States. The Department of Justice found that more than 4
in 5 American Indian/Alaska Native women have experienced
violence within their lives, and 56.1 percent have experienced
sexual violence. Additionally, Native Americans are being
killed in police encounters at a higher rate than any other
racial or ethnic group.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs' funding for law enforcement
is currently at about 20 percent of the overall need, and
tribal court funding is only a dismal 3 percent of the need.
And there is no funding available to address the issue of
missing and murdered indigenous women in urban areas or State
courts, contributing to the gap in data collection. Healthcare
is another area where the Federal budgetary shortfall is most
apparent for Native Americans and Indian tribes.
Chairwoman McCollum, I appreciate the hard work this
subcommittee has done to boost funding for the Indian Health
Service, and I encourage you to continue those efforts. The
Indian healthcare delivery system still spends only 40 percent
of the national average per patient, which leaves American
Indians and Alaska Natives among the most vulnerable
populations as many basic patient needs are unmet. I urge you
to make equitable and non-discretionary Federal funding
available directly to tribal nations to uphold the well-
established government-to-government relationship tribes have
with the United States, and provide funding for services that
most Americans have adequate access to, but that American
Indians and Alaska Natives do not.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you, Congresswoman Haaland, and it is
good to have your voice at the table. A couple of things I
would touch on that you highlighted so eloquently is how far we
fall short of public safety in Indian Country. Mr. Joyce and I
were here. We had public witness day from our tribal nations.
We heard from them loud and clear about public safety, very,
very much so, and some of that is in our budget. Some of it is
in other budgets, and we are working to do what we can in that.
But the President has not been very helpful in the budget that
the Administration put forward for the issues that you
addressed.
I wanted to just touch on PILT for the record. It used to
be mandatory funding. They made it discretionary funding and
put it into the Interior bill. I believe it rightfully belongs
as mandatory funding and am working as hard as I can with
colleagues, and would appreciate your support in moving that
back over to the mandatory funding where it belongs.
Ms. Haaland. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. It is a tax issue. It belongs in the tax
bill, and that would free up more dollars for Indian Country to
work on many of the priorities that you laid out as well. I am
with you on renewable energy, land and water conservation, and
other things that we are sure to work on. So hopefully we don't
have too much more in the way of flooding. I know some of the
tribal nations in Nebraska have been suffering. We heard about
Pine Ridge. We have been following that, too. So we will work
with you in your capacity with Mr. Cole as chairs of the Native
American Caucus as we hear more about the emergency situations
in those tribal nations.
Ms. Haaland. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Joyce. Thank you. Ms. Haaland.
Ms. Haaland. Yes.
Mr. Joyce. Sincere congratulations on your becoming the
first of two Native American women who were elected here, and I
am certainly glad to have you seated at the table. I fully
recognize that the Federal government has not lived up to their
end of the obligation to the tribal nations. It is something
that as somebody from Ohio wasn't necessarily on my screen, if
you will, when I first got here to Congress. But since then I
have been on the Interior subcommittee and have followed
through with the things that have happened in all of Indian
affairs.
We are lucky at times because not only do we have the
chairwoman, but also at one point we had Mr. Cole, Mr. Simpson
and Mr. Calvert all on the subcommittee at one time. So it was
an education process. And it is something that we are going to
continue to do what we can here to make sure that we at least
have the funding to try to honor those obligations that we have
already entered into. So please feel free at any time, not just
member hearing day, but any time we can be of help of reaching
out, and we are glad to do whatever we can to help you.
Ms. Haaland. Thank you so much, and I absolutely will.
Thank you very much.
Ms. McCollum. Thank you.
Ms. Haaland. Thank you.
Ms. McCollum. Well, Mr. Joyce, we have a few other members
scheduled, but our time changed because of votes, and we have
their testimony. I would like to enter it into the record. They
are unable to change their schedules to be here now, and if
that is OK with you.
Mr. Joyce. Fine by me.
Ms. McCollum. Fine? OK. So moved.
So with that, we will conclude today's hearing from members
of Congress on the appropriations for Interior, Environment,
and Related Agencies. Thank you.
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