Haaland Delivers Keynote Addressing Infrastructure in Indian Country During National Conference

Today, Congresswoman Deb Haaland (NM-01), who serves as Co-Chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus, delivered a keynote address during the National Transportation in Indian Country Conference. During her address, Congresswoman Haaland discussed the proposals in Congress that seek to boost infrastructure in Indian Country, which is paramount in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Haaland also emphasized the importance of filling out the Census to ensure infrastructure projects are funded at the levels needed to serve Tribal communities. The national conference, hosted by the Center for Tribal Transportation, offers sessions on transit, safety, planning and the latest updates to Tribes, Tribal organizations and their partners through September 4, 2020.

Congresswoman Deb Haaland's remarks as prepared for delivery are below:

Good morning everyone.

Thank you, Mr. Byron Bluehorse, for that introduction.

Thank you, Ms. Becky Tremonte and the planning committee for your determination to convene your annual event in spite of the pandemic. I look forward to your convening in Santa Ana Pueblo next year.

I am pleased the NTICC decided to convene virtually because of the global pandemic. There is too much at stake to let an opportunity such as this one pass, and for you to miss time-sensitive presentations, strengthen your partnerships, and make new ones this week.

It is wonderful to see so many tribes and nations represented here today along with our allies. By my count, there are sovereign nations from at least 18 states here today!

I am a proud Laguna Pueblo tribal member and daughter of veterans. My mother served in the Navy and my father was a Marine and was in the Vietnam war. I am sure there are many veterans and veteran families with us today. Thank you for your service to this country.

I have been honored to serve my New Mexico District in Congress. I have been fortunate to serve on House committees that oversee matters that my constituents and I care about a great deal. Now we are under extreme pressure because of the decisions the current administration has made.

As Mr. Bluehorse mentioned, I serve as Vice-Chair on the Natural Resources Committee. That role has given me access to and the ability to hold important hearings in both the capital and in New Mexico.

Other committees I serve on are:

Chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands.

The House Armed Services Committee;

Member of the Subcommittee on Indigenous People; and

Co-Chair of the Native American Caucus.

My first term has taught me a lot. For instance, even though my colleagues and I serve in Congress and have opportunities to meet with individuals we have admired, we still have to practice some things that helped to get us here in the first place: perseverance and resiliency.

When you advocate for your tribe, your nation, your family, or a matter that means a lot to you always remember the power of perseverance, resiliency - and the power of your testimony.

I'll share a story with you that demonstrates this. Last year, I had lunch with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and he asked me what my priorities are for the rest of the year.

I shared with him the testimony I heard during the National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands subcommittee meetings. I told him I heard from many stakeholders ranging from environmental groups to hunters and anglers, to tribes, to the outdoor industry, and others, about the need to address the maintenance backlog and to fully, and permanently, fund the Land Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).

I told him the determination I knew I had to have to pass this legislation, including LWCF, despite any challenges or obstacles that may arise.

Obstacles did arise, but I knew I had to keep the long game in mind and have stick-to-itiveness. It paid off because we now have The Great American Outdoor Act!

Do you recall that President Obama hosted Tribal Nations Summits ever year of his presidency? There has been little to no formal interaction by this administration to address the needs of tribes. For example, there were tribes that were against the Department of the Interior reorganization, but, essentially, the tribes were ignored.

Yes, even members of Congress are rebuffed--after learning of the nonexistence of genuine government-to-government consultation about the reorganization mentioned above, I asked for a meeting with Secretary Bernhardt. We got the meeting.

That was all we got. He was dismissive and essentially told me, "[It's done.]"

I understand there is interest to know the status of The INVEST in America Act and H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act, which is the big infrastructure package that we in the House passed in July. In short, they were combined.

I am a cosponsor and there are some highlights I want to share with you about H.R. 2.

There is a significant funding increase for the Tribal Transportation Program (TTP). It proposes providing $800 million per year for the TTP out of the Highway Trust Fund, allows construction of 14 new bridges, and funds safety projects in tribal nations.

It funds an already authorized program that has never before been funded, the Tribal High Priority Projects program. This program would receive $50 million annually out of the Highway Trust Fund. The grants, up to $5 million each, would go to the highest priority projects of tribes whose annual transportation funding is either insufficient or inaccessible.

There is $400 million to fund the Federal Lands and Tribal Major Projects Program. This would provide an annual authorization from the Highway Trust Fund to allow for preconstruction activities.

It would provide the establishment of the Office of Tribal Government Affairs within U.S. DOT and a new Assistant Secretary for Tribal Government Affairs position. This would provide oversight and technical assistance to tribes.

It would allow tribes and Federal land management agencies to use the same alternative contracting methods available to States.

And it would revise the rural transit formula to increase the funding after a new census designation. It increases tribal rural funds by 57 percent, with $10 million for competitive grants and $45 million for tribal formula funds.

There is broadband and electricity in H.R. 2 as well.

The Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program would award grants to tribal governments, Alaska Native entities, and Native Hawaiian organizations. Approximately $625 million would be designated to this program.

$80 billion would be appropriated to expand Broadband Access in Unserved Areas and Areas with Low-Tier or Mid-Tier Service. Importantly, awardees must pay wages to employees working on projects funded through this program at rates not less than those prevailing on projects of a similar character in the locality, and meet prevailing Federal labor and environmental requirements.

There would be a requirement by the Secretary of Energy to assess electricity access and reliability by Tribal communities and to produce a report based on the findings of the assessment. The Secretary would be required to consult with Tribal governments in the design and how to conduct the study.

A 30% tax credit for operations and maintenance costs of government-owned broadband would be provided for State, local, and tribal governments for the operations and maintenance costs of government owned broadband systems.

There will also eventually be a surface transportation reauthorization bill, and the transportation parts of H.R. 2 could form the basis for that--if Democrats are in control.

I want to share I was successful to get the amendment to increase broadband spectrum access for tribes in the Moving Forward Act passed. Native communities across the country need to be connected to broadband internet to address longstanding disparities, but right now there are barriers for Tribes to access broadband on their lands. This will help to remove one of those barriers and ensure Tribes can begin the steps to self-govern and provide high speed internet for Native Americans on Tribal lands across the country.

This is a long list and the items proposed, I bet, we all agree are needed.

Now, I'd like to share what we foresee happening to H.R. 2.

Practically speaking, H.R. 2 is not going anywhere in the current Senate or with the current President.

IF there is a change in leadership in November, however, it could serve as the starting point for legislation to promote economic recovery through investment in infrastructure.

In 2019 House Democrats passed over 400 pieces of legislation; over 250 were bipartisan. The House has been doing the people's work!

Republicans and Democrats have worked together to ensure that we are united on issues critical to Indian Country, and we're especially proud to have helped bring long-sought federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe, but there is still a long way to go.

The sad fact is that we have a president who is intent on selling off our public lands to his friends for fracking and drilling. He has used his power to cut the size of Bears Ears National Monument by 85% and the size of Grand Staircase Escalante by half. These two sacred areas -- the homelands of our ancestors--are now open to leases and desecration by extractive industries, which will exacerbate climate change and destroy countless sacred sites.

It is wholly unjustified that the President condoned the destruction of the Tohono O'odham Nation's sacred dance sites for the border wall. What a disgraceful use of taxpayer's money which only further promotes division among our fellow human beings and totally ignores the Endangered Species Act by hindering wildlife migration corridors.

If we think for a moment about the Obama presidency, and the fact that he moved more land into trust than any president, we can see a stark contrast between President Obama and this president. My office is open to all tribes, and I would like to find solutions for the lack of the Interior Department's work on land trust issues, and reports of paperwork languishing without needed signatures leading to tribes' frustration.

It is the responsibility of each Congressional member, whether or not they have tribes in their districts, to uphold the terms that were negotiated in treaty agreements in exchange for the loss of lands and loss of life that we experienced during mass genocides like the Long Walk, Trail of Tears, or the massacre of indigenous people that took place in California.

I have said this before, and I will repeat it: There is enough money in this country--but we need to reset our priorities. Because the pandemic affects every single one of us, I want to share what some of us in Congress have been doing to address it.

I have worked with the Democratic leadership to respond to the crisis in Indian Country by allocating substantial funding in each of the stimulus packages--which would have been even more if the White House hadn't gotten in the way and decrease our original request of $20 billion for Coronavirus Relief Funds under the CARES Act. However, we were successful to at least include $8 billion in the last stimulus package.

This Administration, unintentionally or otherwise, has bungled the handling and distribution of these funds, PPE, and testing kits. Further, supplies arrived very late, or often not at all. It was also a great disappointment that the Treasury caused an extreme delay in the distribution of the critical $8 billion of Coronavirus Relief Funds for tribal governments under the CARES Act.

In the end, the Administration insisted on taking nearly three months, put Tribes through unnecessary litigation, ultimately allocated large amounts of funding to for-profit corporations, insisted on overly burdensome application materials that no other state or local governments had to submit, and failed to protect tribal data in the process.

Before I leave you, I have two urgent requests of you. One is to self-report to the 2020 Census and to vote.

For reasons that remain wholly unjustified, we are losing a full 30 days to collect Census counts. My state of New Mexico is one of the hardest states to count, and now, because of a decision done by fiat, we stand to be undercounted again.

Before being elected to Congress, I was an organizer and dedicated myself to get Indian Country out to vote by going door to door, and I am proud that I was able to help increase the Native voting participation in New Mexico to levels that we have never seen before.

The Native vote in the upcoming presidential election and full participation in the Census is critical because it brings those tax dollars you have paid to the government back home! For example, for each New Mexican counted equates to $3,700.00 per year--$37,000.00 until the next Census in 2030.

Be sure to vote for candidates who have your values, will advocate for you, will sponsor and cosponsor legislation that addresses what has been ignored for too long.

If you have not already done so, please budget funds for the purpose of getting your people out to vote, because our future depends on it.

It's been an honor to share this time with you. Thank you.

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