Udall: New Watchdog Report Shows Trump Administration Blatantly Mishandled Tribal Data

Statement

Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, issued the following statement after the Department of the Interior (DOI) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report Udall requested documenting data breaches as a result of the Trump administration's mishandling of Tribal financial information and the distribution of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funds:

"Today's alarming findings confirmed what Tribes have feared: that sensitive proprietary data was improperly released by the Trump administration to parties outside of the federal government. The Inspector General's findings are deeply troubling, and raise serious questions as to this administration's protection of sensitive Tribal data, and its ongoing mishandling of the distribution of funding to Tribes as part of the CARES Act. This is just the latest data point in a series of examples of how the Trump administration has horribly mismanaged its coronavirus response for Tribes and Native communities. Indian Country is paying the price for the Trump administration's incompetence and missteps. We must take the protection of sensitive Tribal data seriously, and I will continue to hold this administration accountable for the efficient distribution and allocation of CARES Act funding."

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