DAINES TALKS TRIBAL SAFETY, SOVEREIGNTY, AND AG PRIORITIES AT INDIAN AFFAIRS HEARING

U.S. Senator Steve Daines today at a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs oversight hearing questioned witnesses on important issues facing Montana tribes, including public safety, tribal sovereignty, water settlements, forest management and agriculture. Daines highlighted the importance of helping Montana tribes maintain their own law enforcement instead of relying on Washington, D.C. for solutions.

Daines on the Need to Give Tribes More Control Over Their Law Enforcement

"Public safety has been a top priority of mine for years and yet I continue to hear the same concerns from our tribes. I've written countless letters and nothing changes. The BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) expects us to just provide them more funding and the tribes see no difference on the ground. We need to empower our tribes. Give them the reins. Let them control their law enforcement instead of throwing money at BIA and just hoping it might stick.

"Putting Washington, D.C. in charge of public safety is the last thing we should be doing. Today, Congress is voting on a massive bipartisan rebuke, a repudiation, against D.C.'s far-left, pro-crime, agenda. I know the leaders back in Indian Country in Montana see clearly, the solutions are not here in Washington, D.C. They're in Browning, they're in Crow Agency, they're in Poplar, they're in Lame Deer, and they're in Harlem. I look forward to continuing to work with Montana tribes to craft a bill that will finally put our tribes first. As sovereign nations, they should be first in defining how they address the issues of crime and the enforcement of the law."

Daines on the Need to Support Tribal Legislative Priorities in the Upcoming Farm Bill

"Agriculture is a top economic driver in Montana. This farm bill is a chance to increase tribal participation in programs and continue to bolster food security and economic prosperity in tribal communities. Likewise, expanding the Good Neighbor Authority and supporting active forest management and public grazing will increase forest and wildlife health and better protect our communities from catastrophic wildfire."

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