Indian Affairs Committee

U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines’ legislation to improve the Indian Health Service passed the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs today. Immediately after the vote, Daines championed priorities important to Montana’s Indian tribes in a committee hearing, including funding for the Blackfeet water settlement and maintenance improvements at Bureau of Indian Education schools. This week, he also sponsored a bill to provide Indian tribes much-needed tax relief. Funding Priorities Important to Montana Indian Country Following Secretary Ryan Zinke’s visit to the Blackfeet Reservation last month to authorize the first transfer of funds for the Blackfeet water rights settlement, which Daines and

U.S. SENATE —Montana’s U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester today introduced legislation to permanently extend the Indian Coal Production Tax Credit (ICPTC).  The ICPTC provides a crucial tax incentive to level the playing field for future development of tribal coal resources that are currently subject to more regulatory requirements than comparable development on private, state or federal lands. ICPTC credit protects the economic viability of existing tribal coal mining projects, which support much-needed tribal jobs and provide a major source of non-federal revenue for coal-producing tribes.  “The Crow Tribe in Montana has the potential to develop 10 billion tons

U.S. SENATE —U.S. Senator Steve Daines today urged the Indian Health Service (IHS) to comply with Chippewa Cree Tribe’s request for emergency funding to repair the on-reservation water system in light of recent breakages and contamination. In a letter to Mary Smith, the Principal Deputy Director of IHS, Daines implored her to immediately act on the Chippewa Cree Tribe’s request to ensure water delivery and water safety.  “I write to implore your swift and immediate action in response to the Chippewa Cree Tribe’s urgent request regarding the tribe’s water service,” Daines wrote. “This matter is of utmost importance and must be addressed immediately.” 

U.S. SENATE —U.S. Senator Steve Daines today announced $1,260,000.00 in funding for the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Inc. in Lame Deer to address domestic violence and improve safety for Indian women. “I am committed to ensuring American Indian women have access to the resources they need to feel safe in their communities,” Daines stated.  Paula Julian, Policy Specialist National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center: “We are honored and humbled to continue to serve as the National Indian Resource Center addressing domestic violence and the safety of Native women. We look forward to continuing to work with tribes, tribal coalitions, Native organizations, our lawmakers,

U.S. SENATE —U.S. Senator Steve Daines today helped move forward reforms that would improve patient safety and care by increasing accountability and transparency at the Indian Health Service (IHS).  This afternoon, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs passed S. 2953, the Indian Health Service Accountability Act of 2016. Daines is a co-sponsor of the legislation. Video of Daines’ remarks is available to watch here and download here.      Daines: “During the July and August work period back in our state, I had the opportunity to meet with a number of Montana’s tribal communities. In fact, I got to nearly every reservation in Montana. And the consensus

U.S. CONGRESS — U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester and U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke today introduced a resolution to designate May 5, 2017 as National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls in memory of the birthday of Hanna Harris, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe who was murdered in July 2013.  The resolution seeks to commemorate the lives of missing and murdered American Indian and Alaska Native women whose cases are documented and undocumented in public records and the media.  According to a Department of Justice study, in some tribal communities, American Indian women face