Tribal leaders urge House appropriations subcommittee to protect health, safety and relocation funds as grant freezes stall projects

WASHINGTON — Leaders from tribes across the country told the House Appropriations Subcommittee at a public witness hearing that long‑standing shortfalls for Indian programs, a recent executive‑branch freeze on certain federal grants and reductions in the federal workforce are hobbling services for tribal members.

At the hearing, tribal officials pressed the panel to protect and increase funding for the Indian Health Service (IHS), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) programs and law enforcement; to speed school construction and land‑into‑trust decisions; to restore disbursed but frozen grants; and to provide dedicated funds for climate‑driven relocation.

Why it matters: Tribal witnesses repeatedly described the issues as matters of trust and legal obligation. They said underfunding and administrative actions that pause or redirect money threatened everyday services — emergency response, health care, education and fisheries management — and, in some cases, public safety.

Grant Johnson, president of the Prairie Island Indian Community, told the subcommittee that his reservation has been repeatedly flooded by a federal lock and dam and sits “less than 700 yards” from a nuclear power plant and on‑site spent fuel storage, a proximity he said exposes tribal members to ongoing risks. Johnson urged the subcommittee to prioritize federal financing for roads, water and sewer infrastructure, housing and emergency planning, saying the tribe has used its own funds to buy safer land (known in testimony as “Elkhorn”) and is awaiting…