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Lawmaker warns government shutdown is stalling tribal services, urges Congress to resume work
Summary
Speaking at the AFN convention, a lawmaker criticized an ongoing federal shutdown for halting work on BIA probate cases and native allotment applications, and said select appropriations and protections for tribal members remain at risk without congressional action.
A lawmaker at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention criticized an ongoing federal government shutdown and warned it is disrupting services important to tribal communities, including work on Bureau of Indian Affairs probate backlogs and native allotment applications.
The lawmaker said the shutdown — which she described as entering its 18th day during her remarks — means many federal employees are uncertain about pay and that work on long-standing administrative processes has stalled. "Congress's failure to do our work is inexcusable," she said, urging lawmakers to stop blaming one another and to "knock it off" and get back to work.
She highlighted efforts in recent legislative negotiations to protect tribal beneficiaries, saying she directed her team during reconciliation to secure full exemptions for tribal members from proposed work requirements for Medicaid and SNAP. "I made sure that tribal members would be exempted, fully exempted from these new work requirements for those on Medicaid and on SNAP," she said, describing Medicaid as a critical bridge for rural villages with limited cash economies.
The lawmaker also noted that certain appropriations that benefit Alaska — such as advanced appropriations for Indian Health Service programs — help insulate some tribal services from immediate shutdown effects, but she said much work remains and that the delegation would keep pressing the administration for resources.
She used an anecdote about stopping a car to urge bipartisanship: when children blame one another you stop the car and have a conversation — "we need to stop the car and get Congress working again."
