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Senator from Alaska, as Senate Indian Affairs chair, urges agencies to clarify tribal programs are unaffected by executive actions
Summary
As chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the senator told colleagues he sought immediate assurances from agency leadership that tribal programs and treaty/trust obligations are distinct from diversity or equity initiatives and will not be disrupted by recent executive orders; he cited Department of the Interior and Health and Human Services clarifications.
Speaking on the Senate floor, the senator from Alaska identified himself as chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and said he had sought and welcomed clarifications from federal agencies that tribal programs and treaty/trust obligations are not covered by a recent executive order concerning diversity initiatives.
"When we are speaking about our Indian tribes and our tribal programs and the federal funding that they receive, they do not fall into the category if you will of diversity Equity inclusion," he said, urging agency action to remove confusion and anxiety among tribal communities. He said he met with the acting director (as described in the remarks) and asked that the unique legal and political status of tribes be reaffirmed.
The senator praised a Department of the Interior secretarial order issued on Jan. 30 that, he said, "acknowledges that nothing in their order should be construed to affect the activities that implement the legal requirements independent of the EO's, including the statutory authorities, treaty and trust obligations of the department to our tribal Nations and to our native Hawaiian community." He also said the Department of Health and Human Services had issued clarifying language to the same effect (the transcript rendered this as "Health and Social Services" in the remarks).
The senator framed the request as consistent with the federal government’s trust responsibility and cited the Supreme Court’s characterization of tribes as a distinct political class, saying agencies should take steps to avoid disruption to tribal programs and beneficiaries. He concluded by saying he appreciated early agency steps to provide clarity and yielded the floor.
