Business | Health | Opinion

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs considers two bills at meeting

Monday, June 6, 2016

Veterans of the Oglala Sioux Tribe participated in a Memorial Day ceremony at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia in May 2014. Photo from Army Recruiting Center Worcester MA / Facebook

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will consider two bills at a business meeting on Wednesday.

The first item on the agenda is S.2916. The bill authorizes Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico to enter into leases for its lands that last up to 99 years. The provision would also apply to Ohkay Owingeh.

Both tribes were included in an earlier law known as the Long-Term Leasing Act. But it only applies to lands that were held "in trust" -- the tribes also own significant parcels in fee simple.

The committee held a hearing on the bill on May 18. Santa Clara Pueblo Gov. Michael Chavarria said it would help his tribe with economic development projects for its "commercially valuable" lands.

The second item is S.2417, the Tribal Veterans Health Care Enhancement Act. The bill authorizes the Indian Health Service to cover the cost of veterans’ co-pays for services rendered at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The committee held a hearing on the bill on May 11. Roger Trudell, the chairman of the Santee Sioux Nation of Nebraska, said it would help Native veterans like himself.

"When you add together the cost of gas, food, and lodging, along with the cost of the deductible or co-pay that VA charges and that the IHS currently does not pay, it is not unusual for an Indian veteran to spend $200 or more just to go the VA for the care that they were promised," said Trudell, who also serves as chairman of the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Health Board.

The meeting will take place at 2:15pm in Room 628 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building.

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notice:
Business Meeting to consider S. 2417 & S. 2916 (June 8, 2016)