A Choctaw Nation rental housing unit in Caney, Oklahoma. Photo from Choctaw Nation Housing Authority
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing this afternoon on S.710, a bill to reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act NAHASDA became law in 1996 to give tribes greater control over federal housing funds. It expired in September 2013 but Congress has failed to update it. "Reauthorization of NAHASDA has been an important priority in Indian Country," Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), the chairman of the committee, said today. "However, Indian Country has waited too long for reauthorization." A panel of tribal representatives expressed strong support for S.710. However, no one from the Department of Housing and Urban Development testified, an absence that wasn't addressed today. The hearing lasted one hour. Audio can be found on the Indianz.Com SoundCloud.
Committee Notice:
Legislative Hearing on S. 710, The Reauthorization of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 2015 (NAHASDA) (March 18, 2015)
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