Kevin Washburn, the former Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, at the White House Tribal Nations Conference on November 5, 2015. Photo: U.S. Department of the Interior

Opinion | Politics

Kevin Washburn: Indian Country feels the pain with Donald Trump

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Kevin K. Washburn, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation who led the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the latter years of the Obama administration, has read the new president's fiscal year 2018 budget request and finds drastic cuts everywhere. From education to health care, Indian Country will see less if President Donald Trump gets his way:

When Donald J. Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States, many of us had questions about whether the United States would continue to meet its trust responsibility to Native Americans. We hoped that Trump would meet it robustly, even if perhaps in a somewhat different manner than President Obama. President Trump’s reversals on the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline decisions were ominous signs. This week Trump provided even more insights into his priorities. On Tuesday, May 23, 2017, President Trump sent his Fiscal Year 2018 spending blueprint to Congress. This proposal reflects President Trump’s opening bid in negotiations with Congress for the fiscal future of our country, beginning with the fiscal year starting October 1 of 2017.
Overall, Trump’s proposal increases defense spending significantly and cuts deeply most programs for the poor. Trump’s budget slashes federal Indian country appropriations by more than 10 percent. For example, at $2.488 billion, Trump’s request for the U.S. Department of Interior’s Indian Affairs budget alone is a $300 million cut from Obama’s FY 2016 budget, which was the last full year appropriation (we have since operated on continuing resolutions). Trump’s proposal also cuts more than $50 million for the Indian country housing programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and zeroes out $8 million from the BIA budget for housing. For the Indian Health Service, Trump’s budget eliminates roughly $150 million.
If Congress accepts Trump’s proposal, Indian country will feel the whipsaw of last November’s election.

Read More on the Story:
Kevin Washburn: Trump Proposes Hundreds of Millions in Cuts to Federal Appropriations for Indian Country (Indian Country Media Network 5/25)

Department of the Interior Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Documents:
Budget in Brief |Indian Affairs Highlights | Department Office Highlights [includes Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians]

Department of Health and Human Services Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Documents:
Budget in Brief | Indian Health Service Justification

Department of Housing and Urban Development Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Documents:
Congressional Justifications | Native American Housing Block Grants | Indian Housing Loan Guarantee Fund (Section 184)