House committee sets hearing on Tribal Coastal Resiliency Act

The Quinault Nation, whose coastal area in Washington state is seen here, has long supported passage of the Tribal Coastal Resiliency Act. Photo: Sam Beebe

Monday, June 21, 2021

Indianz.Com

The Tribal Coastal Resiliency Act is up for its first hearing in the 117th Congress.

H.R.1415 helps tribes address the effects of climate change in coastal areas. The measure has always enjoyed bipartisan support but has yet to make it over the finish line on Capitol Hill.

“This bill will make available to tribes grant funding for the protection and preservation of tribal coastal zones and areas,” President Fawn Sharp of the National Congress of American Indians said when a prior version of H.R.1415 passed the U.S. House of Representatives.

“This funding will be very helpful to every tribe that is dealing with rising sea level, and coastal and shoreline degradation and destabilization due to climate change,” said Sharp, who also serves as vice president of the Quinault Nation.

Specifically, the bill makes tribes eligible for grants under the Coastal Zone Management Act. Currently, only “coastal states” are able to access such funding through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is part of the Department of Commerce.

The House Committee on Natural Resources will take testimony on the H.R.1415 at a hearing at 3pm Eastern on Tuesday afternoon. A witness list has not yet been posted line.

A total of 13 bills are on the agenda for the legislative hearing. The measures address issues of climate change, coastal management and various programs at the NOAA.

House Committee on Natural Resources Notice

Remote Legislative Hearing (June 22, 2021)