Chief Ben Barnes of the Shawnee Tribe issued the following statement on January 7, 2021, following a decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the tribe’s share of COVID-19 relief.
“The favorable ruling by the D.C. Circuit means our case is back on an active track. Our arguments were persuasive, convincing the court the U.S. Treasury Department’s arbitrary actions to use false data to determine how much CARES Act relief funding we should receive are reviewable by the courts. While other tribes received millions, the U.S. Treasury Department flagrantly shortchanged the Shawnee Tribe from its fair share of the CARES Act coronavirus relief funds, causing hardship in our ability to fully care for our tribal citizens sadly affected by this deadly virus. While we are pleased with this win, we continue to incur costs and must advance our case through the court system to achieve a quick and equitable resolution to this matter. We will continue to press our case and will tenaciously advance it for the well-being of our tribal citizens who, like so many, have greatly suffered both financially and physically this past year.”
Turtle Talk has posted briefs from the case, Shawnee Tribe v. Mnuchin.
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals: Shawnee Tribe v. Steven Mnuchin
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