Congressional Hearings
ENHANCING TRIBAL SELF-GOVERNANCE AND SAFETY OF INDIAN ROADS
Congressional Hearings
SuDoc ClassNumber: Y 4.IN 2/11
Congress: Senate
CHRG-116shrg36243
| AUTHORITYID | CHAMBER | TYPE | COMMITTEENAME |
|---|---|---|---|
| slia00 | S | O | Committee on Indian Affairs |
[Senate Hearing 116-15]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 116-15
ENHANCING TRIBAL SELF-GOVERNANCE AND SAFETY OF INDIAN ROADS
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
APRIL 3, 2019
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Indian Affairs
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Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
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36-243 PDF WASHINGTON : 2019
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COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota, Chairman
TOM UDALL, New Mexico, Vice Chairman
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska JON TESTER, Montana,
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
STEVE DAINES, Montana CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada
MARTHA McSALLY, Arizona TINA SMITH, Minnesota
JERRY MORAN, Kansas
T. Michael Andrews, Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Jennifer Romero, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Hearing held on April 3, 2019.................................... 1
Statement of Senator Cortez Masto................................ 30
Statement of Senator Daines...................................... 37
Statement of Senator Hoeven...................................... 1
Statement of Senator McSally..................................... 31
Statement of Senator Tester...................................... 33
Statement of Senator Udall....................................... 2
Witnesses
Garcia, Hon. Joe, Head Councilman, Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo Council.. 19
Prepared statement........................................... 20
Gishi, Leroy, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian
Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior....................... 9
Prepared statement........................................... 11
Hess, Timothy, Associate Administrator, Federal Lands, Federal
Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation...... 3
Prepared statement........................................... 5
Lewis, Hon. Stephen Roe, Governor, Gila River Indian Community... 13
Prepared statement........................................... 15
Appendix
Bear Runner, Hon. Julian, President, Oglala Sioux Tribe.......... 43
Letters submitted for the record from the Duckwater Shoshone
Tribe.......................................................... 45
ENHANCING TRIBAL SELF-GOVERNANCE AND SAFETY OF INDIAN ROADS
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2019
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Indian Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:30 p.m. in room
628, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. John Hoeven,
Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN HOEVEN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NORTH DAKOTA
The Chairman. Good afternoon.
I call this oversight hearing to order.
Today, the Committee will examine transportation programs
that affect Indian roads and bridges. Approximately 147,000
miles of roads and 930 bridges are located throughout Indian
Country. These roads, highways and bridges are used by children
going to their schools, emergency and first responders to reach
those in need, and tribal members to reach their place of
employment.
These roads also provide economic opportunity to tribes by
providing access to and from Indian lands. However, many of
these roads and bridges are in need of improvement. According
to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, there is at least a $280
million backlog of deferred maintenance of BIA roads with only
17 percent of the BIA roads considered to be in acceptable
condition.
The conditions of these roads may be a reason why motor
vehicle crashes are a leading cause of unintentional injury or
death for Indians. In fact, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, the adult motor vehicle-related
death rates for Native Americans are more than twice the
national average.
Among Indian infants less than 1 year of age, the motor
traffic death rate is eight times higher than the national
average. This has to stop. Approximately every five years,
Congress has the opportunity to reauthorize the Highway
Transportation bill.
In 2015, the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act,
the FAST Act, was signed into law. It included programs for
tribal highway maintenance, construction, and safety programs
for Indian tribes. The FAST Act also authorized increases for
the Tribal Transportation Program. This program is jointly
administered by the Department of Transportation's Highway
Administration Federal Lands Highway Office and the Bureau of
Indian Affairs Division of Transportation. Together, they
administer over $495 million of annual funding for
transportation programs.
The FAST Act also directed the Secretary of Transportation
to complete several reports to Congress regarding tribal
transportation safety data. Some of the findings in these
reports are very concerning.
For instance, according to the Department of
Transportation, there is no uniform crash report form among the
BIA law enforcement. Without a uniform crash report form, data
and statistics cannot be shared among the 12 BIA regions and
tribes.
Data is available to help prevent and address many causes
for motor vehicle crashes and deaths. Very soon, I plan to
introduce legislation that would enhance the safety of roads in
Indian Country. This bill was drafted based on recommendations
from the BIA, the Department of Transportation and Indian
tribes.
Highlights of the bill include streamlining traffic safety
projects at the BIA, creating uniform crash report forms for
the use of tribes, modifying and increasing funding for tribal
bridges and the Transportation Safety Fund, and increasing
funding for the BIA Road Maintenance Program. I hope members of
this Committee will support the bill.
Before we hear from witnesses, I want to turn to the Vice
Chairman, Senator Udall, for his opening statement.
STATEMENT OF HON. TOM UDALL,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO
Senator Udall. Thank you, Chairman Hoeven, for scheduling
today's hearing to discuss tribal transportation.
I would first like to welcome my good friend from New
Mexico, Head Councilman Joe Garcia of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. It
is good to see you here today, Joe.
Councilman Garcia wears many hats with his various
leadership roles and brings a wealth of knowledge to our
hearing, not only when it comes to transportation but also as a
strong leader for self-governance, veterans, housing, economic
development and many other matters across Indian Country.
Councilman Garcia, I appreciate your being here and look
forward to your testimony.
As Congress begins its work on reauthorizing the multi-year
transportation bill set to expire in 2020, known as the FAST
Act, we must begin by acknowledging what tribal communities
across the Country know all too well. Indian Country lacks safe
and adequate surface transportation infrastructure.
As the Government Accountability Office has determined,
``Tribal transportation data does not accurately reflect road
conditions or maintenance needs and associated costs'' and
consequently, stifles our ability in Congress to make informed
funding decisions. The bottom line is that the Federal
Government must do more to provide the necessary resources to
ensure Native communities' transportation needs are addressed
so that they can get to their jobs, homes, hospitals and
schools. We need the data at the Federal, State and tribal
levels to support those needs.
However, providing more funding to build and maintain basic
infrastructure in Indian Country is only part of the story.
Ensuring tribal governments are able to make their own
decisions to implement their own priorities is equally
important.
The 2015 FAST Act authorized for the first time a 638
contracting authority for the Department of Transportation's
Tribal Transportation Program. The primary goal of DOT's Tribal
Transportation Self-governance Program is to deliver
infrastructure projects faster and in a more cost-effective way
to tribal communities. I am confident the program is on the
road to success.
In addition to self-governance, road safety is a top
priority for Indian Country, especially when it comes to
student attendance. A 2015 GAO study found that poor road
conditions on Indian lands contribute to higher absenteeism
rates for Indian students than non-Indian students in large
part because many Indian students' homes are only accessible by
dirt and gravel roads that have become impassable during bad
weather.
For example, tribal officials from the Cheyenne River Sioux
Tribe recently reported to my staff that their students must
get off the bus and wait by the side of the road so that the
driver can traverse a particularly dangerous section of road
without students onboard. Stories like this one are all too
common in Indian Country.
Indian students already face a number of challenges gaining
equitable access to educational opportunities. The last thing
they should be worried about is their personal safety on their
way to school. We must do better to break down these barriers.
Finally, the link between climate change and poor and
deteriorating road conditions in Indian Country cannot be
ignored. Indian Country's surface transportation infrastructure
needs must include tools for ensuring climate resiliency so
that tribal transportation inventory is built to last.
I look forward to hearing from today's witnesses and asking
questions on these important topics. Again, thank you, Mr.
Chairman, and thank you to the panel for being here today.
The Chairman. Thank you, Vice Chairman Udall.
At this point, we will proceed to our witnesses. Today, we
have Mr. Timothy Hess, Associate Administrator, Federal Lands,
Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of
Transportation; Mr. Leroy Gishi, Chief, Division of
Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of
the Interior; The Honorable Stephen Roe Lewis, Governor, Gila
River Indian Community, Sacaton, Arizona; and The Honorable Joe
Garcia, Head Councilman, Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo Council, Ohkay
Owingeh, New Mexico. Welcome to you all.
I want to remind witnesses that your full written testimony
will be made a part of the official hearing record. Please keep
your statements to five minutes so that we have time for
questions.
With that, we will turn to Mr. Hess.
STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY HESS, ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL
LANDS, FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION
Mr. Hess. Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall, and members
of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear
before you today to discuss enhancing tribal self-governance
and safety on Indian roads.
I am pleased to appear beside Mr. Leroy Gishi of the Bureau
of Indian Affairs, Mr. Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River
Indian Community, and Mr. Joe Garcia of the Ohkay Owingeh
Pueblo Council.
The Federal Highway Administration has a long history of
working closely with tribal governments and with the Bureau of
Indian Affairs. I am proud of the relationships we have built.
We are committed to continued partnership with tribes to
continue to address their transportation needs. Through funding
and technical assistance, we are committed to delivering a
transportation program that works for all tribes no matter
their size.
I would like to take this opportunity to update you on the
Department's work to establish the Tribal Transportation Self-
governance Program. This program was created by the FAST Act
and authorizes the Department to establish a new option for
tribes to receive transportation funding via a compact and
funding agreement with the Department of Transportation. The
Department has been engaged with tribal leaders to develop to
the maximum extent possible a consensus, self-governance
regulation that adequately addresses the concerns of the
Federal Government and tribal leaders.
I am pleased to report that we have made significant
progress. In mid-2016, we convened a negotiated rulemaking
committee comprised of 18 tribal and 7 Federal representatives.
This Committee has met ten times, most recently just over two
weeks ago, to develop recommendations and propose regulatory
text for consideration by the Secretary. The Department is
hopeful that the Committee will be able to finalize its work
for the Secretary's consideration following the next meeting
this June.
I would also like to address the Department's top priority,
safety. The Federal Highway Administration is committed to
enhancing transportation safety for tribal communities and will
continue to work with our tribal partners, the BIA, Federal
agencies, States and other public organizations to identify and
implement solutions to address this vital issue.
Tribal transportation facilities are essential to providing
safe and adequate transportation to and within tribal land.
FHWA administers a number of programs that support these
facilities. As one example, the Federal Highway
Administration's largest Federal Lands Highway Program, the
Tribal Transportation Program, TTP, provides funding to improve
transportation for all 573 federally-recognized sovereign
tribal governments.
We jointly administer this program with the BIA and work
together to partner with tribes and provide training and
technical assistance. In addition to providing general
technical assistance on tribal transportation issues and
training at various meetings and conferences, FHWA has a tribal
coordinator assigned to each tribe that has a Tribal
Transportation Program Agreement with FHWA. These tribal
coordinators perform on-site visits to tribes to provide
technical assistance on elements of the TTP as well as to help
the tribes in developing transportation improvement plans for
their tribal communities.
One component of the TTP is the TTP Safety Fund. The Tribal
Transportation Program's Safety Fund makes funds available to
tribes through a competitive discretionary program. The TTPSF
emphasizes safety and the development of transportation safety
plans which are critical tools in determining how to best
address tribal transportation safety needs.
Another component of the TTP is the Tribal Transportation
Bridge Program. This program addresses the important issue of
bridge safety by providing resources for bridge projects.
TTP funds provided through statutory formula are available
to tribes for general tribal transportation needs but can also
be used to address specific tribal transportation safety
projects. For example, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in
Oklahoma, using TTPSF funds and Tribal Transportation Program
tribal shares, designed and constructed a pedestrian pathway
providing safety access between the tribal area and the nearby
City of Shawnee. Safety is of paramount importance to the
Federal Highway Administration and we appreciate Congress's
recognition of the need to address tribal transportation
safety.
Mr. Chairman, thank you again for the opportunity to appear
before you today and your commitment to tribal self-governance
and transportation safety.
I look forward to answering your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Hess follows:]
Prepared Statement of Timothy Hess, Associate Administrator, Federal
Lands, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of
Transportation
Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall, Members of the Committee,
thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss
enhancing Tribal self-governance and safety on Indian roads. The
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has a long history of working
closely with Tribal governments, and I am proud of the relationships
that we have built. We are committed to partnering with Tribes to
address their transportation needs. I would like to update you on a
number of efforts we have underway.
Tribal Self-Governance
The Department of Transportation (Department) is working to
establish the Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Program created by
section 1121 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.
This program will establish a new option for Tribes to receive
transportation funding via a compact and funding agreement negotiated
between the Department and an eligible Tribe that elects to participate
in the self-governance program. The Department of the Interior and the
Indian Health Service already have self-governance programs. However,
because the Department does not carry out services or activities on
behalf of, or for the benefit of, Indian Tribes, the focus of the
rulemaking to implement the program has been on eligibility, internal
Departmental operations to provide flexibility and alleviate
administrative burdens, and implementing those provisions of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act that address self-
governance, while acknowledging the Department's inherently Federal
functions.
We have made significant progress in implementing this program,
consistent with our goal to provide maximum participation of Tribes in
the development and management of transportation programs on Tribal
lands. To date, the Department has preliminarily identified a large
number of formula-funded, discretionary, and competitive grant programs
that may be included in a self-governance annual funding agreement. The
Department recognizes the sovereignty of Tribal governments and
respects Indian self-determination and Tribal self-governance. The
Department is committed to upholding the Federal Government's unique
trust responsibility by honoring the government-to-government
relationship between the United States and federally recognized Indian
Tribes. The Department's goal is to continue to engage Tribal leaders
to develop, to the maximum extent possible, a consensus self-governance
regulation that adequately addresses the concerns of the Federal
Government and Tribal leaders.
Negotiations
In mid-2016, the Department began to implement the congressional
directive to promulgate regulations to carry out a Tribal
transportation self-governance program by convening a negotiated
rulemaking committee composed of 18 Tribal and seven Federal
representatives. The rulemaking committee met five times in 2016, four
times in 2018, and will meet twice in 2019 to develop recommendations
and proposed regulatory text for consideration by the Secretary.
Following enactment of H.R. 6414 (Public Law 115-235), which
extended the statutory deadlines for rulemaking, the Department engaged
the services of facilitators from the Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service (FMCS) to assist the committee in its
negotiations. The committee agreed to focus its efforts on discussing
goals, intent, and concerns related to the program and its
implementation, while charging a smaller, drafting work group to
develop recommended language for consideration by the full committee.
The FMCS is also facilitating the work of this drafting group. Most
recently, the drafting group met in February 2019, and the committee
has empowered the drafting group to develop the remainder of the rule
using this process.
The drafting group will meet three times over the next two months
to develop additional recommended language for the committee's
consideration, and the proposals will be previewed for committee
members following each drafting group meeting. There will be an
additional plenary meeting in June 2019 to present revised proposals
for consideration by the full committee. Pending the outcome of this
meeting, the Department expects to issue a proposed rule later this
summer.
The Department notes that following enactment of H.R. 6414 in
August 2018, Congress extended to June 4, 2019, the statutory deadline
for the Department to issue a proposed rule. The Department anticipates
that, with the consent of the rulemaking committee, it may have to
invoke a 180-day extension to issue the proposed rule. If that occurs,
the Department will notify Congress.
Safety On Indian Roads
Safety is the Department's top priority and I am committed to
enhancing transportation safety for Tribal communities. As stated in
the August 2017 Tribal Transportation Strategic Safety Plan, prepared
by the Tribal Transportation Safety Management System Steering
Committee, despite known underreporting, data from the Fatality
Analysis Reporting System (FARS) showed 3,278 available fatality
reports in Tribal areas during the five-year period from 2010-2014.
This is not acceptable. We must improve transportation safety in Tribal
areas. FHWA is committed to working with our Tribal partners, the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and other Federal agencies, States, and
other public organizations to identify and implement solutions to
address this important issue.
FHWA Programs
Tribal transportation facilities are essential to providing safe
and adequate transportation to and within Tribal land. A number of FHWA
programs support Tribal transportation. Some examples are detailed
below.
Tribal Transportation Program
The Tribal Transportation Program (TTP) provides funding for
projects to provide safe and adequate transportation and public road
access to and within Indian reservations, Indian lands, and Alaska
Native Village communities. The TTP provides funding to improve
transportation for all 573 federally-recognized sovereign Tribal
governments and is the largest Federal Lands Highway program. The
program is jointly administered by FHWA and the BIA. We work together
to partner with Tribes and provide robust training and technical
assistance to support Tribes in enhancing Tribal transportation.
In addition to promoting safety, the TTP contributes to the
economic development, self-determination, and employment of Indians and
Native Americans. While the vast majority of TTP funds are distributed
to Tribes via Tribal shares determined by statutory formula, the
program includes a set-aside for the TTP Safety Fund (TTPSF), which
makes funds available to Tribes through a competitive, discretionary
program. The TTPSF supports the Department's safety priority and
emphasizes the development of Transportation Safety Plans, which play a
critical role in determining how to best address transportation safety
needs. One example of the way TTPSF funds benefit Tribes is a project
funded by the TTPSF and TTP Tribal shares. Using these funds, the
Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Oklahoma designed and constructed a
pedestrian pathway providing safety access between the Tribal area and
the nearby city of Shawnee.
In addition to the TTPSF set-aside, the TTP includes a set-aside
for the TTP Bridge Program, which addresses the important issue of
bridge safety by providing resources for planning, design, engineering,
preconstruction, construction, and inspection of bridge projects.
Tribes apply for these bridge funds, and, after a completed application
package is received and accepted by FHWA, applications programmed for
funding are placed in either a preliminary engineering or construction
queue. Applications are ranked and prioritized based on established
criteria and those applications not funded remain in the queue and
carry over from fiscal year to fiscal year until funded.
The TTP also includes a set-aside for Transportation Planning,
which funds Tribal transportation planning activities. The stated
purpose of transportation planning is to fulfill goals by developing
strategies, including strategies to address public safety, to meet
transportation needs.
Not only has the TTP program improved safety, but it has also made
infrastructure improvements in Tribal areas that are critical for
survival. For example, the Gwich'in people who live in the Yukon Flats
area of Alaska make a living from hunting and selling handicrafts.
Their subsistence depends on these hunts, fishing, berry picking, and
firewood gathering which was, just barely, facilitated by a bridge with
a National Bridge Inventory (NBI) sufficiency rating of 4.8. The bridge
was closed to all traffic in 2013, greatly impacting the Gwich'in
people. However, because of an FHWA Accelerated Innovation Deployment
grant and the TTP Bridge Program, it was replaced with a Geosynthetic
Reinforced Soil bridge and reopened in October 2017.
Highway Safety Improvement Program
The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) is a strategic, data-
driven program that improves safety on all public roads, including
roads in Tribal areas. The program's purpose is to achieve a
significant reduction in traffic fatalities and serious injuries. HSIP
funds have been used for a number of safety-related projects in Tribal
areas. For example, the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe in Washington State
made safety realignments to the intersection of US-101 and Chicken
Coop-Zaccardo with a project that combined TTPSF funds and HSIP program
funds.
Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program
The Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects
(NSFLTP) Program provides funding for the construction, reconstruction,
and rehabilitation of nationally-significant projects within, adjacent
to, or accessing Federal and Tribal lands. The Department published a
Notice of Funding Opportunity for this competitive program in October
2018 and is currently reviewing applications. Consistent with the
statutory selection criteria established in the FAST Act, evaluation of
applications for this program includes consideration of the extent to
which the project furthers the goals of the Department, including
safety.
Tribal Technical Assistance Program
In addition to the programs described above, the Tribal Technical
Assistance Program (TTAP) provides centralized delivery of highway-
related training, technical assistance, and technology transfer to
Tribes. The TTAP operates five Virtual Centers of Excellence (CoE),
each staffed with subject matter experts to provide training and
technical assistance in their specialty areas. One of the five CoEs is
specifically focused on safety. FHWA is committed to providing
effective technical assistance to Tribes and is evaluating the
centralized delivery model launched in 2018 over the course of a two-
year pilot. Through February 2019, a total of 2,609 training hours have
been delivered under the pilot. This is a 60 percent increase over the
five-year average of training hours delivered from 2012 through 2016.
In addition to the programs described above, some Tribes have
benefitted from State planning and investment decisions with a State's
Federal-aid program funding. FHWA will continue to work with our Tribal
partners as we administer these programs and work together to achieve
enhanced safety for all Tribes.
Tribal Transportation Safety Reports to Congress
Congress recognized the need to address Tribal transportation
safety in the FAST Act. Section 1117 of the FAST Act directed the
Secretary to: (1) submit to Congress a report describing the quality of
transportation safety data collected by States, counties, and Indian
Tribes for transportation safety systems and the relevance of that data
to improving the collection and sharing of data on crashes on Indian
reservations, and (2) complete a study that identifies and evaluates
options for improving safety on public roads on Indian reservations and
submit to Congress a report describing the results of the study.
Tribal Governments & Transportation Safety Data
In order to evaluate the quality of transportation safety data,
FHWA utilized a survey developed by the Tribal Transportation Safety
Management Steering Committee (SMS Committee). FHWA has played a key
leadership role in this committee, which it co-chairs with the BIA. The
goal of the SMS Committee is to prevent and reduce fatalities and
injuries associated with the use of Tribal transportation facilities.
The SMS Committee members include representatives from Tribal
governments and Federal agencies, including FHWA's Tribal
Transportation Program, Office of Safety, and Resource Center.
The survey developed by the SMS Committee was made available to all
federally-recognized Tribes and the States in which those Tribes are
located. The survey responses were analyzed to evaluate the quality of
existing Tribal transportation safety data, opportunities for improved
data collection, options for paperless reporting, and uses of crash
data. Based on that analysis, in May 2017, FHWA delivered to Congress
the report required pursuant to section 1117(b) of the FAST Act: Tribal
Governments & Transportation Safety Data.
As stated in the May 2017 report, many Tribes are not adequately
represented in State and national crash databases that often drive
policy, program, and project decisions because some crash data is not
shared with State governments. Additionally, some incidents are
undocumented. The report noted that Tribes and States identified
several barriers inhibiting the sharing of crash data, including
Tribal-State communication, resources required to collect and share
crash data, and Federal policy for crash reports.
The May 2017 report included many actions DOT agencies would take
to improve the quality and availability of safety data in Tribal areas.
Consistent with these recommendations, FHWA continues to accept any
form of crash data from Tribes when evaluating applications for TTPSF
grants and has encouraged Tribes to conduct a self-assessment of
traffic records and submit the assessment with their grant applications
if formal documentation of crashes is not available. FHWA also provides
assistance as requested to encourage Tribal involvement in performance
measure establishment.
Additionally, in coordination with FHWA, NHTSA updated their
Traffic Records Program Assessment Advisory to include multiple
references to Tribal governments. This Advisory provides guidance on
different assessment processes States may utilize to evaluate their
State's highway safety data and traffic records system. The inclusion
of references to Tribal governments in the Advisory will encourage new
conversations about partnering with Tribes as States review their
safety data systems. In addition to coordinating within the Department,
FHWA is involved in ongoing coordination with the Department of the
Interior (DOI) to address standardizing collection of crash data by DOI
law enforcement and continues to work as part of the SMS Committee to
improve Tribal transportation safety.
FHWA will continue its efforts and partnerships to improve
collection and sharing of safety data so that Tribes are better able to
address safety issues through strategic safety planning and
implementation. Improved data collection and sharing also has the
potential to afford Tribes improved access to funding opportunities, as
analysis of information available via State and national crash
databases can inform project decisions, such as the selection of
roadway safety improvements through the Highway Safety Improvement
Program (HSIP).
Options for Improving Transportation Safety in Tribal Areas
In August 2017, the SMS Committee published the Tribal
Transportation Strategic Safety Plan (Safety Plan), addressing topics
selected based on review of multiple data sources. Based on this plan,
in January 2018, FHWA delivered to Congress the report required
pursuant to section 1117(c) of the FAST Act: Options for Improving
Transportation Safety in Tribal Areas. This report summarizes the
topics addressed in the Safety Plan, separated into two categories:
priority and additional topics. The priority topics are those which
data indicates are national-level issues or which help establish data
driven decisionmaking frameworks, while additional topics may be
emerging issues or may be identified by a Tribe through analysis of
incident history. The priority topics identified in the January 2018
report are: (1) Transportation Safety Decision Making Process; (2)
Crash Data Collection, Sharing, and Analysis; (3) Occupant Protection,
Child Passenger Seats, and Helmets; (4) Roadway Departure; (5) Impaired
Driving; (6) Pedestrians; and (7) Availability of Public Safety
Services. In addition to identifying these priority topics, the report
discusses strategies identified in the Safety Plan that Tribes may
utilize to improve transportation safety, and recognizes that a Tribe's
unique incident history and local knowledge may identify other priority
areas for which other strategies should be considered.
FHWA is promoting the priority topics identified in the January
2018 report at regional and national conferences and encouraging Tribes
to consider these topics as they develop and update Tribal
Transportation Safety Plans. FHWA is committed to finding additional
ways to encourage and assist Tribes with these topics and intends to
partner through the SMS Committee to identify additional ways this can
be accomplished.
In addition to identifying priority topics and strategies to
address them, the January 2018 report identifies general options for
Federal agencies to improve transportation safety in Tribal areas. FHWA
is already executing many of these recommended options, for example, by
accepting the best available data when evaluating applications for
TTPSF grants; fostering good relations and facilitating communication
between Tribes and States; providing training, technical assistance,
and resources to support Tribes in addressing safety issues; and
continuing to actively collaborate with Tribal and Federal agency
partners, including the BIA, in the SMS Committee. FHWA will continue
to look for additional opportunities to partner with Tribes, the BIA
and other Federal agencies, and other organizations to enhance Tribal
transportation safety.
Conclusion
Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today. I
would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
The Chairman. Thank you.
Now we will hear from Mr. Gishi.
STATEMENT OF LEROY GISHI, CHIEF, DIVISION OF
TRANSPORTATION, BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Mr. Gishi. Good afternoon, Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman
Udall and members of the Committee. Thank you for inviting the
Department of the Interior to provide testimony at this
oversight hearing on the topic of enhancing tribal self-
governance and the safety of Indian roads.
Transportation infrastructure continues to be a critical
part of the well being of tribal and rural communities. One of
the many barriers to economic development in Native communities
is the lack of physical infrastructure.
The Department and BIA remain committed to improving and
adequately maintaining transportation systems to provide
increased public safety and economic development opportunities
in Indian communities. Safe roads are important when
transporting people in rural areas, to and from schools, to
local hospitals and for delivery of emergency services.
I appreciate this opportunity to share with the Committee
some of our accomplishments and also our concerns for tribal
transportation as we work with tribal, local and Federal
stakeholders in implementation of the Tribal Transportation
Program.
The BIA and FHWA within the Department of Transportation
jointly administer the TTP. The BIA oversees the BIA Road
Maintenance Program with the maintaining of BIA roads and
transportation facilities.
Since establishment of the Tribal Transportation Program in
1982, the total Federal construction authorization for tribal
transportation has exceeded $10 million. These investments have
contributed greatly to the improvement of roads and replacement
and rehabilitation of deficient bridges on or near tribal lands
throughout Indian Country.
The National Tribal Transportation Facility inventory is a
listing of transportation facilities eligible for Federal
program assistance. This inventory consists of over 156,000
miles of public roads with multiple owners, including Indian
tribes, the BIA, States, counties and local governments, as
well as other Federal agencies.
Over 62 percent of the eligible facilities are the
responsibility of other public authorities. There remains a
great and continuing need to improve the transportation systems
throughout Indian Country. We believe Congress has viewed this
as a joint responsibility, including not only Federal agencies
but also State and local governments with transportation
investments on or near American Indian and Alaska Native
communities.
Coordination among all new stakeholders is required in
order to maximize available resources to address regional
transportation needs. Tribes continue to invest their resources
in transportation projects that are primarily the
responsibility of other public authorities.
This creates jobs and contributes to the economy of the
local businesses that provide services and materials.
Strengthening existing partnerships will continue to support
the local economy and bring improved infrastructure to
communities on or near Indian reservations and lands. An
investment in tribal transportation is truly an investment in
the local economy.
The BIA Road Maintenance Program is responsible for
maintaining roads designated in the inventory as BIA-owned.
Today, of the 145,000 miles of existing roads in the inventory,
the BIA has responsibility for approximately 29,000 miles of
roads.
In fiscal year 2018, the BIA distributed approximately $32
million in tribal priority allocations for the administration
and performance of road maintenance. BIA supports self-
determination and the empowerment of tribes by contracting out
a significant portion of the program with tribes.
Approximately 75 percent of the tribes with BIA system
roads within their reservation boundaries currently carry out
the BIA Road Maintenance Program through self-determination
contracts and self-governance compacts. Approximately 17,000
miles of the BIA system are unimproved earth surface roads;
4,700 are gravel. The deferred maintenance in BIA roads is
estimated at $390 million.
The FAST Act was enacted in December 2015. The FAST Act has
continued the statutory formula that was established under the
previous MAP-21 authorization. Part of that authorization was
determining a funding formula for tribal funding shares as well
as planning.
In addition, a setaside was established for the replacement
and rehabilitation of tribal bridges and safety projects. This
has allowed more funding to be directed directly to tribal
priorities.
The FAST Act formula continues to address the longstanding
issues of competitive formula. There are still some
implementation issues regarding application of certain data to
calculation of tribal shares.
For example, approximately 11 tribes do not have a recorded
population within the mandated American and Alaska Native
population database. We believe the rationale for considering
this information was to provide another data element that
reflected relative need of the eligible tribes not to limit
funding to those tribes who do not have population data. Tribes
with zero population as reported in the required database do
not receive funding based on population, but can receive some
consideration for funding under other elements of the formula.
The FAST Act also included provisions requiring data
collection and program performance. This has been very helpful
in helping us to be able to begin the process of identifying
the type of projects and the extent to which projects are being
prioritized by tribes, information that until now we did not
the opportunity to have.
This is reported on an annual basis. We do have reporting
on that for fiscal year 2016 through 2018.
The BIA and the Department are committed to working with
the Committee and members of Congress to address the
transportation needs and share successes in Indian Country
through our support of tribal transportation, road maintenance
and other Title 23 programs.
Thank you for this opportunity to present testimony on
these issues as an important part of infrastructure, road
safety, employment, and economic development needs in Indian
Country.
I will be happy to answer any questions, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Gishi follows:]
Prepared Statement of Leroy Gishi, Chief, Division of Transportation,
Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior
Good morning Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall, and members of
the Committee. Thank you for inviting the Department of the Interior
(Department) to provide testimony at this oversight hearing on the
topic of ``Enhancing Tribal Self-Governance and Safety of Indian
Roads.'' My name is LeRoy Gishi, and I am the Chief of the Division of
Transportation for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) at the
Department.
Transportation infrastructure continues to be a critical part of
the well-being of tribal and rural communities. One of the many
barriers to economic development in Native Communities is the lack of
physical infrastructure. The Department and the BIA remain committed to
improving and adequately maintaining transportation systems to provide
increased public safety and economic development opportunities in
Indian communities. Safe roads are important when transporting people
in rural areas to and from schools, to local hospitals, and for
delivering emergency services. I appreciate this opportunity to share
with the Committee some of our accomplishments and also our concerns
for tribal transportation as we work with tribal, local and federal
stakeholders in the implementation of the tribal transportation
program.
Overview
The BIA and the Federal Highway Administration within the
Department of Transportation (FHWA) jointly administer the Tribal
Transportation Program (TTP). The BIA alone oversees the BIA Road
Maintenance Program (RMP) for the maintenance of BIA roads and
transportation facilities.
Tribal Transportation Program
The Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 established the
Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) Program funded within FHWA's Federal-aid
account. Since the establishment of the IRR Program, which is now
called the Tribal Transportation Program (TTP) and subsequent
transportation authorizations, the total Federal construction
authorization for Tribal Transportation has exceeded $10 billion. These
investments have contributed greatly to the improvement of roads and
the replacement or rehabilitation of deficient bridges on or near
tribal lands throughout Indian Country.
We have provided updated information on the National Tribal
Transportation Facility Inventory (NTTFI) in previous testimony before
this Committee. The NTTFI consists of over 156,000 miles of public
roads with multiple owners, including Indian tribes, the BIA, states,
counties and local governments, as well as other Federal agencies. Of
this amount, approximately 10,800 miles are planned or proposed roads
of varying surface types and uses. There remains a great and continuing
need to improve the transportation systems throughout Indian Country.
We believe Congress has viewed this as a joint responsibility including
not only Federal agencies, but also state and local governments with
transportation investments in or near American Indian and Alaska Native
communities. Coordination among all of these stakeholders is required
in order to maximize available resources to address regional
transportation needs. Tribes continue to invest their resources in
transportation projects that are primarily the responsibility of other
public authorities. This creates jobs and contributes to the economy of
local businesses that provide services and materials. Strengthening
existing partnerships will continue to support the local economy and
bring improved infrastructure to communities on or near Indian
reservations and lands. An investment in tribal transportation is truly
an investment in the local economy.
NATIVE Act
During our response to the highway legislation, the Intermodal
Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), we recognized
the importance of our Nation's transportation infrastructure to
recreational travel, tourism and trade, and our ability to compete in
the global marketplace. The work with ISTEA was an opportunity for BIA
and the tribes to participate in the dialog and have a say in the
execution of transportation programs. This participation is crucial to
developing economic growth, as it is closely tied to access to
transportation and related infrastructure. Building on the ISTEA, the
Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act (NATIVE
Act) became law in September 2016. It requires federal agencies with
recreational travel or tourism functions to update their management
plans and tourism initiatives to include Indian tribes, tribal
organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations.
The Department, through the BIA, is recognized along with the
Department of Commerce (Commerce) as a lead in the coordination with
federal agencies. In September 2018, the BIA, Commerce and the American
Indian and Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA) signed an
historic memorandum of understanding outlining the roles of each in the
implementation of the NATIVE Act. Over the last several months, the BIA
and AIANTA have entered into a cooperative agreement to further develop
American Indian Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian tourism. For over 20
years, the BIA has invested resources toward the development of
technical assistance and training for tribal tourism development
through the establishment of the American Indian Tourism Conference in
1999 and AIANTA. AIANTA has become a voice for Indian Country to the
tourism industry and is successfully helping tribal communities to
realize their potential in the global tourism industry. Tribes deserve
the ability to provide visitors with reasonable transportation access
and safety to their rural homelands and to share their history and
culture with the travelling public through transportation enhancements
such as context sensitive design, interpretive signage, informational
kiosks, and scenic byways.
BIA Road Maintenance
Unlike the TTP, which is funded by the Department of Transportation
and jointly administered by BIA and FHWA, the BIA Road Maintenance
Program is funded by the Department of the Interior and overseen by BIA
alone. The BIA Road Maintenance Program has traditionally been
responsible for maintaining only roads designated as BIA-owned. Today,
of the 145,400 miles of existing roads in the NTTFI, the BIA has
responsibility for approximately 29,100 miles of roads designated as
BIA system roads. For FY2018 the BIA distributed approximately $32.6
million in Tribal Priority Allocation (TPA) funding for the
administration and the performance of the road maintenance program.
BIA supports self-determination and the empowerment of tribes by
contracting out a significant portion of the program with tribes.
Approximately 75 percent of tribes with BIA system roads within their
reservation boundaries currently carry out the BIA Road Maintenance
Program through self-determination contracts or self-governance
compacts. Approximately 17,130 miles of the BIA system roads are
unimproved and earth surface roads, and 4,720 roads are gravel
according to the FY 2020 BIA Congressional Budget Justification
released earlier this month. The FY2018 deferred maintenance for BIA
roads was estimated at $392 million.
FAST Act
Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, P.L. 114-94 (FAST
Act), was enacted on December 4, 2015, with retroactive effect to the
beginning of FY2016. The FAST Act continued the new statutory formula
established under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century
Act, P.L. 112-141 (MAP-21) for determining tribal shares and
transportation planning shares for tribal governments. In addition, a
set-aside was established for the replacement and rehabilitation of
deficient tribal bridges and for safety projects for applying tribes.
The statutory funding formula was carried forward in the FAST Act with
authorized amounts starting at $465 M in FY2016 to $505 M in FY2020.
This has allowed more funding to be directed to tribal priorities.
The FAST Act formula has addressed the long standing issue of a
competitive formula, but there are still some implementation issues
regarding the application of certain data to the calculation of tribal
shares. As an example, approximately 11 tribes do not have a recorded
population within the statutorily mandated American Indian and Alaska
Native population within each Indian tribe's American Indian/Alaska
Native Reservation or Statistical Area, as computed under the Native
American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) of
1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.). We believe the rationale for considering
this information was to provide another data element that reflected
relative need due to tribal population of the eligible tribes, not to
limit funding to those tribes who do not have population data. The use
of default minimum or alternate data such as the BIA Labor Force Report
in addition to the NAHASDA based values to make allocations would help
to provide some equality to tribes that are currently disadvantaged by
use of the NAHASDA statistic.
Tribes with zero population, as reported in NAHASDA, do not receive
funding based on population but they do receive some consideration for
funding under the other elements of the formula including total
eligible road mileage as of 2004, and the ratio of the average of the
share percentage from fiscal years 2005 through 2011 as compared to the
amount for all tribes within the particular BIA Region. Tribes that
have recently been federally recognized and any tribes recognized in
the future may receive little or no funding because they do not have a
population recorded in the NAHASDA database nor will they have any
eligible miles recorded in the 2004 inventory or the 2012 inventory
update. Additionally, these tribes do not have a history of funding as
required by the third element of the formula. This combination of data
deficiencies generally results in no funding being made available for
their transportation needs.
The FAST Act also included new provisions at 23 USC 201 (c)(6)(C)
requiring data collection on program performance. Regardless of
contract or agreement type, within 90 days of the end of each fiscal
year all entities carrying out the TTP must submit data identifying the
names, description and status of projects and activities, along with
the number of jobs created and jobs retained as result of the reported
projects and activities.
Conclusion
The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department are committed to
working with this Committee and others in Congress to address the
transportation needs and share successes in Indian Country through our
support for the Tribal Transportation Program, the Road Maintenance
Program, and other Title 23 funding provided for transportation in
Indian Country.
Thank you for the opportunity to present testimony on an issue that
is an important part of the employment, economic infrastructure and
roads safety for tribes. I will be happy to answer any questions you
may have.
The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Gishi.
Now we will turn to Governor Lewis.
STATEMENT OF HON. STEPHEN ROE LEWIS, GOVERNOR, GILA RIVER
INDIAN COMMUNITY
Mr. Lewis. [Greeting in Native language.] Good afternoon,
Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall, Senator McSally and
distinguished members of the Committee.
I am Stephen Roe Lewis, Governor of the Gila River Indian
Community. I want to thank you for the opportunity to testify
today regarding ways to enhance tribal self-governance and
safety on Indian Roads.
Tribal transportation is an important issue across Indian
Country. I have made it a priority in my administration. These
roads carry our tribal citizens, members of our local
community, our school children, our elders, law enforcement and
emergency services, and patrons to our businesses.
The transportation programs at Gila Rive are representative
of what you see across Indian Country. Our reservation is a 583
square mile, rural island, but our southern boundary borders
the Phoenix metropolitan area.
The reservation contains a combination of BIA, tribal,
county, township and State roads. This means our transportation
needs are both rural and urban. Our location requires a great
deal of collaboration, partnership and respect with the State
and local counties.
The community took over Federal functions that were
previously performed by the BIA and the Department of
Transportation through self-governance compacts. Taking over
those functions has allowed the community to build our own
Department of Transportation that has grown to a staff of 45
which oversees the planning, realty and right-of-way,
construction, engineering, road maintenance, and transit
functions on the reservation's 420 miles of roads and 67
bridges.
This arrangement has allowed the community to exercise more
self-governance and more sovereignty over its transportation
priorities and planning but still requires a high level of
coordination with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the
BIA, State and counties.
One of the areas where that cooperation has been critical
has been in addressing the community safety plans. The Gila
River Indian community was the first tribe in Arizona to
prepare a tribal safety plan framework.
To develop this plan, the community conducted workshops and
included other stakeholders such as the Federal Highway
Administration, the Arizona Department of Transportation, the
BIA, the Intertribal Council of Arizona, the Maricopa
Association of Governance, the Arizona Department of Public
Safety, the Indian Health Service and community departments
such as our police department, emergency services and injury
prevention programs.
We have since also conducted a multi-modal pedestrian
safety study. These studies have allowed the community to
prioritize road construction, safety projects, work with
external partners and create a long term plan to address the
safety needs of our tribal citizens and those who use our
roadways.
Another important component of our safety plan is sharing
crash and safety data with the State. Arizona encourages all of
the law enforcement agencies within the State to share data,
including tribal law enforcement. This data sharing allows all
of the governments, tribal, State, and county, to be more
targeted in their funding requests and more strategic in their
law enforcement prevention and educational outreach programs.
While collaboration with State and local governments is
key, adequate funding is also required. Increases are
critically needed in funding directly to tribes for
transportation, safety, transit and road maintenance programs.
The community has 306 BIA roads within the reservation and
receives funding of only $3 million per year for maintenance of
those roads. To put it directly, this is approximately $9,771
per road for maintenance which is wholly inadequate. That is
just for the Gila River Indian Community.
The total deferred maintenance for BIA roads is nearly $300
million and growing because of the poor condition of many of
those roads. Senators, this is a strict government-to-
government relationship priority that needs to be taken care
of. This is also a fundamental responsibility, a trust
responsibility the Federal Government has for all tribes
throughout Indian Country.
The Community also recommends increased attention to tribal
funding for large scale transportation infrastructure projects.
The Community and State have recently reached agreement to work
together to address the improvement needs of the 20 miles of
Interstate 10 that runs through the reservation.
While the State and tribes are working together now, tribes
are dependent on a willing partner in the State for projects of
this size because, with few exceptions, funding goes directly
to States for large scale, multi-jurisdictional projects with
no money left over for critical tribal projects.
The Community recommends grants such as the Build grant
contained in the Fast Act to include a specific allocation for
tribal projects. In 2018, a total of $1.5 billion in Build
grant funding was awarded to 91 projects in 49 States and the
District of Columbia. Out of those awards, only one, only one
went to a tribe. That grant amount was $15 million.
In 2018, 30 percent of Build grants were required to go
towards rural projects. That amount increases to 50 percent in
2019. We recommend, we strongly recommend a certain percentage
of those grants should be designated exclusively for tribal
projects and applications where tribes, States and counties are
working together on large scale projects.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Gila
River Indian Community's transportation program on enhancing
self-governance and safety in tribal communities. This is a
critical need in Indian Country.
I am happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Lewis follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Stephen Roe Lewis, Governor, Gila River
Indian Community
Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall and Members of the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs, I want to thank you for holding this
hearing on ``Enhancing Tribal Self-Governance and Safety on Indian
Roads.'' Safe and adequate transportation infrastructure is not only
critical for members of the Gila River Indian Community (``Community'')
and others who utilize our roadways, but also for economic development
and other governmental functions. We appreciate the Committee holding
this hearing to ensure that tribal transportation needs are considered
in the broader conversations occurring nationally around
reauthorization of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act
(``FAST Act'') and infrastructure development.
Background On Tribal Transportation
The latest long-term surface transportation reauthorization, the
FAST Act, was signed into law on December 4, 2015. This Act provides
$305 billion in funding for surface transportation infrastructure
through fiscal year 2020, when it is set to expire. Specific to tribal
transportation, the FAST Act reauthorized the Tribal Transportation
program and provided for increased funding for that program from $450
million in 2015 to $465 million in 2016 with step increases of $10
million per year, reaching $505 million in fiscal year 2020. The FAST
Act also placed a focus on tribal safety funding and reporting and
allocated specific funding for tribal planning and bridge maintenance.
With this surface transportation reauthorization set to expire in 2020,
there is a renewed focus on how to build on the gains in the last
reauthorization and ensure that tribal governments have the resources
they need to provide safe and efficient transportation for their
members, residents of surrounding communities, and to promote
development both on and off tribal lands.
Gila River Indian Community Transportation Program
The Community's Reservation abuts the southern boundary of the
Phoenix Metropolitan Area, and is located in the first and third most
populated counties in Arizona--Maricopa County (4.3 million), and Pinal
County (430,000). The Community's Reservation is a 583.7 square mile
rural island with the Phoenix-Metro to its north and Phoenix-Metro
exurbs to its south and east. Approximately 15,000 of the Community's
23,000 members live on our Reservation. The Community's proximity to
the sixth largest metropolitan area in the country, combined with a
sizeable land base, require its transportation programs to address
transportation needs associated with both a rural and a metropolitan
area. This location also means that planning for tribal transportation
programs and significant projects must be done in conjunction with the
local municipalities and the state given that a 20 mile stretch of
Interstate 10 crosses the Reservation and five state highway routes are
located on the Reservation.
In 1997, the Community established the Gila River Indian Community
Department of Transportation (GRIC DOT) which has grown to a staff of
45. GRIC DOT oversees the administrative, planning, engineering,
surveying, rights-of-way, construction, operations and maintenance
activities on the Reservation. GRIC DOT is responsible for the
Community's road inventory which consists of approximately 420 miles of
roads and 67 bridges. Of the 420 miles, the majority are Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA) roads (306.7), with the rest tribal, county and
township and state roads.
In 2003, the Community entered into a self-governance compact with
the BIA to take over those functions that the BIA was performing. In
2009, the Community entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department
of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration to take over roads
activities for all BIA and Community-owned roads within the
Reservation, including planning, research, design, engineering,
construction and maintenance of highway, road, bridge, parkway or
transit facility programs or projects located on the Reservation or
which provide access to the Community's Reservation. This agreement
still requires a level of coordination with the BIA, but allows the
Community to determine its own priorities through its five-year
transportation plan, which is approved by Council. In taking over those
programs previously performed by the federal agencies, the Community
has been able to be more strategic and purposeful in its transportation
planning.
Although the majority of the Community's funding comes through the
U.S. Department of Transportation, maintenance of the BIA roads within
the Reservation is still funded through the BIA. The shortfall in
maintenance funding for BIA roads nationwide is well documented with
the current deferred maintenance estimated at nearly $300 million. The
Community also faces a maintenance backlog on the BIA roads within the
Reservation. With approximately 307 BIA roads to maintain and an annual
allocation of $3 million, each mile of BIA road receives approximately
$9,771 for maintenance.
This level of funding is highly inadequate to maintain roads that
are considered in good shape. Unfortunately, the BIA roads on the
Community's Reservation have been neglected for decades. At the wholly
inadequate current funding levels all the Community is able to do is
maintain roads that are in poor shape. It is analogous to putting a
band aid over a pothole and expecting it to create a safe mode of
transportation for tribal and non-tribal citizens who utilize those
roads.
GRIC DOT also operates Gila River Transit which is funded through
tribal funds and Rural Transit Program funds administered by the
Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). The transit staff includes
five full-time employees--one administrator and 4 bus operators and
provides shuttle services in Sacaton which serves District 3 and the
West End which services Districts 6 and 7. Ridership in the transit
program has steadily increased from the first grant year in 2016 with
the Sacaton transit going from 7,800 riders in 2016 to 16,714 in 2018.
The West End ridership increased from 2,277 in 2016 to 8,346 in 2018.
In September of 2018, GRIC DOT received its second two year funding
award from ADOT's rural transit program and receives approximately
$304,000 annual to operate the transit system. Given it takes
approximately two to three years for a transit route to mature, the
ridership numbers for these two routes is impressive.
The Community would like to continue to add more routes to its
transit service, but limited funding directed towards tribal
governments and increased competition for rural transit funds can bring
uncertainty when tribes are investing in much needed transit systems
for their citizens.
Safety
Transportation safety is a critical issue affecting tribal
communities. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of
unintentional death for American Indians and Alaska Natives with
fatalities more than twice that of other races for adults and eight
times higher among infants less than one year of age.
In the FAST Act, 2 percent of the funding allocated for the Tribal
Transportation Program is eligible to be used for tribal safety. The
funds are allocated under a discretionary, competitive grant program
for projects that will address prevention and reduction of
transportation related activities such as motor vehicle crashes. These
grants can also be used to develop and update transportation safety
plans, improve collection of, assessment and analysis of crash data,
and for infrastructure improvements. While this funding is a positive
step forward, the amount remains seriously deficient for the safety
needs in Indian Country. Despite acknowledging that tribal citizens are
the most impacted population by motor vehicle crashes, lack of
available and accessible data is often cited as the reason more funding
is not available.
Therefore, the FAST Act required a report to Congress on Tribal
Governments and Transportation Safety Data with the goal of improving
data collection and sharing among tribes and other jurisdictions to
improve transportation policies, funding and data collection systems.
Some of the major recommendations were to bring increased coordination
and consistency in how data is collected among tribes and federal
entities.
In Arizona, the state encourages all of the law enforcement
agencies within the state to share data, including tribal governments'
law enforcement. The Community has been sharing crash data with the
state and county for the past several years in an effort to ensure that
those incidents that occur on, or near the Reservation are recorded.
This allows the Community to identify those roadways and areas that
require safety features and also offers the opportunity to ensure those
safety projects are not only on the tribal transportation plan, but
also have the data to show why the state should provide resources to
improve safety.
One example of the Community benefiting from sharing safety data
with state and local jurisdictions is the project on State Route 87
which runs through Districts 1, 2, and 4. This route was identified as
needing additional safety infrastructure based on the number of
fatalities that have occurred. Following a study of the safety needs,
and in partnership with ADOT, additional turn lanes were constructed at
15 intersections on State Route 87 and other measures were taken
including new signage, surface treatment, a centerline rumble strip and
new pavement markings.
The continued collection of crash data determined that there are
still three areas in need of additional safety measures--the
intersections of State Route 87 and Gilbert, Sacaton & Olberg roads.
These intersections are located within the Reservation and have been
the site of a number of fatal and incapacitating intersection related
crashes. ADOT has determined that this project is eligible for funding
under the Highway Safety Improvement Program funding. Therefore, three
traffic signals will be place at these three intersections. This type
of project is typical of those that require multi-jurisdictional
cooperation based on state, county, federal, tribal and BIA roads all
running through the Reservation, where the at-risk-site is on the
Reservation, but must be on the State's Transportation Plan in order to
received funding approvals.
Aside from allowing for more targeted funding requests, the
Community's decision to share data with the State also allows for more
targeted law enforcement in those areas that are highest risk and for
more strategic educational outreach to the Community on the effects of
seat belt usage, speeding, drinking and driving, and impaired driving.
Tribal Safety Plan--The Community was the first tribe in Arizona to
prepare a tribal safety plan framework. As of 2013, no tribe in Arizona
had a safety plan which made it difficult for them to collaborate with
ADOT and local municipalities on tribal safety. In conjunction with the
Intertribal Council of Arizona, the Community developed a tribal safety
plan framework that ultimately led to a Tribal Safety Plan approved by
the Community Council.
To develop the Tribal Safety Plan Community workshops were
conducted with other stakeholders including the Federal Highway
Administration, ADOT, BIA, Intertribal Council of Arizona, Maricopa
Association of Governments, Arizona Department of Public Safety, Indian
Health Services, and Community departments such as the police
department, GRIC DOT, emergency services and injury prevention program.
The Community also conducted a Multimodal Pedestrian Safety Study
that evaluated the pedestrian safety needs on the Reservation including
sidewalks/shared use paths, bus stops/turnouts, and other
infrastructure. This study was used to provide data for potential
funding sources and build a comprehensive safety plan for the Community
and included input from external stakeholders such as federal
officials, business, the general public and tribal departments such as
the police department, housing, senior center, school transportation
department, flood control management task force and the youth council.
This study ultimately provided recommendations on issues such as
locations for speed reduction, trails, crosswalks, lighting, sidewalks,
signage, bike lanes and handicap access.
The safety plan made recommendations on responses to, and
prevention of, crashes and locations deemed in need of safety measures,
bicycle and ATV safety, a child safety seat program, seatbelt usage,
and driving under the influence. The plan was approved by the Community
Council in July of 2014.
Together these studies have created a roadmap for safety within the
Community. This has allowed the Community to prioritize road
construction and safety projects, work with external partners, such as
the State and local municipalities, in a more collaborative manner and
identify funding sources to address the safety needs of tribal citizens
and non-tribal users of the Community's transportation infrastructure.
Improvements To Interstate 10
One of the issues facing the Community is working with other
governments on planning and construction of large-scale transportation
projects. In some cases, tribal governments are left out of the
planning of large-scale infrastructure projects. This has been the
Community's experience in the past as well. Recently, however,
transportation planning and coordination between the Community and the
surrounding governments, including the State, has improved
significantly.
Late last year, ADOT reached out to the Community to participate in
a design concept report and environmental study on the addition of
lanes to I-10, along with improvements to existing interchanges. The
study is required for federally funded projects and will have an
accelerated timeline of 18 months. This study will take into account
the strategy needed to improve traffic capacity along the I-10 and to
account for growing needs based on current and future economic
opportunities along the corridor. This is the kind of coordination and
planning with tribal nations that is essential to ensuring major
transportation projects can be completed in a timely and efficient
manner, taking into account the needs of all the affected governments
and communities. The Community believes that this cooperation is to be
encouraged across the country.
As further evidence of the Community's growing collaboration with
its surrounding governments, both ADOT and the Community will seek
funding for the I-10 expansion project that traverses the Community's
lands, including the required new interchanges. When projects of this
size are contemplated, it is imperative that tribal governments, as
equal partners, have access to the same type and level of funding that
state and other governments have. There are few federal funding
agreements that provide direct funding to tribes for projects of this
scope and size. One grant that the Community recommends that Congress
and Appropriators continue to support is the Better Utilizing
Investments to Leverage Development (``BUILD'') program.
The Community is looking into this program as one of the only
feasible grants that can provide sufficient funding for projects such
as the I-10 interchange project. This particular grant is a competitive
grant for surface transportation projects and is open to state, local
and tribal governments for projects like the I-10 that have a
significant local or regional impact. These grants are split between
rural and urban projects, but the Community recommends Congress also
consider having a specific percentage of these grants designated for
projects located on tribal lands. Despite overwhelming need, few tribal
governments have been awarded these grants. In 2018 only one tribe
received direct funding and the other project was a joint application
with the state. For the Community, direct funding would allow us to
begin working on this important interchange project. The State could
also apply which would enable the tribe and state to work as partners
on this regionally important project. I encourage Congress to maintain
this program in the next reauthorization and to ensure that tribes are
able to secure grants in the next phase of the allocation of this grant
programs.
Conclusion
The FAST Act provided positive incremental improvements in the
tribal transportation program. It will be important to take those gains
to crate even more significant programmatic advances in the next
reauthorization. Aside from increasing funding levels for surface
transportation, transit and safety programs, Congress should create
incentives for transportation and infrastructure projects that are
multi-jurisdiction and have significant benefits both on, and off, the
Reservation.
The Chairman. Thank you, Governor Lewis.
Now I will turn to Councilman Garcia.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOE GARCIA, HEAD COUNCILMAN, OHKAY OWINGEH
PUEBLO COUNCIL
Mr. Garcia. First of all, greetings from New Mexico. All
the Pueblo tribes give you greetings.
Thank you, Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall and members
of the Committee for the opportunity to provide testimony on
the importance of surface transportation infrastructure for
Indian Country.
My name is Joe Garcia. I am Head Councilman and former
three-term Governor of Ohkay Owingeh, co-chair of the National
Congress of American Indians, Intertribal Transportation
Association Tribal Transportation Task Force, a former two-term
President of NCAI, and Tribal Co-Chair of the Tribal
Transportation Self-Governance Program Negotiated Rulemaking
Committee.
I look forward to working with the members of this
Committee to ensure that Federal transportation policies honor
the Federal Government's treaty and trust responsibilities to
tribal Nations.
This Committee, more than any other, understands the
Federal Government's sacred obligation to tribal Nations. I ask
you to educate your colleagues and carry forward Indian
Country's message as Congress debates the next Surface
Transportation reauthorization.
There are 573 sovereign tribal Nations with a formal
nation-to-nation relationship with the United States. Tribal
Nations tried to provide the necessary foundations for
supporting the building of strong economies and ensuring the
health and well being of their citizens.
Having safe, well maintained tribal lands, roads, bridges,
and adequate public transportation is vital to this mission.
The stakes are high for Indian Country. Numerous government
reports address the severe under-investment in tribal
infrastructure, the crumbling condition of Indian Country roads
and the lack of sufficient transportation data and crash
statistics.
The findings of these reports are striking. What is most
startling is the toll on human life. According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, motor vehicle crashes are
the leading cause of unintentional injury or death for American
Indians and Alaska Natives under the age of 20.
Additionally, vehicle-related death rates for American
Indians and Alaska Natives ages 20 and older are more than
twice that of non-Hispanic whites and the motor vehicle death
rate for American Indian and Alaska Native infants is eight
times higher than that of non-Hispanic whites. These numbers
are unacceptable.
As Congress debates the future of Federal transportation
policy, it is vital that Congress makes a significant
investment in tribal roads and bridges, expands tribal access
to national programs and provides new resources that will
improve road safety in Indian Country. This starts with
ensuring the continued solvency of the Highway Trust Fund which
funds the Tribal Transportation Program. The Tribal
Transportation Program oversees approximately 161,000 miles of
roads and trails in Indian Country and is essential for safe
and adequate transportation systems for tribal Nations.
Congress must ensure that any solution to the Highway Trust
Fund's insolvency provide adequate and stable funding for
tribal Nations and does not impose undue financial burden on
those living in Indian Country which is largely rural.
Congress should also increase the initial authorization for
the Tribal Transportation Program and include larger step
increases for each fiscal year that follows. Congress should do
the same for the Tribal Transit Program, appropriate more
funding for the BIA Road Maintenance Program and increase
tribal access to other transportation programs by providing
tribal set-asides, waiving matching requirements and tailoring
program requirements to meet the unique needs of Indian
Country.
I also want to highlight a few programs that deserve
congressional attention. The Tribal Technical Assistance
Program is the only program for tribal Nations to build
capacity through training and technical assistance from experts
who oversee and construct highways and roads in tribal
communities.
The Federal Highway Administration recently centralized the
seven TTAP offices into a single office without proper tribal
consultation. This is very troubling and I ask this Committee
to ensure that all future agency actions affecting tribal
Nations include meaningful consultation.
The FAST Act created the Tribal Transportation Self-
Governance Program, which extends the Indian Self-Determination
and Education Assistance Act to the U.S. Department of
Transportation. Tribal Nations and DOT representatives are
engaged in negotiated rulemaking to put this important program
into operation. I am the co-chair of that rulemaking committee.
Though there have been several delays on the Federal side,
the tribal and Federal members of our Joint Negotiated
Rulemaking Committee are aiming to finalize negotiations on a
draft rule over the next several months.
DOT has recognized the need to streamline programs and
requirements under self-governance. We have urged the
Department to understand Congress's expansion of self-
governance to DOT as a directive for DOT to use its authority
to maximize tribal flexibility and decision-making. I ask this
Committee urge DOT to do the same.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify. I would be
happy to answer any questions you may have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Garcia follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Joe Garcia, Head Councilman, Ohkay Owingeh
Pueblo Council
Thank you Chairman Hoeven and Vice-Chairman Udall and members of
the Committee for the opportunity to provide testimony on the
importance of surface transportation infrastructure for Indian Country.
My name is Joe Garcia, and I am Head Councilman and former three term
Governor of Ohkay Owingeh, a co-chair of the National Congress of
American Indians-Intertribal Transportation Association Tribal
Transportation Task Force, a former two term President of NCAI, and
Tribal Co-Chair of the Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Program
Negotiated Rulemaking Committee. I look forward to working with the
members of this Committee and other members of Congress to ensure that
federal transportation policies, including the next surface
transportation reauthorization, honor the federal government's treaty
and trust responsibilities to tribal nations.
Indian Country and Transportation Infrastructure
There are 573 sovereign tribal nations with a formal nation-to-
nation relationship with the United States. Two hundred and twenty-nine
tribal nations are located in Alaska, while 344 are located in 34 other
states. The total land mass under American Indian or Alaska Native
jurisdiction is about 100 million acres, which would make Indian
Country the fourth-largest state geographically in the U.S.
Additionally, there are twelve tribal nations that have a larger land
base than the state of Delaware, and the Navajo Nation alone would be
the 42nd-largest state. According to the 2010 Census, 5.2 million
people identified as American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) alone or in
combination with other races, which would make Indian Country the 22nd
most populous state.
Like all other governments, tribal nations strive to provide the
necessary foundations for supporting the building of strong economies
and ensuring the health and wellbeing of their citizens. To this end,
tribal nations construct, improve, and maintain transportation
infrastructure and facilities that are used by tribal citizens and non-
tribal citizens alike. Having safe, well-maintained tribal roads,
bridges, and adequate public transportation is vital to public safety
and commerce in tribal communities and benefits tribal citizens and
those living in and around Indian Country.
According to the most recent National Tribal Transportation
Facility Inventory (NTTFI), there are approximately 161,000 miles of
roads and trails in Indian Country eligible for federal funding. Of
those, tribal nations own and maintain 13,650 miles of roads and
trails, of which only 1,000 (or 7.3 percent) are paved (the other
12,650 miles are gravel, earth, or primitive). Of the 29,400 miles
owned and maintained by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), 75 percent
are gravel, earth, or primitive. Altogether, the 42,000 miles of roads
in Indian Country are still among the most underdeveloped, unsafe, and
poorly maintained road networks in the nation, even though they are the
primary means of access to American Indian and Alaska Native
communities by Native and non-Native residents and visitors.
Lack of Federal Resources and Data
There is great need for additional surface transportation funding
and data in Indian Country. In December of 2018, the U.S. Commission on
Civil Rights (USCCR) released its report, titled Broken Promises:
Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans, as an update
to its 2003 A Quiet Crisis report. \1\ The Broken Promises report
emphasizes federal underinvestment in transportation and other
infrastructure in Indian Country and discusses how the lack of
investment causes significant safety concerns, interrupts the provision
of tribal government services, and affects the overall health of tribal
economies. \2\ In addition to the chronic underinvestment in the
physical infrastructure of tribal communities, the USCCR goes on to
highlight the ``severe lack of public transportation in Indian
Country.'' \3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Broken Promises: Continued
Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans, https://www.usccr.gov/
pubs/2018/12-20-Broken-Promises.pdf
\2\ Id.
\3\ Id., citing U.S. Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Testimony before the
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, July 12, 2007, https://www.gpo.gov/
fdsys/pkg/CHRG-110shrg37860/html/CHRG-110shrg37860.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additionally, the BIA recently conducted a road maintenance survey
that found that the total dollar value of deferred road maintenance for
surveyed stakeholders is estimated at $498 million. The survey also
found that more funding was the number one priority of stakeholders,
followed by equipment needs. \4\ Data indicated that tribal nations are
using Tribal Transportation Program (TTP) funds that could otherwise be
used for road construction or improvement to backfill unmet road
maintenance needs. The survey estimated that the expenditures for road
maintenance in FY 2017 were more than double the allocated amount of
funding for the BIA Road Maintenance program in FY 2017. \5\ Borrowing
funds from vital programs to backfill underfunded programs results in a
drag on the construction, maintenance, and overall safety of roads
throughout Indian Country.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Tribal/Interior Budget Council, Roads Maintenance Subcommittee
Presentation, November 15, 2018. http://www.ncai.org/TIBC-
Nov201_ROADS_Subcmte_Preso.pdf
\5\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In May 2017, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
conducted a study on tribal transportation data, road management, and
student attendance. GAO found that the NTTFI and Deferred Maintenance
Reporting (DMR) systems contain incomplete and inconsistent road
description and condition data that affect program efficiency and
delivery. As a result, reports and budget submissions that rely on
these datasets ``may not accurately reflect road conditions or
maintenance needs and associated costs.inhibit[ing] the ability of
Congress'' and the appropriate bureaus, offices, and agencies to make
better-informed decisions about priorities and the transportation
system as a whole. \6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ U.S. Government Accountability Office, Tribal Transportation:
Better Data Could Improve Road Management and Inform Indian Student
Attendance Strategies, GAO-17-432, p. 47 (May 22, 2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
GAO also identified the significant practical impacts of poor
tribal road conditions. The report concluded that road conditions on
tribal lands pose challenges ``in connecting people to education,
employment, healthcare, and other essential services,'' which are
magnified during adverse weather due to remoteness and existing road
conditions. \7\ Additionally, GAO concluded that road conditions do
affect student attendance \8\ and rough road conditions can increase
maintenance needs for school vehicles. \9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Id.
\8\ Id.
\9\ U.S. Government Accountability Office, Highlights of GAO-17-
432, https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-423
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The lack of consistent transportation data also extends to crash
statistics in Indian Country that, in turn, affect the ability to make
better-informed decisions and allocate resources to address road
safety. As a requirement of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation
Act (FAST Act), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) produced a
report on safety data collected in Indian Country. The purpose of this
report was to ``improve the collection and sharing of data of crashes
on Indian reservations'' and to ``develop data that Indian tribes can
use to recover damages to tribal property caused by motorists.'' \10\
FHWA's report found that databases at the state and federal level that
drive programmatic decisions are incomplete in tribal areas. \11\ In
its report, FHWA states that ``[i]mproved collection and sharing of
safety data, especially crash reports, in tribal areas would facilitate
more effective transportation safety planning and would afford Tribes
improved access to State and Federal funding opportunities to address
transportation safety problems.'' \12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ Pub. L. 114-94 1117(b)(2)(B).
\11\ Federal Highway Administration, Report to Congress on Tribal
Governments & Transportation Safety Data, p. 20, https://
flh.fhwa.dot.gov/programs/ttp/safety/documents/2016-tribal-governments-
safety-data.pdf
\12\ Id., p. 7.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Road Safety in Indian Country
Road safety remains a top priority for Indian Country and Congress
must provide additional funding and resources to address road safety
and behavioral issues that contribute to high rates of death and injury
in Indian Country. According to FHWA, motor vehicle crashes caused an
average of 655 fatalities each year in tribal areas. \13\ Motor vehicle
crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury death for AI/ANs
under the age of 20. \14\ Additionally, motor vehicle-related death
rates for AI/ANs ages 20 and older are more than twice that of non-
Hispanic whites, and AI/AN infants have a motor vehicle death rate that
is eight times higher than that of non-Hispanic whites. \15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ Federal Highway Administration, Transportation Safety in
Tribal Areas, FHWA-HRT-18-004, Vol. 82 No. 2, https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/
publications/publicroads/18summer/02.cfm
\14\ CDC, Tribal Road Safety: Get the Facts, https://www.cdc.gov/
motorvehiclesafety/native/factsheet.html
\15\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite these startling statistics, there is significant
underfunding for tribal road safety, especially when compared to state
funding. In FY 2018, State Departments of Transportation shared $2.23
billion from the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) (23 U.S.C.
402) under an allocation formula. \16\ By comparison, tribal nations
must compete for discretionary and competitive highway safety grants
under BIA's Indian Highway Safety Program (IHSP), 23 U.S.C. 402 (2
percent of State apportionment); and the Tribal Transportation Program
Safety Program, 23 U.S.C. 202(e) (2 percent set-aside of annual TTP
allocation). In FY 2018, tribal nations competed for $8.89 million in
TTP safety grants and had access to $5.2 million from BIA's Indian
Highway Safety Program (IHSP). Despite motor vehicle fatalities
occurring throughout Indian Country, only a select few tribal nations
receive federal safety funds to address behavioral issues that factor
into roadway accidents, injuries, and fatalities (DUI, seat belt use,
child safety restraints, etc.) and to make highway safety improvements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ Federal Highway Administration, Distribution of Highway Safety
Improvement Program (HSIP) Funds Apportioned for FY 2018, https://
www.fhwa.dot.gov/legsregs/directives/notices/n4510824/n4510824_t12.cfm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tribal Transportation Program
TTP oversees approximately 161,000 miles of roads and trails in
Indian Country, which are owned by the BIA, tribal nations, states, and
counties, in order to provide safe and adequate transportation systems.
These roadways and trails serve as the primary transportation
thoroughfares for residents of and visitors to AI/AN communities, and
funding for TTP is essential to safe and reliable road systems across
Indian Country.
TTP is funded from the Highway Trust Fund and allocated through a
statutory formula. As such, this important source of funding for Indian
Country roads will be greatly impacted by the potential future
insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund. Currently, several pilot projects
are underway to examine alternatives to an increase in the federal fuel
tax. As Congress considers how to address the future insolvency of the
Fund, it must uphold its treaty and trust responsibilities by ensuring
that any solution provides a stable, adequate source of funding for
tribal transportation infrastructure and does not impose undue
financial burdens on those living in Indian Country, which is largely
rural.
The last surface transportation reauthorization, the FAST Act,
authorized TTP funding starting at $465 million in FY 2016 and
increases funding at $10 million per year through FY 2020 with a final
year level of $505 million. In light of the significant unmet need as
evidenced by recent reports, Congress must support and enhance funding
for this program in the next surface transportation reauthorization so
that tribal nations can provide safe and acceptable transportation
systems in Indian Country. Enhancements should include a significant
increase to the overall authorization level for the initial year and
larger step increases for each year that follows.
Tribal Transit Program Funding
The Public Transportation in Indian Reservations Program (Tribal
Transit Program) enables tribal nations to use transit program funding
for capital, operating, planning, and administrative expenses for
public transit projects to meet the needs of public transportation in
rural tribal communities. The Tribal Transit Program is a successful
program for tribal nations to serve the community, including elders,
those with disabilities, and Native youth; however, this program
suffers from the same underinvestment that limits other transportation
programs that benefit Indian Country.
The Tribal Transit Program is authorized by section 5311(j) of the
FAST Act and currently consists of $30 million in formula funding and
$5 million in competitive grant funding. \17\ This program is critical
to meeting the growing needs of tribal communities. Congress must
support and enhance funding for the Tribal Transit Program in the next
surface transportation reauthorization. Enhancements to this program
should include an increase in formula funding levels and adoption of
step increases in funding levels, similar to those found in the FAST
Act for TTP funding. Step increases for the Tribal Transit Program
should be greater than $10 million per year to address the severe
underinvestment in public transit in Indian Country.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ Federal Transit Administration, Public Transportation on
Indian Reservations Program; Tribal Transit Program, https://
www.transit.dot.gov/tribal-transit
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Access to Transportation Program Funding
Several transportation and transit programs that provide funding to
tribal nations consist of a formula funding component and a competitive
grant component, while other funding opportunities are offered solely
through competitive grant models that require tribal nations to compete
against non-tribal applicants. Formula funding methods are generally
preferable as they provide certainty for the planning and financing
required to complete transportation construction, improvement, and
maintenance projects. Competitive grants, on the other hand, are not as
conducive to planning and require labor input and other planning
expenses that may never be recovered even where a tribal applicant
receives grant funding.
Additionally, competitive grant models can fail to address the
unique needs of tribal communities, and their requirements often leave
tribal nations effectively ineligible for programs where Congress
intends tribal nation eligibility. Competitive grants with large dollar
thresholds for project proposals effectively bar many tribal nations
with shovel-ready projects from programs for which they otherwise
appear eligible. Conversely, the complete absence of transportation
infrastructure in certain tribal communities generates much larger
project funding needs. In these circumstances, matching requirements
can prohibit tribal nations from having meaningful access to these
competitive grant opportunities.
To help address the significant transportation needs in Indian
Country, Congress should eliminate matching requirements for tribal
applicants, provide significant tribal set-asides from national surface
transportation programs, and ensure the application and programmatic
requirements account for the unique needs of and circumstances in
Indian Country.
Tribal Technical Assistance Program
The Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP) is the only program
for tribal nations to build capacity through training and technical
assistance from experts who oversee and construct highways and roads in
tribal communities. In Fall 2016, FHWA announced the restructuring of
the TTAP and eliminated the seven TTAPs around the country that served
all 573 federally-recognized tribal nations. In December 2017, the FHWA
announced a two-year pilot program and centralized the TTAP at the
University of Virginia, Center for Transportation Studies (CTS) in
Virginia. The entire restructuring proceeded without proper tribal
consultation, which is very concerning. The program remains an
important resource to improve the technical expertise of tribal
transportation officials. Accordingly, Congress should provide a $5
million increase in TTAP funding.
Bureau of Indian Affairs Road Maintenance Program
Another federal transportation program that is vital to
infrastructure in Indian Country is the BIA Road Maintenance Program,
which is funded and authorized under the Department of the Interior.
The BIA Road Maintenance Program covers the approximately 29,400 miles
of BIA owned roads in Indian Country, including 900 bridges. As part of
a recent survey conducted by the BIA, the deferred maintenance backlog
throughout Indian Country is estimated in excess of $490 million. In FY
2018, Congress appropriated $34.6 million for BIA road maintenance and
this funding level has remained roughly the same for several
consecutive fiscal years, even though maintenance needs continue to
increase. Congress should increase funding levels to at least $50
million in FY 2020 to address the BIA roads maintenance backlog.
Tribal Self-Governance at the Department of Transportation
Over the past two decades, Congress has recognized that tribal
communities have significant and unique transportation needs. Congress
also has recognized that tribal governments are most effective in
determining how to meet those needs. Congress has made additional
federal transportation programs directly available to tribal nations
and has expanded tribal authority and flexibility with respect to the
administration of those programs. Most significantly, in the FAST Act
Congress created the Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Program,
which extends the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act already has proven that
federal funds are used most effectively and efficiently when
administered at the local level by tribal nations themselves. Through
this extension of Self-Governance to the DOT, tribal nations will be
able to obtain all of their transportation funds (including not only
their TTP funds, but also transit, federal-aid, and other DOT funds)
under a single DOT self-governance agreement. Authorizing tribal
nations to use these Self-Governance funding agreements for all their
transportation activities means that the administrative procedures
associated with the various DOT programs will be streamlined, resulting
in a faster project delivery timeline. This means that tribal nations
will be getting safe and reliable transportation infrastructure on the
ground and into operation faster with more cost effectiveness than ever
before.
Tribal nations and DOT representatives are engaged in a negotiated
rulemaking to put this important program into operation. I am the Co-
Chair of that rulemaking committee. Though there have been several
delays on the federal side (including the recent government shutdown),
the tribal and federal members of our joint negotiated rulemaking
committee are aiming to finalize substantive negotiations on a draft
rule over the next several months.
In our most recent meeting, the federal and tribal committee
members have been able to identify their respective goals and intents
with regard to the rule. The Committee aims to review drafts of
substantive language in its next meeting in June. Our shared goal is to
have a draft rule for public comment out by Fall 2019 and that the
Committee will reconvene to review comments and finalize the rule by
this time next year.
DOT has recognized the need to streamline programs and requirements
under Self-Governance, and we have urged the Department to understand
Congress' expansion of Self-Governance to DOT as a directive for DOT to
use its authority to maximize tribal flexibility and decisionmaking. I
ask that this Committee urge DOT to do the same.
Conclusion
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify at this important
oversight hearing. Safe and reliable transportation infrastructure is
vital to the enhancement of tribal economic development and to the
wellbeing of tribal communities and surrounding non-tribal areas. I
look forward to working with this Committee to ensure the next surface
transportation reauthorization bill will improve the lives of tribal
citizens across Indian Country.
The Chairman. Thank you Councilman Garcia. Thanks also for
your military service. We truly appreciate it.
I am going to turn to the Vice Chairman first to start the
questions.
Senator Udall. Thank you, Chairman Hoeven.
Mr. Gishi and Mr. Hess, you are both aware that the GAO
issued a report in 2017 about the potential link between road
conditions and increased student absenteeism on tribal lands. I
worked through the Interior appropriations process to direct
the Department to use $1 million to improve roads used by
Indian students in fiscal year 2018. In the last Congress, I
asked BIA and BIE about this issue but got a response with no
details.
The GAO report also recommended that the Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs coordinate with the Federal
Highway Administration and tribal stakeholders to reexamine the
current data collected, issue clarifying guidance to ensure
consistent reporting and establish a process for timely
corrections to missing or bad data.
Mr. Gishi, how has DOI used the additional $1 million in
fiscal year 2018 appropriations to improve the conditions of
roads and bridges for school buses?
Mr. Gishi. Thank you, Vice Chairman.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs, with the funds provided not
only in 2018 but also a specific earmark in 2017, addressed
specifically the requirements in the conference report and
directed those funds toward those tribes who had identified not
only school bus routes but also were in those categories of
earth roads, unpaved roads.
As I mentioned in our testimony, 75 percent of the road
inventory on the BIA system is in that category of what we call
unimproved earth or gravel roads. As many of you are aware, it
does not take much in terms of weather to change roads in those
conditions as opposed to surfaced, all-weather roads.
That is where our funds went and will continue to go. We
support that in the process of what is in 2019 also.
Senator Udall. Right. Thank you.
Mr. Gishi and Mr. Hess, are your agencies coordinating to
address GAO's eight recommendations from 2017? Mr. Hess, why
don't you start?
Mr. Hess. Thank you, Vice Chairman.
Yes, the Federal Highway Administration works very closely
with BIA and the tribes in reference to the development of the
transportation improvement plans that each tribe has to develop
to receive funds.
We have tribal coordinators for every tribe that the
Federal Highway Administration has entered into agreement with.
We assign them a tribal coordinator. The tribal coordinator
helps the tribe navigate through the programs and the funds
available to that tribe.
We work with them and with the transportation planning
funds to develop a transportation improvement plan. Given the
needs of the tribes, the top priorities we have found are
school bus routes and also safety. I would say almost all
tribes rise to the top of the priority list. Those are the
projects funded through the tribal shares that we provide to
the tribes.
We provide funding through a statutory formula to each of
the 573 nationally-recognized tribes to address these varied
needs.
Senator Udall. Mr. Gishi, would you like to add to that?
Mr. Gishi. Yes, please. Thank you.
We have been working with the Federal Highway
Administration and tribes since the report was released,
specifically looking at the data in the inventory, reexamining
it and have actually been able to work with the Tribal
Transportation Program Coordinating Committee. This Committee
is a regulatory committee established for the purpose of
specifically providing input and recommendations to the
Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Interior.
It is through this process that we have been able to narrow
down the inventory to those areas they feel are necessary and
those they feel may be better off being eliminated. We continue
to work with those tribal entities as well as the tribes
themselves.
Senator Udall. Mr. Chairman, I think I am going to yield to
you since we are close here on the numbers.
The Chairman. That would be your choice if they call the
vote. Do you want to finish your questions in case they call
the vote?
Senator Udall. Sure. Let me move on to safety and school
attendance issues. Because the roads within Indian Country are
unpaved and not regularly maintained, the schools on
reservations have to pay more for school bus maintenance. These
increased maintenance costs are not factored into the
transportation funding formula for BIE schools meaning some
schools have to scramble for resources to keep their buses
running.
Councilman Garcia, you discussed the need for a stable and
adequate source of funding for tribal transportation
infrastructure to ensure Indian families are able to access
health care, employment and educational opportunities for their
children. Many of these families rely on school transportation
to ensure that their children attend school but these children
cannot attend school if there are no school buses available.
Councilman Garcia, do you know how maintenance costs for
your school buses on Ohkay Owingeh compare to those of other
schools?
Mr. Garcia. Senator, I can speak for Ohkay Owingeh and
other pueblos and tribes as well, that the maintenance cost
goes up as the roadways are deteriorated or in bad condition.
For instance, in our small community, we have a BIA tribally-
controlled school so we only have basically one big bus.
When you talk about greater than $8,000 for repairing and
cost of one bus, it adds up when you include the Head Start
facility. Remember that the communities also have other
transportation issues like with the senior citizens. Their
costs are high and they have a van they use as well as the
transit program.
All of these entities are facing some great cost in terms
of expenditures. The biggest one in New Mexico is the
transportation cost for Santa Fe Indian School. They provide
transportation all the way from Ohkay Owingeh to Santo Domingo
and San Felipe. Many of those pueblos continue to have roadways
were you would not want to go if you did not have to go there
or travel on those routes.
I think the transportation costs for the maintenance of the
buses is higher because of those roadways. The numbers continue
to go up. The biggest one I see, a big issue for me, is the
school in Death Valley, California. They transport students 52
miles one way on a dirt road to get those students to a school
facility. That is every day, one way, 52 miles. That is
uncalled for in the United States of America. That is a bad
situation. It is the same way in a lot of rural communities,
Senator.
Senator Udall. Clearly Congress should ensure that school
bus maintenance costs are considered in funding formulas. Thank
you very much for that statement.
I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Mr. Gishi, your written testimony indicated
there are some issues with implementation of the FAST Act.
Specifically, you stated, ``The FAST Act addressed the
longstanding issue of a competitive funding formula but there
are still some implementation issues regarding application of
certain data to the calculation of the tribal share of the
funding.''
What has the tribal response been regarding the calculation
of the tribal share under the FAST Act and the Tribal
Transportation Program?
Mr. Gishi. Thank you, Chairman Hoeven.
There have been some concerns from tribes that use the data
associated with the formula primarily because the data is
associated with a point in time. Many of the tribes felt this
occurred at a time after which they began becoming part of the
process of planning and being a part of the program. They feel
information currently available them as part of their planning
that they normally would prioritize projects by today is not
being considered as part of the formula as it was developed.
Having said that, there are a number of tribes who welcome
the formula because it provides the means to maintain some
uniformity, an ongoing, year-to-year amount of funding made
available for tribal shares for not only their construction
needs but also other areas including the planning.
The Chairman. In the May 17 report to Congress, the
Department of Transportation cited a lack of uniform standards
in reporting crash data within BIA law enforcement. It found
among the 12 BIA regions, each one uses a different crash
report form.
How are you addressing that to have consistency and the
concerns that have been raised by the Department of
Transportation regarding that?
Mr. Gishi. BIA law enforcement is currently working within
their incident management reporting system to try to find a way
of providing uniform reporting at least for the BIA portions
that are identified in the 12 regions.
Keep in mind that the data from State to State also varies
and the methodologies that are there. We are just one area that
needs to have some improvement in crash data reporting.
The Chairman. Are you trying to standardize it?
Mr. Gishi. We are making an effort to try and standardize
that.
The Chairman. Mr. Hess, each year, under the FAST Act, 2
percent of the available Tribal Transportation Program funds
are set aside to address transportation safety issues for
reservation roads. How beneficial has this been and how many of
the tribes are actually being awarded funds?
Mr. Hess. Mr. Chairman, the 2 percent set aside in the
statute sets aside 2 percent of the funds made available to the
Tribal Transportation Program. This is a critical program for
the Federal Highway Administration and the tribes.
We use the 2 percent of funds set aside primarily in two
areas. The first area is for development of tribal
transportation safety plans. We are pleased to report that for
the last several years, any tribe that has requested funds for
development of a tribal transportation safety plan, we have
been able to fund that in full.
Once the plans are developed, the tribes use those plans,
based upon crash data, to develop areas where infrastructure
improvements dealing with safety are needed. Through statute,
Congress has made available to the Federal Highway
Administration almost $10 million this year. Through the FAST
Act, there was about $9 million a year which has gone up to $10
million. Those funds are awarded directly to tribes through
competitive, discretionary grant programs.
We award the funds we receive to the tribes based upon
applications they submit. Those funds are provided directly to
tribes where they design and construct infrastructure safety
improvements to address safety needs on tribal lands.
The Chairman. My next question is for both Governor Lewis
and Councilman Garcia.
I am going to introduce a tribal transportation bill very
soon. The bill would increase the money authorized for the
Bureau of Indian Affairs' Road Maintenance Program from $35
million to $46 million, among other things.
These are some of the things it does. It reinstates the
Tribal Transportation Bridge Program as a standalone program
instead of a 2 percent carve-out of the Tribal Transportation
Program.
It directs the Secretaries of Interior and Transportation
to work with Indian tribes in developing a standard and uniform
crash report form. It directs the BIA to adopt one standard
crash report form to be used by law enforcement officials. It
increases money available for the Tribal Transportation Safety
Fund from 2 percent to 4 percent. Those are some of the
provisions.
I would ask your opinion and whether or not you feel you
could support that legislation? Gentlemen?
Mr. Lewis. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Community would very much look forward to legislation
such as you articulated. We would be happy to work with you on
it as it goes through the Senate.
There are several key issues highlighted in my testimony I
think you have addressed. They are: increased funding for the
BIA Maintenance Program; doubling the percentage of the tribal
transportation safety funding available to tribes; and
reinstating the Tribal Transportation Bridge Program as a
separate program with its own funding source.
The Community has found sharing data with the State in a
consistent manner is helpful to ensure that we have the
information we need to address these areas of safety in our
Community's roads. This would also help with the serious under
count that exists in Indian Country regarding data about
serious injuries and fatalities for our Native people. I would
say that works for the Gila River Indian Community.
I know it may be hard to have a one size fits all approach
on data collection but adding consistency in how and when data
is collected would help us to show the funding and programmatic
safety needs throughout Indian Country which, in turn, could
result in a more targeted, successful policy with positive
results.
The Chairman. Thank you, Governor.
Councilman Garcia?
Mr. Garcia. Thank you for the question.
In terms of data, the way I understand, in a simple man's
mind, is that the funding should follow the needs. The data is
not adequate. The data is not correct. The data is not
validated but comes from different sources. Then you have a
mixture of data that comes to the people making budget and
financial decisions.
Much like you do in business, you had better have good data
if you are going to make a good business decision on how much
funding you are providing. Whether the 2 percent set aside is
enough is important, based on which data and what data you
believe.
I think it is important that all the data sources really
have to be researched. It does not take a whole lot to research
to ensure it is valid data. There has to be a cross corollary.
For instance, Hill River is in the same boat as Ohkay Owingeh
in that we have four different jurisdictions in terms of
crashes and accidents. That is our tribal law enforcement, the
county, Rio Arriba, the State highway patrol and the City of
Espanola police department.
When you investigate the data itself and look at that data,
for one incident, you have four different versions of what
happened and the data that goes into whichever database you
use. If the databases cannot talk to each other, then you are
in a world of hurt. I figure that is what is happening in
Indian Country that there are several databases out there but
which one is the right one, which is the correct one, which one
is used to make financial decisions.
It is an important issue. I think the set aside ought to
reflect the needs of Indian Country overall. It is worse in
some cases where they have even more jurisdictions. I think
Navajo might be one of those cases but some of the more remote
areas in Montana and South or North Dakota, are in that same
boat.
I think it is important. If we can reflect the true needs
in Indian Country relative to safety and transportation for all
members who traverse those roadways, that funding should be
elevated to some level higher than 2 percent.
The Chairman. I thank both of you for your input. I
appreciate it and I think it is very valuable.
Thanks to all the witnesses.
Senator Cortez Masto.
STATEMENT OF HON. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NEVADA
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you all for being here.
I have two letters here pertaining to an issue involving
the Death Valley Shoshone Tribe in Nye County, Nevada. It is
relevant to the hearing today.
The first letter is from the tribe to the Bureau of Land
Management. It is dated February 27, 2017 regarding a land
expansion that is mandated by the Nevada Native Nations Land
Act. This letter is actually a follow up to multiple letters
the tribe had already sent to the BLM.
The tribe has been waiting years now for the Bureau of Land
Management to complete not only a land survey but also to
respond to a request for a self-governance compact. It is very
important and highly relevant to the hearing today. It is also
the subject of a second letter.
I would like to ask the Chair that both letters be
submitted for the record without opposition.
The Chairman. Without objection.
I would have been right on top of that but my outstanding
staff assistant has me doing homework, so I apologize.
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you.
Mr. Hess or Mr. Gishi, are you either of you aware of this
issue in Nevada with this particular tribe?
Mr. Hess. Senator, I am not aware of this specific issue.
Senator Cortez Masto. Can I ask that you take a look at
these letters? Would you get back to me with how we can timely
respond to the tribe with respect to these issues? Would you be
willing to do that?
Mr. Hess. Yes, Senator. The Department of Transportation
would be glad to take a look at those letters. We will get back
to you on that.
Mr. Gishi. Likewise, we will take those back also. Thank
you.
Senator Cortez Masto. Very quickly, I have one final
question for you.
We are talking about infrastructure and our roads. It is
also important to get broadband access to our tribal
communities. I know recently, I think a year ago, Congress
passed legislation directing the various State Departments of
Transportation to lay the groundwork for a dig once.
In other words, as they are laying and paving road, they
are also paving it for broadband and making sure we are
bringing broadband to our communities. I think it is called a
``dig once'' program.
Mr. Hess, I am curious, are you aware of this policy and
program, its implementation and how it is working? Do you know
anything about it?
Mr. Hess. This specific program, not the specific issues
but in terms of the right-of-way program, we have been working
closely with BIA on the right-of-way issues.
Senator Cortez Masto. The goal is to make sure we are only
digging once so when we are working on infrastructure, we are
also looking at how we lay the fiber along with that.
Mr. Hess. Yes.
Senator Cortez Masto. Can you address that because it is
the key to bringing broadband to all of these communities?
Mr. Hess. Yes, Senator, I am aware of those types of
programs. They are available not only to States but also
tribes. That is an emphasis with the States as well as the
tribes that when roads are put in, to put broadband lines in as
well.
Senator Cortez Masto. Is that happening now?
Mr. Hess. To my understanding, yes, it us.
Senator Cortez Masto. If you could give me a report to my
office, that would be helpful. Just send an update on where we
are.
Mr. Hess. Senator, we would be glad to get back with you
and provide more information on the status of that program.
Senator Cortez Masto. I appreciate that. Thank you very
much.
I have no further questions. Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator.
At this time, I will turn to Senator McSally who would also
like to do an introduction.
STATEMENT OF HON. MARTHA McSALLY,
U.S. SENATOR FROM ARIZONA
Senator McSally. Thank you, Chairman Hoeven.
It actually is wonderful to have Governor Lewis of the Gila
River Indian Community from Arizona here today as a witness. I
am really grateful. Governor Lewis, you are such a leader in
Arizona on so many issues. It is a real honor to have you here
testifying today.
As a little about his background, he is an Arizona State
University graduate and the JFK School of Government at
Harvard, of which I am also a graduate. You have leveraged your
education and experience to provide years of dedicated service.
You were elected Governor in 2014. Governor Lewis
previously served as a Lieutenant Governor and in various
leadership positions in gaming, telecommunications and health
care. You also served as a board member of the National Indian
Education Association and were a delegate to the White House
conference on Indian education. As Governor, Governor Lewis has
advocated for protection of the Community's water and promoted
agricultural development vital to the Community's economy.
As we have visited many times recently, your leadership has
played an integral role in the drought contingency plan just
introduced in legislation yesterday. You were absolutely
critical in helping getting that across the finish line in
Arizona.
Your leadership has been noted by many and we are really
grateful for your leadership in that regard. I appreciate
everything you are doing on those issues. You are here today to
talk about transportation.
Governor Lewis, you mentioned in your testimony that more
than 40,000 cars travel on I-10 through your community every
single day. That number is expected to rise. You mentioned the
example of collaboration on I-10 projects being a better
example of how collaboration could happen.
Your community sits at a very strategic and important
location. These transportation issues are going to be vital for
the State and your Community. That collaboration and
consultation is really important.
I know in your written testimony, you spoke about it but
can you elaborate a bit more on this project? It is a major
project, larger than most of the funding opportunities
discussed today but it is absolutely critical. What else can
you share on it?
Mr. Lewis. Thank you.
Senator McSally, thank you as well for your leadership in
championing such an important piece of legislation in the DCP.
Thank you very much.
Regarding the I-10, that is a main artery that not only
cuts through the Gila River Indian Community but also is a main
transportation artery for Arizona. It is critical that the
Community works in collaboration with the State and all of the
transportation entities. Tribes need to be at the table,
especially when it deals with economics and infrastructure
needs.
The strip that goes through the Gila River Indian Community
has an acute safety need as well. A lot of accidents occur. The
tribe's, our own, first responders, our fire departments, our
police, and our EMTs answer those calls many times. In fact, we
are one of the few entities I think throughout Indian Country
acknowledged as an expert in hazardous materials training as
well. You have all types of safety and transportation issues.
The Community, myself, Lieutenant Governor Stone, and our
17-member council are all very encouraged by the recent
discussions with the State and working in a collaborative
manner. I think that positively sets the table as we move
forward in addressing these needs and concerns.
Senator McSally. Thank you. The Gila River Indian Community
is so critical in this project. It is good to hear that
collaboration is there.
If there is anything else we can do to help with
cooperation or collaboration, please let us know. I travel that
road many times back and forth.
I know there have been other examples where you have been
late to be consulted or not consulted at all. This example is
one we could use moving forward. Is that fair to say?
Mr. Lewis. I think the history has been inconsistent in
regard to the proper respect due to a tribal sovereign such as
the Gila River Indian Community. We are trying to work past
that. We are looking toward the future now with all of our
concerns and the needs of all our community members.
There is so much potential in regard to economic
development and transportation issues not only for the
Community but also for Arizona. That is a major traffic
pathway. We want to be at the table, we want to collaborate,
and we want to be a part of the solution for the future.
Senator McSally. Thank you for your continued leadership in
all of these issues. It is really an honor to have you here
today. I look forward to continually partnering with you on
many issues that affect your Community.
Mr. Lewis. Thank you, Senator.
Senator McSally. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Udall. [Presiding.] Senator Tester.
STATEMENT OF HON. JON TESTER,
U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA
Senator Tester. I guess this is a question for Mr. Lewis or
Mr. Garcia.
In my town when I am driving down the State highways and I
hit the line of one of the reservations, in most cases, the
road is not in as good shape as the road I was on once I hit
Indian Country.
Whose responsibility is it for maintenance, upkeep,
resurfacing and I would say plowing snow but you guys do not do
much of that, basic upkeep on the highways, a chip seal or that
kind of stuff? Is that the responsibility of the State, the
BIA, the tribe, or who?
Mr. Garcia. Good afternoon, Senator.
Senator Tester. How are you?
Mr. Garcia. It is good to see you.
Senator Tester. Good to see you.
Mr. Garcia. I just said something about Montana but on
roadways, I think it is the responsibility of leadership. In
New Mexico, for instance, there is a tribal/State collaboration
Act that we put in place I think in 2006 or some time like
that.
The collaborative act is a partnership between the tribes
of New Mexico and the State of New Mexico in terms of all of
the resources available. Transportation is simply one of those
but it includes education, health care and all the rest.
The partnership, I think, is the important piece of it. You
must not count out the Federal Government in this case. That
would be part of what the Bureau of Indian Affairs does but BIA
is also limited in what resources they provide. Sometimes it
cannot just be road maintenance; sometimes it has to be new
roadways that are developed. Tear down the old and create a
better new roadway and do it right so that it lasts a lot
longer.
It is a responsibility of all governments. It is the tribe,
the Federal Government and the State government. If we work
together on it, we can find a solution but the funding has to
come from somewhere.
Senator Tester. I will let you off the hook. Mr. Gishi.
Mr. Lewis. If I can also add, thank you.
At the Gila River Indian Community, we have over 306 roads.
Those are the responsibility of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
We have only gotten $3 million to maintain those roads.
Senator Tester. Do you agree with that, Mr. Gishi?
Mr. Gishi. Yes, it is the responsibility of the Bureau,
particularly if they have BIA roads.
Senator Tester. That is good.
I know we are probably not here talking about the budget
but we will be at some point in time. Is your budget going to
reflect the needs in Indian Country because I have to be honest
with you. I have not been all over the Nation but I have been
in Montana all over several times a year. The roads in Indian
Country are noticeably worse. I will just tell you that.
They are usually narrower, not as wide a shoulder, and
usually rougher. You can go down the list. They need work.
The question is going to be under your purview, are you
going to ask for enough money to help get basic transportation
for economic development done where we have poverty levels
north of 50 percent and sometimes north of 80 percent in Indian
Country?
Mr. Gishi. Addressing the needs as far as transportation in
Indian Country is twofold. Not only does it require significant
effort on the part of road maintenance, referenced here
regarding maintenance of BIA roads, but we also have the larger
part and that is maintaining and constructing roads which are
in ownership of others.
We have approximately 62 percent of the road miles out
there in Indian Country which are the responsibility of other
entities, in this case, county, State, other Federal agencies.
Part of the process is that the tribes are actually
prioritizing those roads.
Senator Tester. Of that twofold, what about your fold? Are
you going to have enough money to do anything?
Mr. Gishi. We do publish on an annual basis the deferred
maintenance report which identifies and assesses the need that
is out there.
Senator Tester. Who does that maintenance report?
Mr. Gishi. The Bureau of Indian Affairs does that deferred
maintenance report. It is part of the criteria that we have on
an annual basis for our performance measures.
Senator Tester. I don't expect you to know this today but
could you get back to me and tell me what the road maintenance
report says about not gravel roads but highways in Indian
Country and Montana?
I would love to know, just as a measuring stick, if they
are in good shape by your road report or in bad shape.
Mr. Gishi. I don't have that information before me but I
can provide that information.
Senator Tester. I know the Ranking Member would love to
have that information also, right?
Senator Udall. Yes.
Senator Tester. I am out of time.
Senator Udall. Go ahead.
Senator Tester. Congress is starting to work on the Surface
Transportation Act and I know you want to give me five
priorities, but I only want one. If you guys had a wish list
and could wave a magic wand, what is your number one priority
in the Surface Transportation Act, I would assume as it applies
to Indian Country?
Mr. Garcia. While it is not a single point answer but
number one, I think the funding level has to be where it is in
the neighborhood of greater than $1 billion for funding. Along
with that is what the FAST Act is all about, that the self-
governance initiative for tribes is the way to go in terms of
allowing the tribes or having the tribes take on that
responsibility so that the funding is available so they meet
the needs of their communities that they can provide the
appropriate solutions for local level.
That is the way it is with all tribes. Self-governance is
what we are working on. There will be solutions. Those are the
one priority.
Senator Tester. Mr. Lewis?
Mr. Lewis. I can be very specific, Senator, for tribes to
be treated the same and have the same access to funding as
States.
Senator Tester. Could you give me an idea of how much below
they are right now per mile? You probably have not run those
numbers.
Mr. Lewis. I put in my earlier testimony that we are funded
just over $9,000 a year per road. That is below adequate for
maintenance and upkeep of the roads, Senator.
Senator Tester. Mr. Gishi.
Mr. Gishi. We continue to support the tribes in areas of
their development. They are doing a lot of the planning. They
are prioritizing the projects. From that standpoint, it is very
clear that there is a very large need out there as indicated by
the tribal testimony today.
Senator Tester. Mr. Hess.
Mr. Hess. Senator, in reference to the reauthorization,
safety is the Department of Transportation's top priority.
Senator Tester. I just think if we got a bunch of different
folds, twofold, threefold, fourfold, whatever it might be, on
this Committee, we are going to deal with the Federal end of
things. We need to make sure the Federal end of things is up to
snuff.
We can advocate for the States and the tribes to be able to
do their fair share too, but folks on this Committee do not
have a lot of say over what goes on in tribal government, and
we should not. It is the same with the States. We have
legislators and governors who take care of that.
However, at this end of things, I think we need to make
sure that the budget meets the needs because if we are going to
deal with issues of jobs in Indian Country, it is not just
about giving tax breaks to corporations to move on it. There is
more important stuff than that like roads, transportation,
schools, housing and good water, all that kind of stuff.
You get that and then you will be able to get businesses
into Indian Country. You will be able to tackle some of these
problems we have with unemployment and poverty which, by the
way, if we ever get to a point we can do that, we will be
saving money because the folks utilizing those programs will
start becoming donators to the coffers that help build those
roads.
Thank you all for being here today.
Senator Udall. Thank you, Senator Tester.
I would join Senator Tester in his inquiry in terms of
saying that we need equality when it comes to Native American
roads. When you hit the reservation and start into the
reservation, you should have the same kind of surface
transportation you do off reservation.
We have to find a way to do it. I expect you all to submit
the budgets and let people know there is not equality here.
I want to ask a question related to climate change,
resiliency and planning. When we discuss surface transportation
needs of Indian Country, we are usually talking about the lack
of basic infrastructure like paved roads and bridges.
We also need to plan for the future. More frequent and
extreme flooding due to climate change is happening in Indian
Country and across the Nation. To that end, the FAST Act
included a provision, Section 1428, that gives authority to the
Secretary of Transportation to encourage the use of durable,
resilient and sustainable materials and practices and other
innovative technologies.
Mr. Hess, how is the DOT utilizing this FAST Act authority
and do you agree it is needed to plan ahead to address the
threats posed by climate change?
Mr. Hess. Mr. Vice Chairman, yes, resiliency is part of our
technical assistance programs at the Department of
Transportation. As I mentioned earlier, we work closely with
the tribes and with BIA to provide, not only funds to the
tribes, but also technical assistance as they develop their
transportation improvement plans.
When requested by a tribe, we work closely with them to
provide innovative technologies to help them update their data,
the design standards they use to ensure they use the most
recent and applicable design standards to address hydraulic
openings on culverts and bridges, as well as other things
caused by what appears to be more frequent rain events than we
have seen in the past.
Senator Udall. Thank you.
Councilman Garcia, I understand the tribal transportation
self-governance negotiated rulemaking process got off to a
rocky start. After Federal mediators were brought in to
facilitate, it sounds like negotiations are now back on track.
I am committed to working with you and others to ensure the
self-governance program at DOT is a success. Would you mind
giving us an update on the progress of the negotiations and do
you believe any legislative changes are necessary prior to the
reauthorization of the FAST Act?
Mr. Garcia. Yes, sir.
First, we were not off to a rocky start. When the FAST Act
team got together in 2016, we were off to a good start. It was
in 2017 when things kind of went by the wayside and we lost a
whole year in 2017.
After 2017, we had a rough time getting started. I think it
was more of a learning experience for many of the Committee
members but that is history now. I think in 2018, the full
Committee decided that engaging facilitators may be a better
approach rather than this coming on the facilitation by co-
chairs and the co-chairs on the Federal side.
The Federal team engaged the facilitators. The first
meeting we had was in December or November. I cannot remember,
it has been so long. The meeting got off to a good start. We
all were encouraged by the results of the first meeting. We
went into 2019 encouraged by the activity in the meeting we
had.
Then came the shutdown and then came the postponement of a
couple of meetings we had planned had there been no shutdown.
Be that as it may, we got fully engaged again just two weeks
ago in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
At that time, the entire Committee was debating where we
start because we kind of left off in November 2018 with a list
of items that we had not talked about together. I think the
number was like 18 items. Up to that point, there was also
discussion about which document do we use to start this new
effort. We were calling it new effort.
We all agreed in two days in Shawnee, Oklahoma. That was
pretty amazing. First, we agreed on which document we were
going to use to start off the new discussion. Then we all
agreed on the items that were left and how we were going to
resolve all of those issues.
By the second day, the entire Committee was so engaged and
the facilitators were running back and forth between the tribal
caucus and the Federal caucus. Then we got to the full
Committee. We all agreed and there was consensus on those 18
items, if my number is right, that were going to proceed.
The other strategy we had developed was we had the drafting
people, representatives and attorneys from the tribal side and
then the Federal attorneys on the DOT side, that they would do
the drafting. The key decisions were made that these items were
in concurrence and let us move forward.
We are hoping that we meet the first deadline for our
proposed rule which is June 6. I am not going to say we are
going to make it or not but I am hoping we will. There is good
indication that even though the rocky road, talking about bad
roads, but talking about rocky road, maybe that is the way it
was supposed to be, we are on a new highway now. That new
highway is a lot smoother than it was a few months ago.
I am encouraged by the activities we all have engaged in.
The full Committee is acting like a negotiated rulemaking
committee, as a full Committee. That is encouraging. I am sure
the tribal representatives feel the same way. I am sure the
Federal side, the DOT people, feels the same way.
If we are on that same road, then we are off to a good end
when we get the rules published. Then we have to wait on the
reauthorization. That is why we hope to see an increase in the
reauthorization of transportation.
Senator Udall. Thank you. That is a very encouraging
report.
Senator Daines, if you are ready to go, please proceed. If
not, I will ask another question.
STATEMENT OF HON. STEVE DAINES,
U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA
Senator Daines. Vice Chairman Udall, thank you for your
patience with today's kind of crazy schedule in the Senate. I
apologize to the witnesses for being in and out today.
Thanks for being here today. I much appreciate it.
I want to talk a moment about traffic safety. It is a
critical issue, especially in my home State. In fact, Montana
and North Dakota are tied for third place in the Country for
the highest motor vehicle-related death rates for Native
Americans, 56 deaths per 100,000 people. Tragically,
nationwide, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of
death for American Indian and Alaska Native children.
There are many factors that contribute to this problem,
including alcohol-impaired driving, low seatbelt use, and low
child safety seat use, but I would like to talk about a
different aspect of road safety. That is the dangers on roads
posed by natural disasters such as flooding.
In fact, over the weekend, I spoke with Crow Chairman A.J.
Not Afraid, Jr. In fact, earlier this week, he was in my office
and we discussed the recent hardships they are facing. In
March, the community of Crow Agency lost its entire supply of
stored drinking water because of frozen pipes breaking. We had
an unusually cold March.
In fact, when I was flying back to Washington on a Monday
morning in March out of the Boozman airport, it was minus 40
degrees. That is not the wind chill; that is ambient
temperature. De icing does not work until you get to minus 25.
We had to wait for it to warm up to minus 25. It has been a
tough February and March in Montana. Understandably, frozen
pipes have broken. To this day, the people still lack access to
clean drinking water on the Crow Reservation in many places.
Then, a fire erupted and burned down the tribal
administrative office building. That oftentimes happens when it
gets really, really cold. You have frozen pipes, you are trying
to take extraordinary measures to keep things warm, possibly
thaw some pipes, and fire risk can increase.
Then, to top it off, frozen pipes and fire, now we are
hitting flooding. Heavy flooding has hit the region, combined
with the cold winter, above normal snow packs, and rapidly
rising temperatures and then we had heavy rain.
Chairman A.J. Not Afraid declared a state of emergency on
March 23. The flooding effect was so bad that at one point,
Interstate 90, one of the key east-west connectors in this
Country which goes from Boston to Seattle running through
Montana, had to be completely shutdown from Hardin, Montana to
Sheridan, Wyoming. It is kind of a sad story today of what is
going on out there in Indian Country.
Mr. Hess, how can the Department of Transportation better
help keep roads safe in Indian Country when natural disasters
strike like the severe flooding that recently hit the Crow
Reservation?
Mr. Hess. Thank you, Senator.
The Department of Transportation works closely with the BIA
and the tribes with reference to disaster funding. Funds are
provided to the Federal Highway Administration. Once we receive
those funds, they are available to tribes through BIA.
Once a tribe is in a disaster situation, a national
declaration is not necessary. The President or the Governor
does not have to declare a declaration. That has been delegated
to the Federal Highway Administration and a transportation
emergency is declared by the division administrator for that
State.
Once a disaster has been declared a transportation
emergency, that would allow the use of emergency relief funds.
Funds specifically for ER for Federal agencies, what we call
the ERFO funds, emergency relief funds for Federal
organizations, are made available to BIA and are distributed to
tribes if they are eligible.
It does have to be a disaster of a larger size. It has to
meet a minimum requirement of $700,000 to be eligible for
disaster assistance through those funds made available to
Federal Highway.
Senator Daines. Thank you, Mr. Hess.
Mr. Gishi, I want to follow up with you. How can the BIA
contribute in this respect? Can you highlight some of the
interagency work you do with other emergency managers in the
Federal Government, for example, FEMA?
Mr. Gishi. Thank you, Senator Daines.
One of the ways the BIA does engage is in working closely
with not only our folks in the field and also the tribes. One
of the first essential things is to assess the needs that are
out there. Regardless of the roads that are out there, it is a
cooperative effort in being able to sit down and meet not only
with the tribe, but also if there are county and State people
involved. The first step is being able to do that and
addressing it.
In some cases, the situation may be something the Bureau of
Indian Affairs can address locally. Other times, it may involve
more coordination and cooperation. That is why the ERFO Program
Mr. Hess mentioned is important because there are mechanisms in
place to specifically address emergency needs, repairs and
reconstruction.
Senator Daines. I have had extensive conversations with
various tribes. In fact, when I was a little boy, the Old
Coyotes lived just down the street from us in Boozman. Mr. Old
Coyote, the father, was one of the Crow Code Talkers in World
War II. I used to walk to school with Rachel Old Coyote back in
the 1960s. These are relationships that extend literally a
couple of generations.
I know sometimes we have conversations with our tribes and
sometimes get bureaucracies that collide instead of
collaborate. That is the help we are looking for, to work
together to most efficiently and effectively provide the help
needed in times of crisis.
I am looking forward to continuing to see more progress in
tribal self-governance and programs within DOT and BIA to
enable that. I want to continue to work hard to promote safety
on the roads in Indian Country and deal with some of these
current crises.
Lastly, I want to point out that bison head up there was a
gift from the Crow Tribe. It is here in this hearing room,
Ranking Member Udall. We are grateful for the generosity of the
Crow Tribe. They have given to this Committee hearing room
literally and I am hoping we can be there to help them move
through this time of need.
Thank you, Ranking Member Udall.
Senator Udall. Thank you, Senator Daines.
Mr. Hess, the FAST Act authorized a program called The
Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects
Program. This program provides funding for nationally
significant projects in or around Federal and tribal lands.
Tribal governments are eligible for the $300 million in
appropriated funding for this program but so are Federal
agencies. My concern with this program is tribal governments
are put in the awkward position of competing for grant
opportunities with other Federal agencies.
How can DOT ensure that Indian tribes can compete for this
funding on equal footing with Federal agencies?
Mr. Hess. Thank you, Senator.
The $325 million in funds was provided for this important
program. The Federal Highway Administration issued a notice of
funding opportunity last October. In reference to that notice
of funding opportunity, we have received applications from 39
different transportation entities with requests totaling $2.7
billion.
The program is obviously much needed out there. The
Department is currently reviewing applications. Once we are
done with our process, we will provide a notice of awards. I am
pleased to say of the 39 applicants, 8 of those applicants were
tribal Nations. We are looking at those applications so tribes
are able to compete.
The nature of the program is for projects greater than $25
million. Smaller tribes would have trouble for this type of
program. There are quite a few tribes out there that are able
to compete for these types of funds and they have submitted
applications for this program.
Senator Udall. Great.
Governor Lewis, do you have thoughts or suggestions on
tribes competing for these funds?
Mr. Lewis. Senator, yes. It is acknowledged that this is a
good program for the need for designated funding for large
grants. Of course, the reality is that tribes compete with all
other agencies for a small pool, $100 million.
We, at the Gila River Indian Community, have a project that
would be upwards of $50 million. You can see that we need
tribes to have the same access that States and other
governmental entities have for meaningful funding. We see this
as a trust responsibility. Access to funding is so critical to
that, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Udall. Thank you.
Councilman Garcia, the Tribal Transportation Program is
primarily funded through the Highway Trust Fund. Revenue
supporting the Highway Trust Fund comes primarily from excise
taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel. Those rates have not been
raised since 1993.
Unfortunately, the spending from the Highway Trust Fund has
far exceeded revenues. We are now looking at a situation where
the Federal Government is forced to transfer funding from the
Treasury to make up the difference or must raise the excise
gasoline taxes.
Given the high need for building and maintaining surface
infrastructure in Indian Country, my guess is that reducing the
spending from the Highway Trust Fund would not be a good
option.
Do you believe Congress must consider raising the fuel tax
in the next FAST Act reauthorization?
Mr. Garcia. Mr. Chairman, to put it mildly, that would mean
the people who need it the most are being asked to pay for the
roadways they travel on. The rest of the Country would not have
to worry about that because they can afford to pay for the
metropolitan areas and rural communities not a big issue but if
you are in a remote area, that means you are having to pay an
extra few cents per gallon to provide for your own funding that
comes back and is not a fair issue.
Taxing, I think, is not the solution. I think there are
other ways to do that but it has to come from the bill itself
and then the appropriations part of it.
Senator Udall. Thank you for that answer. I think it really
highlights how we need to look to our formulas in the future
because we know we now have electric cars on the roads. They
are using the roads but do not contribute obviously because
they are not buying gasoline.
The formula we came up with was a formula that said if you
used the roads and bought gasoline, then you are going to pay
some taxes to help out and that would go into the Highway Trust
Fund. I think we need to look at that formula and take into
consideration rural areas and tribal areas whereas we have
heard the testimony today and questioning from members that
there is not equality. You drive on a road, you get to the line
on the reservation and the road is in much worse shape.
Mr. Garcia. Mr. Chairman?
Senator Udall. Please, go ahead.
Mr. Garcia. I wanted to make a point about Ohkay Owingeh.
Highway 68 runs from New Mexico, Santa Fe, up to Taos. It is in
the thoroughfare on tribal land. There are plans to improve
Highway 68 from Espanola up to Taos.
This is the craziness of transportation. There is a portion
that runs through Ohkay Owingeh, a ten-mile stretch. The State
transportation department can afford to pave six miles of it
but they say they cannot afford to pay for four miles of it.
Unfortunately, the way the roadway is, there is a gap between
where the road repair needs to be done. There is a four-mile
gap right smack in the middle of Ohkay Owingeh's land base, so
they are going to pave from here to here, leave that gap and
then pave from here to there. What kind of sense does that
make?
This is the dilemma many tribes, not just Ohkay Owingeh,
are put in by States and some of them are even Federal
highways, like interstates and what-not. I bring that story
just to make the point that we have to work out better
solutions.
Thank you, Senator.
Senator Udall. That is a very good story to end on. I think
it highlights the whole purpose of the hearing the Chairman
called today.
If there are no more questions for today, members may also
submit follow-up questions for the record. The hearing record
will be open for two weeks.
I want to thank the witnesses for your time and testimony
today.
This hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 4:08 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
Prepared Statement of Hon. Julian Bear Runner, President, Oglala Sioux
Tribe
Introduction
Thank you Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall, and Members of the
Committee for the opportunity to provide testimony on the importance of
roads infrastructure for Indian Country. The improvement and safety of
roads on our Pine Ridge Indian Reservation has consistently been a
priority for our Oglala Sioux Tribe (Tribe or OST)--now more than ever
given the disastrous effects of severe blizzards and historic flooding
that hit our community this March of which we are still feeling the
effects. This statement sets forth details about our Reservation roads
infrastructure needs, including current needs resulting from the recent
winter storm.
Background
Our Reservation covers approximately 3 million acres (roughly the
size of Connecticut) and our Tribe has more than 45,000 enrolled
citizens. Our Tribe is one of 16 sovereign nations in the Great Plains
Region. We are also a part of the Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires,
known as the Great Sioux Nation). Our treaty rights, the United States'
obligations to us, and our unique political relationship with the
United States are set forth in a series of treaties through 1868,
including the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 (11 Stat. 749) and the 1868
Sioux Nation Treaty (15 Stat. 635). These treaties establish the United
States' obligations to our Tribe.
Chronic underfunding of Indian Country programs and treaty
obligations over the years, however, has taken an enormous toll on our
Tribe, citizens, and Reservation. Extreme poverty and high unemployment
plague our Reservation. We have a critical need for community
development. We know we have tremendous untapped potential on our
Reservation given our vast land base, abundant natural resources, and
the strength of our people. Yet, we lack a critical element for
success: adequate infrastructure. A reliable transportation network is
needed to support our Reservation, meet citizens' needs, and facilitate
on-reservation economic development and investment. As a tribal
government, we strive to improve our citizens' lives. But, we cannot
achieve this goal without the necessary infrastructure. A robust roads
system is a key part of this effort.
Investing in infrastructure development is a classic method of
boosting economic growth and creating jobs. We need a surge of roads
infrastructure funding to promote economic development and job creation
on our Reservation. Increased funding is also needed to ensure the
safety of residents and visitors when traveling on our Reservation. The
need is even more pressing today because of the serious flooding we
experienced just weeks ago. The severe flooding and snowfall made roads
impassable and cut off citizens' access to food, water, and medicine.
Our roads, which have always been in poor condition, are now
disastrous.
Roads Infrastructure Needs on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
OST's Road Maintenance maintains 519 miles of Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) roads and bridges yet receives approximately $565,000 in
roads maintenance funding. This pales in comparison to the roads
funding of state and local governments. Per the 22nd Annual Highway
Report, the nationwide average maintenance disbursement per state
controlled mile is $25,996 and the average for South Dakota is $6,458
per state controlled mile. The Tribe, however, receives only $1,113 in
BIA Road Maintenance funding per BIA roadway mile, which includes
maintenance for BIA bridges on the National Bridge Inventory (NBI).
$1,113 is a small fraction of the weighted average that states receive
and only 17.2 percent of what South Dakota receives. \1\ The Tribe,
thus, incurs significant costs in maintaining BIA roadways whose needs
far exceed available federal funding. We also have approximately 1,900
miles of Tribal roads, not built by the BIA, for which we receive no
federal funding for maintenance. \2\ We have almost $60 million in
backlogged road maintenance needs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 22nd Annual Highway Report: The Performance of State Highway
Systems, David T. Hartgen and M. Gregory Fields (Sept. 2016), available
at https://reason.org/wp-content/uploads/files/
22nd_annual_highway_report.pdf.
\2\ We also have a specific road issue: the Allen Road between
Allen and Highway 18. The State receives funding for the road, but it
is not maintaining it. A private citizen has been plowing this road in
an effort to keep it safe for school buses. The Tribe compensates him
what it can for his work because of the critical need to maintain the
road for the buses. This is unacceptable. The Tribe should be provided
adequate funding so that we can maintain this road; we stand ready to
do the work provided we have the funding.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funding is so tight that routine bridge maintenance is not
performed until it reaches a state of emergency. Consequently, our
citizens face unsafe road conditions every time they travel within our
Reservation. This includes every time our children step on a school bus
to go to and from school. This is unacceptable. The BIA simply cannot
address our road and bridge needs with its limited BIA Road Maintenance
account. Our backlog continues to grow while we struggle to address
immediate concerns.
Our Reservation is replete with treacherous and sometimes
impassable roads, especially in winter with snowy and muddy conditions.
Snow and ice removal can consume up to 65 percent of our annual budget
each winter. Snowy and muddy conditions present dangerous conditions
for our residents (including our students) and visitors, impact our
children's school attendance, and increase our school bus maintenance
costs because of the extreme wear and tear caused by our precarious
road conditions. \3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ GAO conducted a site visit at Pine Ridge to assess road
conditions and their impact on student attendance and transportation.
GAO found that excessive mud and snow conditions sometimes made roads
impassable for students and that, further, some roads lack basic safety
features such as guardrails that put students' physical safety at risk.
See GAO-17-423, ``Tribal Transportation: Better Data Could Improve Road
Management and Inform Indian Student Attendance Strategies'' (May
2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roads are critical to connecting families, strengthening
communities, and furthering economic development. We need the United
States to partner with us to focus on developing a roads system on Pine
Ridge that facilitates on-Reservation commerce and ease of
transportation. Our citizens need safe and maneuverable roadways to get
to work, school, medical appointments, their families, and stores.
Potholes, mud-and snow-laden roads, and an inconvenient road system
result in inordinate costs (in gas, car damage, and time) for our
citizens and those doing business on our lands.
Emergency Support Needed for Roads Following Severe Winter Storm
Our Tribe suffered destructive flooding after a recent winter storm
tore across our Reservation. We are still struggling to stem the flow
of public safety and housing crises resulting from this disaster. Many
citizens, for example, have been displaced from their homes by
floodwaters, exacerbating the shortage of adequate housing that already
existed on Pine Ridge before the storm.
One indisputable fact is that the storm and subsequent flooding has
wreaked havoc on our already poor-conditioned roads. The OST Roads
Department has almost depleted its FY 2019 Roads Maintenance funding
allocation in responding to the storm and its aftermath. We need
emergency funding immediately so that we can complete road repairs to
make our roads passable again, this includes funding for immediate
hires for roads maintenance crews so we can get the work done quickly
and efficiently.
It is difficult to convey the severity of the storm and the scope
of our roads funding needs through words alone. So that you can see
some of the deplorable conditions of our roads post-storm, we are
attaching a PowerPoint entitled, ``Oglala Sioux Tribe Cyclone Bomb
Blizzard.'' We have also attached New York Times and Washington Post
articles on the flood and its aftermath. \4\ We ask this Committee to
support our efforts to receive emergency funding for our immediate
needs. *
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ The articles can also be accessed via these links: https://
www.nytimes.com/2019/03/24/us/midwest-flooding-pine-ridge.html and
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/impoverished-pine-ridge-
reservation-braces-for-more-flooding/2019/04/09/a466ed62-5b04-11e9-
98d4-844088d135f2_story.html?utm_term=.07acb35d93d9
* The information referred to has been retained in the Committee
files.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pave the Way to Safety and Prosperity with Increased and Targeted Roads
Funding
Dire circumstances require bold solutions. One bold solution is a
drastic increase in the BIA Road Maintenance account so that Tribes,
such as ours, can receive a funding amount that is actually viable to
get the much needed maintenance work done adequately. Another bold
solution is to create a new roads maintenance account that targets
backlogged road and bridge projects by taking mile inventory,
remoteness, and weather conditions into consideration. An influx of
funding for road construction, maintenance, and equipment would
increase public safety, facilitate economic development, decrease
Tribal costs, and alleviate the hardships our members currently endure.
We, therefore, urge Congress to provide increased and targeted
roads funding to address these concerns. Specifically, we respectfully
request that Congress allocate $60 million to cover our backlogged
roads maintenance needs and increase the overall BIA Roads Maintenance
Account to begin to address the pressing needs of tribal communities
across the country. We also urge Congress to provide an initial amount
of $15 million to establish a BIA roads improvement program for
targeted projects that take into account a tribe's geographic size,
location (and associated weather factors), and mile inventory.
Further, to diversify the federal toolbox of programs and funding
sources targeting roads infrastructure, we urge Congress to re-
establish and fund the Tribal High Priority Project Program within the
Department of Transportation and create a Tribal Set-Aside from the
Highway Safety Implementation Program. Both of these programs would
offer tribes access to critical resources and funding for implementing
tribal roads projects.
Priorities for Tackling Roads Issues in the Great Plains
Please see the attached document entitled, ``Land Based Tribes
Coalition for Maintaining and Improving BIA and Tribal Roadways.'' This
is an informative document that lays out seven priority solutions for
addressing the severe tribal transportation needs in the Great Plains.
We ask this Committee, and Congress overall, to take all necessary
steps to implement these priorities. *
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The information referred to has been retained in the Committee
files.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conclusion.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide written testimony on this
critical topic. We look to you to fulfill the treaty obligations of the
United States to the Oglala Sioux Tribe, in part, by providing the
necessary support to build a strong Tribal infrastructure. The
Committee's hearing on this important topic is a good step in that
direction. We look forward to working with Committee Members and staff
toward repairing, improving, and maintaining our roads in a manner that
is safe and facilitates much-needed infrastructure, community and
economic development on our Reservation.
______
Duckwater Shoshone Tribe
Duckwater, NV, March 29,2019
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto,
Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Cortez Masto,
We understand that on Wednesday, April3, the Senate Indian Affairs
Committee will be holding a hearing on enhancing tribal self-governance
and safety of Indian roads. We would appreciate it if you could include
this correspondence as part of the hearing record.
Our reservation is located in northern Nye County, east-central
Nevada. In 2016, by federal statute (Public Law 114-232, the Nevada
Native Nations Land Act'') the Congress expanded our reservation by
over 31 ,229 acres. Pursuant to this law, a federal survey of the
boundary lines was to be completed within 6 months of enactment, April,
2017. The federal government has missed this deadline by almost two
years already.
To proceed with this land expansion, we have asked the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) to complete a survey of the land. Despite
repeated requests, the BLM has not completed this survey. Moreover, for
the past several years, our Tribe has been seeking a self-governance
contract with the BLM but the agency has not been responsive. We are
asking for your support to ensure that the BLM responds to our request
for a self-governance compact. This is important regarding road safety
because the current primary road running through the reservation will
also be passing through the expanded reservation area.
The Tribe is currently relying on 24 miles of unpaved and unsafe
road (State Route 379) to reach distant communities where our members
work, attend school, and visit family. Numerous accidents and
fatalities have occurred over the years. There is no safe place to
change a tire, which occurs often. When we encounter semi-trucks, we
are forced to wait because the road is too narrow in most places.
Due to our remote location, this is an urgent issue because the
limited access to our reservation through a poorly maintained and
unpaved dirt road hampers our economic development. The most recent
estimate for paving this dirt road from Duckwater, Nevada to Eureka,
Nevada is approximately $31.6 million.
Our Tribe's commitment to transportation safety is consistent with
Nevada's ``Zero Fatalities, Drive Safe Nevada'' program aimed at
reducing the risk of death and serious injuries that result from
incidents within unsafe transportation systems such as our primary
road, State Route 379. It is important for both the federal and state
governments to partner with us to address this critical road safety
problem.
For your easy reference we have attached a map outlining the road
improvements proposed as well as our most recent application to the
appropriate federal and state agencies.
We need the support of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.
S. Department of Transportation and the Congress to ensure that safety
improvements are made expeditiously.
Thank you for our consideration of your request.
Sincerely,
Rodney Mike; Chairman
______
Duckwater Shoshone Tribe
Duckwater, NV, February 27, 2017
Michael J. Herder; District Manager,
Bureau of Land Management,
Ely District Office,
Ely, NV.
Dear Mr. Herder:
As we informed you in our correspondence dated July 25, 2016, in
addition to the broad inherent sovereign authority of the Duckwater
Shoshone Tribe, and the reserved rights of the Tribe contained in the
1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley, the Indian Self-Determination Education and
Assistance Act (ISDEAA), codified at 25 U.S.C. Section 450, et seq.,
provides specific legal authority to the Tribe to propose to the BLM
that the Tribe compact for programs currently carried out by the BLM.
Enclosed is the Tribe's proposed Self-Governance Compact, Self-
Governance Funding Agreement, and Self-Governance Three-year budget
from 2017. Also enclosed, you will find estimates that support the
documentation, together with photographs taken at the proposed area for
repair and/or replace.
With regard to our previous correspondences dated back to November
4, 2016, we have not heard from your office. We also submitted an MOU
(Memorandum of Understanding) with regard to those items discussed at
our first meeting on October 17, 2016. We look forward to hearing a
favorable response with regard to our submissions, soon. Also attached
is our Tribal Resolution, for your records. *
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The information referred to has been retained in the Committee
files.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Rodney Mike; Chairman
[all]
| MEMBERNAME | BIOGUIDEID | GPOID | CHAMBER | PARTY | ROLE | STATE | CONGRESS | AUTHORITYID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moran, Jerry | M000934 | 8307 | S | R | COMMMEMBER | KS | 116 | 1507 |
| Udall, Tom | U000039 | 8260 | S | D | COMMMEMBER | NM | 116 | 1567 |
| Murkowski, Lisa | M001153 | 8234 | S | R | COMMMEMBER | AK | 116 | 1694 |
| Cantwell, Maria | C000127 | 8288 | S | D | COMMMEMBER | WA | 116 | 172 |
| Tester, Jon | T000464 | 8258 | S | D | COMMMEMBER | MT | 116 | 1829 |
| Barrasso, John | B001261 | 8300 | S | R | COMMMEMBER | WY | 116 | 1881 |
| Lankford, James | L000575 | 8113 | S | R | COMMMEMBER | OK | 116 | 2050 |
| Hoeven, John | H001061 | 8331 | S | R | COMMMEMBER | ND | 116 | 2079 |
| Daines, Steve | D000618 | S | R | COMMMEMBER | MT | 116 | 2138 | |
| Schatz, Brian | S001194 | S | D | COMMMEMBER | HI | 116 | 2173 | |
| McSally, Martha | M001197 | S | R | COMMMEMBER | AZ | 116 | 2225 | |
| Cortez Masto, Catherine | C001113 | S | D | COMMMEMBER | NV | 116 | 2299 | |
| Smith, Tina | S001203 | S | D | COMMMEMBER | MN | 116 | 2365 |
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