A bill to ensure progress toward the fulfillment by the Federal Government of its trust and treaty obligations to Native Americans and Tribal governments, and for other purposes.
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Committee
Latest Action · December 19, 2024
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
# Summary of S. 5636: Honoring Promises to Native Nations Act
This comprehensive legislation seeks to honor the federal government's trust and treaty obligations to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians by providing mandatory funding and systemic reforms across criminal justice, healthcare, education, housing, and economic development. The bill appropriates billions in new funding over multiple years while establishing new federal positions and offices dedicated to Native affairs, including a Deputy Secretary for Native Nations at the Department of Interior and an Office of Native Nations within the Office of Management and Budget.
The bill includes immediate funding allocations for fiscal year 2025 and beyond, with automatic inflation adjustments: $53.8 billion for Indian Health Service operations, $950 million for Bureau-funded schools, $300 million for Tribal Colleges and Universities, and $2.5 billion annually for Indian housing programs. It also authorizes $25 million annually for tribal criminal justice systems and restores full tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians committing crimes on tribal lands, subject to defendant protections. Additionally, the legislation dedicates $1 billion annually to a new Tribal Broadband Fund and provides substantial funding for broadband deployment, spectrum sovereignty programs, and economic development initiatives on tribal lands, with implementation timelines extending through the 2030s.
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