2022 with expansions, grand openings, and groundbreakings planning throughout Indian Country. From a federal policy perspective, in 2021, we continued to build on our work with Congress. In the past year, thanks to our outreach, Congress delivered historic levels of investments to Native Nations through the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, and the recently passed FY’23 (Omnibus) Funding bill. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) truly kickstarted the health and economic recovery for Indian Country. The Act provided $20 billion in Fiscal Recovery Funds directly to Tribal Governments. The Plan provided significant resources to the Indian health care system, Tribal housing, education, and other critical services. Possibly the most important provisions from the ARP were the Administration’s work with Tribal leaders to deliver vital vaccines directly to Indian Country’s health care providers. The Infrastructure Act is delivering an additional $13 billion to help Native Nations rebuild our roads, water systems, broadband, cybersecurity, and more. The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the infrastructure shortfalls throughout Indian Country. Overcrowded homes, substandard health systems, and broken water systems all contributed to spreading the virus in Native communities. As schools closed, the lack of broadband made it impossible for many students to engage in remote learning. And finally, just last month, Congress enacted the annual spending bill that again increased funding for Tribal Government programs at the Indian Health Service, BIA, BIE, and other critical programs that deliver services to Native communities. One si gnificant policy provision included in the Omnibus was the long-awaited reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which builds on the 2013 VAWA Reauthorization – reaffirming Tribal jurisdiction over crimes committed by non-Indians against Native children, assaults on Tribal justice personnel, and a broader range of crimes against Native women. The strong bipartisan support for the VAWA Reauthorization will go far in addressing the tragic crisis of missing and murdered Native women. At the same time, 2021 brought challenges and opportunities that our industry will continue to face this year. As we slowly reopened to gather and grow our industry, we did so in the face of incoming COVID variants. While we can hope that new variants will be limited, Tribal leaders continue to work with health officials, regulators, and operators to prepare for every potential scenario. Additional challenges that have stemmed from the pandemic are concerns with recruiting and retaining key employees in certain regions. Indian gaming operators have historically offered some of the best paying jobs in their regions – often providing full health and related fringe benefits. However, the pandemic disrupted employment nationwide. Many employees who were forced to leave during the early months of this crisis have not returned or have found new careers. This challenge is not unique to
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