support tribal government programs and services such as education, health care, police and fire protection, water, sewer, and sanitation, child and elder care, language, cultural centers to Reservation residents. We are struggling with lost revenue, unemployment, the economic crisis and the public health emergency. In the circumstances, we call upon Congress to enact the 4 th COVID-19 Relief Package to shore up the economy, provide support for Coronavirus testing/tracking, basic health care, education, housing, highway, unemployment benefits, and in particular, we support: o State-Local-Tribal Coronavirus Relief Funding , including the $20 Billion Tribal Government Set-Aside to address Lost Revenue, Economic Hardship, Emergency Expenditures and Other Purposes; o Lost Revenue must be addressed because Indian nations and tribes are working pursuant to Federal standards to address the National Emergency, and our loss of revenue for essential government services; o Economic Hardship must be addressed because Indian nations and tribes are are devastated economically by the complete closure of our economies; o Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act, which recognizes Indian nations as Tribal Governments based upon our “inherent sovereignty” must be used to honor our government-to-government relationship with the United States; o Enrolled Tribal Members are referred to by the Constitution as “Indians not taxed,” owing original political allegiance to our Indian nations as tribal citizens; our sovereign political status—not a racial group of Native Americans—is embodied in our tribal citizens, whose numbers should be used to define our tribal populations for Federal relationships and Federal funding; o Extension of the SBA Paycheck Protection Program , and we request a Tribal Government Set-Aside because small tribal gaming was left out of the initial package through bureaucratic red-tape; this can be achieved through Native CDFIs, banks and financial institutions; and o Indian treaty rule of construction : treaties and statutes must be construed for the benefit of Indian tribes, and any ambiguity should be resolved in favor of Indian tribes. See 25 U.S.C. sec. 139E note; Public Law 113-168 (2014). This rule should apply to all of the CARES Act legislation. As we slowly and responsibly consider easing Tribal Government shelter-in-place policies, Indian tribes need the critical resources that the HEROES Act will provide to ensure the health and general care of our citizens and the viability of our tribal government-owned enterprises. We appreciate your leadership in development of the HEROES Act, and again, we fully support its passage. Working together, America will emerge from this pandemic with strength and fortitude to face the many challenges that lie ahead. Sincerely, [Tribal Leader]
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