INFRASTRUCTURE REVITALIZATION MUST INCLUDE INDIAN COUNTRY
Background. The Covid-19 Pandemic has exacerbated the longest standing barrier to economic development in Indian Country: the lack of infrastructure. While self-determination has helped tribes begin to attain economic self-sufficiency, without working infrastructure, businesses will continue to avoid investing on Indian lands and tribal economies will continue to lag behind the rest of America. Indian Country’s infrastructure backlog is estimated to stand at more than $50 billion, covering the entire range of basic structures and systems. For example, 40 percent of on-reservation housing is substandard, compared to six percent outside of Indian Country. There is a multi- billion dollar backlog in Indian school construction. More than 80 percent of the 40,000 miles of reservation roads are unpaved. In far too many Native communities the water systems, municipal buildings, and telecommunication systems, including broadband and access to and control of spectrum over Indian lands, are either non-existent or in severe disrepair. This lack of basic infrastructure deters outside investment, leads to the loss of critical business opportunities and economic development projects, handcuffs Native entrepreneurs, and generally leaves much of Indian Country behind as the national economy grows out of the Recession. Include Indian Country in National Infrastructure Revitalization. As Congress and the Administration consider the HEROES ACT legislation, Indian Country must work to include legislative proposals to revitalize our Nation’s infrastructure, it is critical that such proposals include direct federal funding to address the significant unmet infrastructure needs of Indian Country. Investing in Indian Country infrastructure will repair unsafe reservation roads for school children and public safety officials, spur short-term job growth through construction, foster long-term economic development by opening doors for Native entrepreneurs, and stabilize and diversify tribal economies for generations to come. These direct federal investments in Indian Country infrastructure should be coupled with innovative financing mechanisms to establish and strengthen tribal government-private sector partnerships and access to capital. The U.S. Tax Code provides broad tools to state and local governments to spur investment in infrastructure projects. The $1.5 trillion Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 failed to include any tax reforms for Indian Country, including the long-standing need to provide tribes with direct access to critical tools for economic development that are offered to state, local, and territorial governments—such as federal tax credits, preferred bonds, and other provisions that provide governmental entities with access to capital. Infrastructure revitalization provides Congress with a new opportunity to reform the Tax Code to extend tax incentives to tribal governments, better enabling them to address long-standing infrastructure needs. Indian Country holds significant untapped economic potential, job growth, and small business development that could be unlocked with investments in Indian Country infrastructure—which can be built, in part, with targeted tax reform measures. Potential capital improvement proposals include: developing an investment bank to pool direct funding with private investment incentives to meet tribal infrastructure needs;
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs