2023 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill authorizes funding for most programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including nutrition programs for low-income families (also known as “SNAP”), rural development programs, forestry, crop insurance, commodities, and many others. The Farm Bill comes before Congress every five years. However, the current 2018 Farm Bill expired on September 30, 2023. Indian Country has been actively engaging in the 2023 reauthorization through the Native Farm Bill Coalition and Congressional allies in both chambers. It remains unclear whether Congress will pass a short-term extension to continue these programs for FY’24 or try to pass a new Farm Bill before the end of the First Session of the 118 th Congress. 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. Another must-pass bill is the annual defense authorization bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”). The NDAA authorizes annual funding levels for the U.S. military and set defense policies for the coming year. The House and Senate have passed two widely different bills and are engaging in conference negotiations to reach agreement on a bill that can pass both chambers. In recent years, Congress has included non- defense policy measures on the annual NDAA. In July of 2024, the Senate Armed Services Committee added a provision to reauthorize and update the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (“NAHASDA”). NAHASDA expired in 2013, and all of Indian Country is working to ensure that Senate NAHASDA provision is included in the final FY’24 NDAA package that will pass Congress in December of 2023. Indian Country Priorities . Limit Impacts of Castro-Huerta . Tribes nationwide continue to debate how to address the fallout from the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Castro-Huerta v. Oklahoma , which held that state governments have concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed by non-Indians against Native victims on Indian lands. The decision upended long-standing precedent that a state only has the power to exercise authority on Indian lands pursuant to an express act of Congress or the consent of the Tribe. Indian Country is working in Congress and with the Biden Administration to blunt the impacts of this decision on tribal sovereignty, including potential down-the-road impacts on Tribal Government taxing authority, civil and regulatory jurisdiction over non-Indians, and related impacts on Tribal government economies. Tribal Tax Provisions. Indian Country will continue to press Congress to enact key reforms to the U.S. Tax Code to respect the governmental status of Indian Tribes for purposes of issuing tax- exempt bonds and acknowledge direct Tribal Government access to the Low-Income Housing and New Markets tax credit programs, respect tribal court rulings for the purpose of the federal Child Adoption tax credit, provide parity to the tax and pension treatment of Tribal police officers and other key Tribal Government officials, among other long-standing needs. IHS and BIA Advanced Appropriations. Indian Country achieved a historic victory in securing advance appropriations for Indian healthcare as part of the FY’23 Omnibus Appropriations Act. Advanced appropriations will limit the impacts of government shutdowns on Tribal health programs. However, this achievement fell short of permanent advance appropriations funding. As a result, Tribes nationwide are working to make permanent advance appropriations for Indian healthcare programs, as well as extended advanced appropriations to critical education, public safety, and social services programs. Companion bills, H.R. 4832 and S. 2424, to accomplish this goal were introduced by Rep. McCollum (D-MN) with Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) in the House and Senator Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) with Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) in the Senate.
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