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The Alaska Tribal Transportation Work Group (ATTWG) Announces the The 2020 Annual Alaska Tribal Transportation Symposium Is Cancelled. Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) we are observing an abundance of caution and ATTWG decided to cancel this Symposium. Those who paid Registration for the Symposium through Eventbrite will be refunded if requested Please monitor our website for more information on our rescheduled 18th Annual Alaska Tribal Transportation Symposium We will continue monitoring how the virus outbreak evolves as we move forward. Please exercise safety. Some of the Center For Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention recommendations include; Washing your hands in warm soapy water for at least 20-seconds, use hand sanitizer that has at least 60% alcohol, avoid touching your face with unwashed hands, where a mask and avoid close contact with people who are sick. ATTWG recognizes safety is priority and encourages everyone to follow CDC guidelines. For Frequently Asked Questions about the Coronavirus please go to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) link; https://www.transit.dot.gov/coronavirus and click on the first bulleted item; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is updated as needed. -------------------------------------------------------------
RURAL TRANSIT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (RTAP) Upcoming Rural Transit Manager Peer Roundtable Please join National RTAP staff and Review Board members for a Transit Manager Peer Roundtable on October 8, 2020, from 2:00-3:00 PM ET for an opportunity to convene with your peers and discuss issues affecting your job, your agency, and your community. Topics may include transportation to voting, farebox revenue, and remote work. Register for the Peer Roundtable. --------------------------------------------------------- The NCAI Policy Research Center is a Census Information Center. For information on the 2020 Census and how you can help get out the count to ensure all of Indian Country is counted, go to: http://indiancountrycounts.org What are Census Information Centers? The U.S. Census Bureau created the Census Information Centers as partnerships with up to 55 non-profit organizations that focus on working with underserved communities historically less likely to participate in the U.S. Census and associated surveys. Census Information Centers include national and community-based organizations such as national non-governmental organizations, minority colleges and universities, minority chambers of commerce, civil rights and social justice organizations, organizations serving children, the aging and rural populations, and tribal governments. The Census Information Centers work to promote and provide timely access to Census data and Census Bureau data products. They are recognized as official sources of demographic, economic, and social statistics produced by the U.S. Census Bureau and provide training and technical assistance to interested data users. NCAI Policy Research Center as a Census Information Center The NCAI Policy Research Center was first designated a Census Information Center (CIC) in 2006. As a Census Information Center, the NCAI Policy Research Center provides tribal leaders with easy to understand data analyses, technical assistance, information briefs, and access to Census information and data products that can be used for research, planning, and decision-making purposes. The vision of the Census Information Center program is to facilitate community empowerment through sustainable data access, analysis, and education. Current Work The NCAI Policy Research Center Census Information Center currently serves on the National Census Information Center Steering Committee and works to further the data needs of Indian Country. The NCAI Policy Research Center collaborates with the NCAI civic engagement team as they work with tribal nations and communities to help get out the count for the 2020 Census. The NCAI Policy Research Center is anticipating the release of the 2020 Census data in 2021 and will help disseminate data products and updates. The NCAI Policy Research Center has been working with the U.S. Census Bureau, NCAI policy staff, and a team of demographers, statisticians, and census data users to address concerns over the U.S. Census Bureau's plans to use a new statistical method called Differential Privacy to protect confidentiality of individual data in the upcoming 2020 Decennial Census dataset. The impact on small, rural, and remote populations could be significant. For more information this work, visit our Research Recommendations webpage at: bit.ly/2QL2q7F. Tribal nations are encouraged to send their input on this issue to the U.S. Census Bureau. For information on the 2020 Census and how you can help get out the count to ensure all of Indian Country is counted, go to: http://indiancountrycounts.org |
The FAST Act passed in December, 2015. This 5-year surface transportation authorization also includes Tribal Transit. The FAST Act is in affect through 2020.
NOTICE:
From the Self-Governance Communication & Education Tribal Consortium House Passes Bill to Enhance Tribal Self-Governance; Legislation Moves to President’s Desk On September 21st, the U.S. House of Representatives passed S. 209, The Practical Reforms and Other Goals to Reinforce the Effectiveness of Self-Governance and Self-Determination for Indian Tribes Act, or PROGRESS for Indian Tribes Act. The bill contains comprehensive amendments to Title IV of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA), which will enhance Tribes’ ability to administer programs and activities within the Department of the Interior (DOI). Last year the Senate passed an identical bill, so S. 209 now moves to President Trump, who is expected to sign it into law. The Title IV amendments advance Tribal Self-Governance, the most successful Indian policy in the history of the United States. The bill conforms Title IV to Title V, the successful self-governance legislation in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Most Tribes compact with both DOI and HHS, and S. 209 would create administrative efficiencies by enabling Tribes to operate under consistent statutory frameworks. S. 209 also addresses several gaps and flaws in the current Title IV. In 1975 Congress passed Public Law 93-638, the historic Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA). The Act placed the management and administration of federal Indian programs in the hands of Tribal governments, who are able to tailor these programs to the needs of their specific communities. In 1994, the ISDEAA was amended by Title IV to permanently authorize Self-Governance in the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Title IV authorized American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes to negotiate compact agreements with the BIA under which Tribes operate programs, services, functions, and activities that were previously administered and managed by the Department. The compacts left undiminished the Government’s trust responsibility to Self-Governance Tribes and tribal citizens. Non-BIA agencies in Interior could also compact certain programs to Tribes. In 2000, Public Law 106-260 added Title V to the ISDEAA, authorizing similar Tribal compacts with HHS’s Indian Health Service. Significant differences between the Title IV and Title V amendments have forced Self-Governance Tribes to operate under two separate sets of legislative and administrative requirements. The PROGRESS for Indian Tribes Act would largely reconcile these differences, streamline the Self-Governance process, improve efficiencies, and strengthen reservation economies during fiscally challenging times as the COVID-19 pandemic strains tribal governments and economies. Passage of the PROGRESS Act has long been a top legislative priority of the Self-Governance Tribes. Throughout this process, we have appreciated the support of the National Congress of American Indians, United South and Eastern Tribes, Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, and other organizations. In 2015, the Senate passed a version of the bill, but the legislation died in the House. For two years, Tribal leaders and technical advisors worked with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) to craft a version of the Title IV bill that addressed concerns about state wildlife management authority but maintained the core objectives of Tribes. S. 209 would retain—but not expand—the authority for Tribes to contract for discretionary non-BIA programs, while conforming Title IV to Title V to create consistency and administrative efficiencies. In the current Congress, Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) introduced S. 209, and it was passed by the full Senate on June 29, 2019. The bill enjoyed bipartisan support in the House as well, with strong backing from Rep. Don Young (R-AK) and Tom Cole (R-OK) as well as Deb Haaland (D-NM) and other Democrats. On the House floor today, Rep. Haaland moved to suspend the rules for consideration of S. 209. She described the ISDEAA as one of the most important pieces of Indian legislation in history and noted that this “common-sense bill” commands the unanimous support of Indian country as well as the Administration. Liz Cheney (R-WY) raised concerns about the bill’s potential impact on Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) water projects, but Rep. Haaland pointed out that the legislation explicitly does not expand tribal authority to assume non-BIA programs and projects, and that no Tribe has ever taken over a BOR activity. The motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill by voice vote was approved, and Rep. Cheney did not call for a recorded vote, so the bill passed the House. Once the bill is enrolled, it will go to the White House. The President has 10 days from receipt of the enrolled bill to either sign or veto it. Assuming it is signed, the legislation triggers a 90-day window for the Secretary of the Interior to initiate a negotiated rulemaking process to implement the Act. The House passage of S. 209 represents a historic milestone in the history of Tribal Self-Governance under the ISDEAA. If you have any questions about S. 209, the PROGRESS for Indian Tribes Act, please do not hesitate to contact one of the Tribal Title IV Task Force members listed below:
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