Transcripts For CSPAN3 House Hearing On Tribal Communities 20240712

Of our native communities. As part of our hearing, microphones will be set on mute. Members and witnesses, you will need to unmute your microphone each time you wish to speak. Documents can be sent to rebecca at the email address weve provided. And all documents will be entered into the record at the conclusion of the hearing. I recognize myself for five minutes for an opening statement. Let me find that, now that ive said that. I believe that todays hearing is long overdue. Day after day, our nations tribal communities are suffering inequality, unequal access to Drinking Water, energy grid, broadband, and other problems that have created unnecessary hardship and turmoil. And covid19 is exacerbating the existing problems now. And the Navajo Nation has seen rates higher than wuhan, china, during the height of the pandemic. And weve heard repeatedly about the struggles of the native communities to protect against covid19. As the pandemic rages on, access to ppe and testing and proper sanitation will be critical to flattening the curve for the tribal communities. Thats why were here to listen to representatives of tribal communities to ensure that government meets its commitments. Its clear that not enough has been accomplished. In the area of health care, they experience Greater Health disparities compared to other groups, increasing the risk of hospitalizations due to covid19. The Indian Health Service Remains chronically underfunded. They need sufficient and stable resources, which has contributed to outdated infrastructure and medical equipment. The administration has failed to get money to tribal communities swiftly, putting them at a disadvantage at getting what they need in order to respond to covid19. The moving forward act includes 5 billion for the construction and renovations of hospitals and Outpatient Care facilities. I look forward to hearing about what the federal government can do to make sure all tribal communities have access to highSpeed Internet service. The pandemic has driven home how highSpeed Internet is essential for everyone. Distance learning is the only option for many, and telework is growing. And this brings more connectivity to tribal houses by bringing 80 billion to broadband deployment, and water continues to be a major issue, and tribal households are less likely to have access to indoor plumbing and a safe water supply. 47 billion for a Drinking Water program, and 50 million to improve access to energy sources. We want to bring more renewable or other Energy Production to tribes. I dont have i wanted to give half of the time left to both representative ruiz and ohalloran. Well start with representative ruiz, you have 30 seconds, then well give the other to tom. Thank you, mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing. Weve been working on tribal issues together for years now, including on the task force, along with our friend on the other side of the aisle. And im pleased were having this critical hearing, and i appreciate your leadership on tribal issues. Tribal nations have long suffered from massive underfunding and a scarcity of resources. And covid19 only amplifies the disparities that are the result of a lack of funding. Thats not to mention the drastic Health Disparities in Indian Country. Im looking forward to discu discussing all those issues. Thank you, mr. Chairman, i yield back. Tom, do you want to Say Something . Theres only a few seconds left. Im sorry. Tom sno . Maybe hes not on. Hes on. Historically, federal policy has unacceptably left them behind, and i thank the chairman and all the members of the committee for recognizing the needs of tribal lands. We can do so much more. Thank you. Thank you, tom. And im going to now recognize mr. Walden for five minutes. But if you want to give an extra 30 seconds to mark, because we gave an extra 30 seconds to tom, greg, its up to you. Greg . Mr. Chairman, im going to yield 2 1 2 minutes to me, and 2 1 2 minutes to the representative. Okay, i recognize mark. I left my notes on my phone. Sure. First of all, thank you, chairman, for all the chairs and Ranking Members, the committee for listening to my concerns. I think this is the first time in my time, definitely, on the committee that weve had a full Committee Hearing on native american issues. And native americans deserve Quality Health care, as promised by the federal government. As a cherokee, i grew up going to tribally run hospitals. In hastings is where i received my health care. I understand how important operating the facilities are to tribal members. The last congress, i was fortunate enough to cohair the ihs task force, leading to several key areas we can improve health care to 2. 2 million native americans. Ihs is not only terribly underfunded, we have to fix that. Ihs must also be modernized. Theres so much going on in Indian Country that applies to this committee, and we need to take a deeper dive. I want to thank you for holding this hearing. I urge my committee to continue this process with additional hearings on health and oversight and investigation committees. With that, i yield to the gentleman from montana. I want to thank the gentleman from oklahoma for yielding. I appreciate his leadership on the Task Force Last congress, well done. Ive long asked that we hear from Indian Country, and im glad were having this hearing today. Native americans make up nearly 7 of montanas population, and more than 2 of the u. S. Population. I was proud to pass legislation restoring federal recognition to the tribe of the cree last year. Federally recognized tribes enjoy a nation to nation relationship with the u. S. Government. This allows tribes to access Critical Resources for Economic Development, health care, and education, and regulate affairs on tribal lands. These resources often come with complicated federal procedures. We need to increase opportunity for these communities. During the covid19 pandemic, americans rely on broadband connection, its essential for business, education, and telemedicine. Many tribal lands are among the places that lack adequate Broadband Access. Each tribe has unique challenges for deployment. Last month, i introduced legislation that will help streamline reviews, helping close the digital device. Additionally, the fcc offered tribes early access to the 2. 5 gigahertz band. Key to this is energy. Many tribal nations are rich in resources. In montana, the crow tribe produces coal and faces challenges exporting it. One of our witnesses today, the chairman sage, his tribe is involved in Gas Production, theyre economic drivers and Fund Investments and other businesses for the tribes. Not all tribal lands have those types of resources and services developed and are readily available. Still, many have issues with access to electricity and safe Drinking Water. I look forward to this important discussion today. Thank you, and i yield back. Chairman, youre on mute. Okay. So i just want to remind everyone that pursuant to committee rules, all written statements will be put into the record. And now, were going to go into the witnesses for our hearing. I wanted to recognize mr. Ohalloran with our first witness. Tom . Is tom there . Can you guys hear me . I can hear you, mr. Chairman. Not sure what happened with tom. Is mr. Ohalloran i dont see his picture. Maybe you need to unmute, tom. But i dont see your picture, either. There he is. Thank you, mr. Chairman. He has served as the leader of the Navajo Nation, and is now a committed Public Servant of the navajo people. He fully understands the scope of the challenges facing the Navajo Nation in Indian Country. But the realities of life in the Navajo Nation is harsh. And in many places, as you indicated earlier, theres a lack of water, electricity, and the basic needs of life. We need to live up to the treaty obligations the federal government has. And were also going to hear from the honorable christine sage, chair of the southern ute indian tribe. And lauren sharp, testifying today as the president of the National Congress of American Indians. And then id like to introduce now Mark Wayne Mullen to introduce dr. Charles grimm, if you would. Im really honored to introduce this fellow cherokee. Hes an Accomplished Health care professional, and as i said, hes a fellow cherokee. Dr. Charles grimm, he spent years leading the Health Services for the cherokee nation. Hes also a retired assistant surgeon general, and rear admiral in the commissioned core of the u. S. Public Health Services. Hes a native doctor, who has dedicated his life to serving Indian Country. Im very proud to have him here, dr. Grimm, thank you so much for being here today. Thank you. And our last witness, a partner in it says quarles and brady. President nez, youre recognized for five minutes for your statement. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, my friend tom, for that introduction. My name is jonathan nez. I am the president of the Navajo Nation. And the Vice President and i greet you today. We appreciate this opportunity to testify before the full committee today to address urgent needs facing the Navajo Nation. And many of these same issues are being affected by the 573 other tribes throughout the country. The Navajo Nation is going through some tough times right now as the chairman mentioned. And i appreciate the prayers and support that weve been given by our congressional delegation and congress, thank you so much. Today im going to be talking about water, electricity, and broadband infrastructure. This committee oversees many other jurisdictions throughout the United States. And for the five minutes, i think water, electricity, and broadband will be our focus. But before i begin those comments, i want to start with a covid19 update on the Navajo Nation. As of yesterday, july 7th, 5 00 p. M. , there are a total of 7,941 confirmed covid19 positive cases. We are also tracking the recovery numbers. 5,650 have recovered. We have lost 379 of our relatives here on the Navajo Nation. Please hold them in prayer. We have tested over 60,000 individuals since this crisis entered our borders. We have been testing very aggressively. And this shows that 29. 4 of our total population have been tested. For almost two months, we saw the highest per capita Covid Infection rate in the u. S. But right now, per capita, we are testing more of our citizens than any other state or any, matter of fact, any country. Many of the countries throughout the world. As a result of the chronic underfunding of indian programs which was mentioned earlier, tribes were not equipped with resources to respond to covid19. For example, c. A. R. E. S. Funding did not fully reach the Navajo Nation until three months after congress intended. Again, i deeply appreciate the committee for convening this hearing today to shed light on these matters. And for hearing our most urgent needs. In terms of water, there is no greater need on the Navajo Nation than clean Drinking Water. More than 40 of the Navajo Nation households do not have Running Water. Access to safe Drinking Water, and sanitation facilities are an extension of primary health care delivery. Legislation, hr 756, is a great step toward providing safe Drinking Water to our navajo people. And the navajo utah water rights act, under this bill the Navajo Nation will receive approximately 228 million in federal and state funding for desperately needed Drinking Water infrastructure. Further delaying the passage of senate 886 will deny clean Drinking Water to the navajo people. Weve waited decades for it, and its one vote away from becoming a reality. Therefore i request that senate bill 886 be passed immediately. Roughly 10,000 homes lack electricity. Red tape is as much to blame as funding. It takes anywhere from one to two years to get the necessary approvals. We urge congress and federal agencies to review the laws that impede infrastructure projects. Roughly 60 of our population lack Broadband Access. This is unacceptable. The broadband limitations for navajo residents is due to the current broadband infratrustru e infrastructure. There are approximately 1,000 towers on navajo property. In new jersey, it has 1,300 communication towers. In conclusion, the Navajo Nation seeks to strengthen the sacred trust relationship between our two governments. Working together, we can close the divide, expand excess to water, health needs and other things. And the impact of Climate Change, and other concerns such as air quality and uranium mine remediation. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today, and im prepared to answer any questions you may have. And thank you, chairman and members of the committee. Thank you, president nez. And thank you for outlining those urgent needs, which is obviously the main focus of our hearing today. Next, we have chairman sage, chairman of the southern ute indian tribe. Youre recognized for five minutes. We can hear you. Go ahead. Okay. Good morning, im christine sage, chairman of the southern ute indian tribe. Thank you for inviting me to testify. Its an honor to speak with you this morning about the effects of the coronavirus on the southern ute indian tribe. They depend on the success of the federal policy of selfdetermination for tribal nations. That policy is 50 years ago today. We acted quickly to protect all of the tribal members, elders, and others who are at risk. Today the reservation is but the pandemic has highlighted weaknesses in the relationship between the tribe and the federal government. Recent legislation was supposed to benefit tribes during this crisis, but its failed to consider the unique circumstances of tribal government. The ppe dp did not fully take tribes into consideration. This means that multiple tribal businesses may be operating under a single it deniied applications for businesses when a loan has been approved for another business under the same indication. Tribal businesses are forced to choose only one of their eligible businesses. Theres no reason to allow each location of a restaurant, but not each individual tribal business. We need to allow each to be eligible for a loan. The c. A. R. E. S. Act allocated 8 billion tribes. We need to address the needs of Indian Country, but the full disbursement of the funds was delayed up to two months. Confidential data provided to treasure by tribes was leaked to the public. The guidance on the use of the funds comes from treasury. And once again, its apparent that it does not understand how tribal governments operate. Tribes are not permitted to use the funds to continue to pay employees who are unable to work due to the coronavirus. But states may use the funds to pay those same employees unemployment compensation. And its difficult to put funds to good use without risk of an audit. Moving forward, treasury needs to genuinely consult with tribal government. And the oil and gas industry, its vital to the economy in much of Indian Country. We must use this opportunity to revitalize Tribal Energy programs and prepare for the future. The Energy Policy act of 2005 authorized the department of energy to establish the Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee program, which is seriously underfunded. Funds must be appropriated and used for projects that employ Renewable Energy technology. The tribe requests that the guarantee be increased to 100 for projects on tribal land. Finally, the pandemic has highlighted the weaknesses in communication and highspeed Internet Technology in Indian Country. Many tribes are in remote areas where broadband infrastructure is weak or noniexistent. 50 years ago, when the federal government embarked on this era of selfdetermination, congress was able to look at the mistakes of the past and assist in selfdetermination. Likewise, we can look at the weaknesses of the past few months, and learn from them, and correct them. Thank you for your time. Chairman, youre on mute. Im sorry. I keep forgetting they turn it off automatically. I wanted to thank the chairwoman sage, who just spoke. Now i want to go to president sharp, the president of the tribe, but shes also testifying today on behalf of ncai. So president , youre now recognized for five minutes. Good morning, on behalf of the National Congress of American Indians, thank you. Like all governments, tribal nations strive to ensure the wellbeing of our communities through essential government services, funded by the trust responsibility of the United States. This has been chronically and for a long time been underfunded, as was documented in the u. S. Commission on civil rights report that was recently released to Congress Last year. This details and concludes not one federal agency is living up to its responsibility in every sector affecting our lives and communities. Theres a widespread and chronic underfunding, leading to our vulnerability of our communities. Both in terms of infection rates and rates of death. We need an increase to the Coronavirus Relief fund. Weve heard theres a belief that tribes dont need additional funding. Which creates a real problem. Treasury has set a timeline of july 17th to report back the use of funds. And theres a real concern that there will be a distortion within Indian Country. Its been nearly three months since the dollars were appropriated by congress, and were just starting to see the remaining balance from the fund. 60 was released, we had to go through litigation. Were at the point where were among the most vulnerable, and we still dont have the funding that congress appropriated three months ago. I want to make it clear, we do need additional dollars. And we need to respond to some of the structure barriers within treasury. I want to focus on a few points. I want to speak directly to health care. We must secure Stable Funding. We experience the greatest health disteparities in the unid states, and tribal programs are funded by the trust responsibility. Since 1998, only once has the interior environment bill been enacted before the fiscal year. To address this instability, Congress Must pass legislation authorizing advance appropriatio appropriations. Additionally, Stable Funding is needed in the special Diabetes Program for indians. We have disproportionate incidence of diabetes, and weve saved medicare 52 million per year. Despite this success, its been flat funded at 150 million since 2004. And short reauthorizations have impaired programs at the expense of patients. Congress must support long term reauthorization and Stable Funding. Id like to shift to the topic of Climate Change and clean water. Due to these impacts, tribal nations are key partners in the national and Global Response to Climate Change. Congress should pass legislation that includes full and meaningful consultation with managers, and to ensure theres government parity in Climate Action by including tribal nations in federally funded responses to the Climate Crisis. In addition to Climate Change, communities experience environmental disparities involving lack of access to safe and clean Drinking Water. While we appreciate hr 2s increases to funds, we need to address the severe water access needs of tribal communities. We also encourage congress to increase tribal access and development. Tribal nations encounter many energy barriers, including financing challenges. There is funding available for developing Energy Infrastructure on tribal lands. Recently, hr 2 increased funding, we appreciate that, and we look to remove the matching requirements. Furth furthermore, removal of restrictions is needed to enable tribal access. The Loan Guarantee program was authorized in the Energy Policy act of 2005, and not funded until 2017, and hasnt financed any projects. This was due to the eligibility projects. Removing these restrictions would allow applicants to start sustainable businesses. And i want to speak to the issue of telecommunications accessibility. Which closes on august 3rd, 2020. A spectrum license enhances broad band and global coverage, and supports immediate development. Presently, tribal nations are responding to tpw aid tpw aids longterm structure. An extension has been requested until january of 2021. Further, fcc has created classes of tribal nation in its spectrum and other proceedings which is a violation of its trust responsibility and further connectivity challenges by providing checkerboard coverage. To address these issues, we urge congress to extend the deadline and ensure the fcc makes all tribal lands eligible for this opportunity. I thank you for the opportunity to testify and i look forward to answering any questions. Thank you, president sharp. And thanks for all that ncia does on a regular basis to inform us as members of congress of what needs to be done and what are the priorities for Indian Country. We really rely on you. I want to turn to dr. Grim. Youre recognized for five minutes. Thank you, chairman. Good morning Ranking Member walden, members of the committee. We want to let you know that Indian Country truly appreciates you holding this important hearing on addressing the urgent needs of your tribal communities. I want to thank the representative for that kind introduction. My name is dr. Charles grim and im the secretary of health for the chickasaw nation. The mission of the chickasaw nation is to enhance the overall quality of life for the chickasaw people. In 1994, we entered into a compact to become a Health Care System. We serve over 90,000 patients through a hospital and three Outpatient Facilities with a staff of 1,700. This committee knows that the health care for American Indians comes from a system that is separate from that of mainstream america. The iah is the federal agencies with the federal responsibility in fulfilling the trust obligation. Today, acting under the broad authorization of the snider act, Congress Appropriates funds to ihs. The cost of care during the covid19 pandemic and added financial burden has overwhelmed an underfunded Health Care System. The Health Care System had a 25 vacancy rate and a Hospital Systems that remains over four times older than the National Hospital system. Limited capacity has restrained referred care dollars. While the cdc has noted that handwashing is one of the chief measures against covid19 infection, approximately 6 of American Indian lack access to Running Water. Before covid19, the Indian Health system faced significant funding disparities when compared to other federal health care programs. But now covid19 has greatly impacted the finances of Many Health Care programs. Workload comparisons for the chickasaw nation show a decrease of approximately 46 and our thirdparty revenue has decreased 25 million. We appreciate all thats been done in the current packages to make sure that funds have been available for american Indian Country. Chickasaw nation governor declared a state of emergency on march 17, 2020. Within the span of less than two weeks, the majority of inperson visits were converted to virtual visits. A patient screening process was introduced at all of our facilities. A call center was introduced to triage patients and employees. A clinic was developed to help seek persons with systems and testing tents were set up throughout the chickasaw nation. Weve tested over 25,000 American Indian as well as nonnative Community Members and employees. We also stood up our command team and integrated with local, state and national entities, ihs, cdc, fema and dod Emergency Operations. Because of the swift action and declaration by the governor to close all nonessential businesses and offices in the chickasaw nation, we have a low positive prevalence rate with approximately 400 positive cases today. I would ask the committee to consider the following Funding Priorities which would help Indian Country address some of our needs. 9. 1 billion in funding for ihs is recommended by the Tribal Budget Formulation Work Group because of the lack of a timely enacted budget will leave us all unprepared for another wave of covid19 infections. We asked for approximately 2 billion to fully fund the remaining projects on the grandfathered Health Care Facility construction priority list. Also, the ihs joint Venture Program is one of the most successful and Cost Effective means of providing new and replacement facilities. The ihs director selection of five projects for fewer expanded Health Care Facilities through that program and the chickasaw nation was one of those selected. Since that time, the economys taken a sharp downturn. We respectfully ask congress to consider funding construction of these five critical Health Care Facilities. We ask you to consider package of senate bill 3927, special Diabetes Program 2019 with slight changes to the new delivery of funds language that would ensure tribes and tribal organizations are able to receive awards through their selfdetermination and government contracts and compacts. We ask for 1 billion for water and Sanitation Development across ihs and tribal facilities which is needed to ensure access to safe Drinking Water and waste systems. The chickasaw nation alone has over 70 million in such need. We ask also for 3 billion for Health Information technology to address the disease surveillance and reporting and transition to a telehealth Delivery System and to allow tribes to convert to a new Electronic Health record. We ask for 50 million for newer expanding tribal medical residency programs which will help tribes meet the challenges of physician shortage and funds to deploy broadband construction projects. Members of the committee, i appreciate the opportunity to testify on these important matters today. The chickasaw nation is committed to ensuring the highest quality of health care for our citizens and we look forward to working with you on each of these endeavors. Thank you. Thank you, dr. Grim, and thank you for those important suggestions. Our last witness is ms. Thomas. Youre recognized for five minutes. Thank you, chairman pallone. Can you hear me . Yes. Thank you. Good morning, members of the committee. Im a partner in Law Enforcement where i specialize on working with tribes. Thank you for the opportunity to provide my views on indian Renewable Energy and including Tribal Energy needs in this very important hearing. Im encouraged that the house and this committee recognize the importance of Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Workforce Development for Indian Tribes and the role that tribes should play in the nations clean energy future. As we heard from president nez, chairwoman sage and president sharp, access and funding for affordable and reliable electricity is critical for Infrastructure Development in Indian Country. For many tribes, the broken nexus between energy, water, food and Economic Development has been laid bear in the midst of this covid19 crisis. Legislative and Funding Priorities for Tribal Energy development should seek to accomplish several goals including but certainly not limited to mitigating economic harm from covid19 by reducing energy costs for tribal communities, jump starting Economic Development through increased capital and investment in tribal utility and Energy Development efforts, creating jobs, supporting Tribal Energy selfsufficiency and reliability and recognizing authorities over Energy Development on indian lands. To accomplish these goals, i would like to highlight a handful of opportunities for tribes that congress can support and should incentivize. Tribes can partner with corporations, for example, for Renewable Energy procurement. This will support commercialscale development bringing revenue and jobs and can be leveraged to attract businesses and jobs to locate on tribal lands. Mass deployment of community solar, distributed energy, storage, Energy Efficiency and microgrids will lead to energy cost savings, job creation, Energy Reliability and resiliency. And Tribal Energy utility formation gives tribes the ability to control their energy costs, their Energy Resources, create jobs, and keep revenue within the tribe. Unfortunately, theres still have many Major Barriers to Tribal Energy development. Some of these barriers are structural but can be overcome. Others legal and can be overturned and still others are physical and financial. Given enough time and money can be resolved. One barer is regulatory action. Tribal Energy Development is depend on state electricity policy and regular tear regimes through the states jurisdiction over and regulation of Utility Companies that serve tribal lands. If tribes wanted to develop and use their own Energy Resources, they have to comply with state policies and regulations. Tribal Energy Policy is cabined by state Energy Policy. Another major barrier and lack of transmission and distribution infrastructure. Grid modernization is expensive but necessary to improve grid performance, to integrate Renewable Energy and storage and to improve grid resiliency for tribal communities. Access to the wholesale markets through the middle grid and the capital necessary to build it is also necessary for tribes to be able to access wholesale markets for electricity purchases or to sell power into the market. And a third barrier is lack of private capital investment. Federal funding is important but its simply not enough. Theres been little to no private Sector Investment in tribal Renewable Energy projects that serve tribes have lagged behind other governments in attracting outside capital through publicprivate partnerships. While i have more detailed legislative proposals in my written testimony, let me highlight two examples. For example, congress should amend the federal power act to treat tribes as states under those two statutes. This would confirm Tribal Regulatory Authority and jurisdiction over retail and distribution utilities serving tribal lands. It has the benefit of making tribes nonjurisdictional entities. A second nocost solution is to amend the Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee program. Expanding eligibility in terms of the types of projects that are eligible. Authorize direct loans and reduce barriers to applying for and qualifying for guarantees and loans. In short, covid has exposed some of the energy and environmental injustices in Indian Country. It has had devastating Public Health and economic impacts. But there is hope for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency deployment to lead the way out. There are considerable opportunities tribes can pursue as economic Recovery Efforts in the short and long term. It requires though that Major Barriers are addressed by federal policy, law and funding. Thank you again and i look forward to your questions. Thank you, ms. Thomas, for that information on the electricity grid and renewables. Its very important for what our committee is looking into. Now we now were going to go that concludes our opening. Well go to member questions. And each member will have five minutes to ask questions of our witnesses and ill start by recognizing myself. Obviously, theres so many things that i would like to ask. Im going to focus on the Digital Divide for the most part because its so stark on tribal lands. You know, given whats happening with covid, the lack of reliable high Speed Internet means youre left out of health care services, education, employment opportunities, Civic Engagement and its just unacceptable in my opinion. Let me start with president nez. Im concerned that the lack of connectivity will put disadvantaged children further behind in their education. In the moving forward act, we allocated 5 billion through the fccs program for schools and libraries to provide wifi hot spots and other connected devices to families who dont have Internet Access and it has a specific guarantee of funding for tribal schools and libraries. Let me ask you initially, if that became law, would schools and families benefit, if you would . Thank you for the question, chairman and members of the committee. Absolutely. The navajo students, people would benefit on getting highSpeed Internet access locally. But our goal here on the Navajo Nation is to reach more into the rural areas into the house. With this covid19 right now, chairman and members of the committee, we are encouraging our navajo people to shelter in place. We have stayathome orders. So if people are staying home and they dont have internet connectivity, they will have to go to these libraries or chapter houses to get Internet Access which may, you know, get them exposed to the virus. So theres so much uncertainty here, we all know. Theres no vaccine, no cure for covid19. And so our focus here on the Navajo Nation is try to get highSpeed Internet into the homes where students could connect to their schools and turn in their homework. Also telehealth as well as were in a closure right now. The Navajo Nation is closed. A lot of your employees are working from home and its all based on how much moneys or how much resources could be allocated to get highSpeed Internet closer to the home. And lastly, i appreciate what was mentioned by ms. Thomas. Weve been talking about funding. Weve been talking about projects. But what we really should be focusing our attention onto get these projects done quickly is to reevaluate federal laws, policies and regulations. Those are those nocost changes that occur so projects can get done completely quickly and complete. With the c. A. R. E. S. Act funding, the deadline is december 31st. We didnt get the first allocation of the c. A. R. E. S. Act fund tribes throughout the country didnt get that until three months ago. And three weeks ago, we finally goat that 40 of the c. A. R. E. S. Act funding. And so im asking the chairman and members of this committee to lead the charge in putting into legislation an extension of the c. A. R. E. S. Act funding for tribes, maybe a full year to december 31st of 2021 and many of you know that projects dont move as quickly in India Country a Indian Country and that will give us some time. Thank you. I have a minute left. Let me ask the chairwoman sage, again, in the moving forward act, we have 80 billion to fund highspeed broadband deployment to underserved areas, preference for tribal lands. Do you think that that broadband deployment is contemplated by the moving forward act . Would that help the tribe and what kind of broadband investment would help, if not . I only have about 30 seconds left here. As quickly as you can. Okay. Well, yes, the tribe would support that. Its clear that funding is really needed for broadband deployment for our communities who need it most. Were glad this issue is receiving attention and effort. For example, senator bennett from colorado recently introduced in the bridge act which would include 1 billion for tribes for broadband deployment. Thank you. Thank you, chairwoman. Now, is greg on this or am i going to go to fred . Is Ranking Member im going to fred. Okay. I recognize the gentleman from michigan for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman and i appreciate the hearing. I have a couple of questions. I want to congratulate you, first, though, on your primary win last night. Im glad that youre resting conformably after your landslide victory. I would just like to say, as we look at the 8 billion that was in the c. A. R. E. S. Act, treasury had 30 days to disburse the money. Because of the delays in getting money to the tribes involving litigation we have real issues trying to follow the guidance regulations that were provided by the treasury. Treasury is requesting all of the recipients of c. A. R. E. S. To submit what theyve spent the money on so far. I know its somewhat unique here in terms of whats happening. But can you expand on how youre all going to comply with that and what we might want to do to try and help . President sharp first and, again, im watching the clock. I want to make sure that the questions thank you so much. Youre right, there was a deadline of april 26th to get this funding out of tribal nations. That was not met. And i would like to just provide a little bit of context to why this is such an urgent need. Tribal nations are limited in taxing authority. So we instead of being able to generate revenues like any other government through a system of taxation, were forced to generate profits in commercial enterprises. Because of the pandemic, our economies have been suffering. So we need the additional dollars in the relief fund. Not only is there a delay in the trust responsibility necessary resources of that relief, we cannot spend money to back build lost revenue from our economies, our commercial enterprises. Treasury has said we cannot use these funds for business losses. In other words, in loss of any sort of revenue through taxation and business. That is crippling us. Not only are we vulnerable because we dont have economic relief, any opportunity we have to access resources through the National Stockpile and other things are limited. So like chairman frazier, we have no choice to stand at the border and protect our nations. We dont have resources, we dont have access to ppe and were suffering. We need to have increases and we need to make sure that treasury appropriates and distributes these dollars the way congress intended. Thank you. Chairman sage, you did mention in your thanks for submitting your testimony in advanced. You mentioned that the oil and gas industry has been in your words ignored during the crisis. What effect has the Oil Market Crash had on your tribe and your ability to invest in the regional economy and workforce . You mentioned that in the southwest colorado, all of your employees, mostly nontribal members, are receiving full pay. How important is that fossil energy, especially natural gas, to your economy and what role do you see it playing in the years ahead . Thank you for that question. The price collapse for oil and gas have caused us real problem. The virus only made them worse. Many of your producers are shutting in and were actively seeking relief that our producers dont just give up and leave and abandon active wells. The price collapse for oil and gas has been challenging and the virus has amplified those challenges. Many of our producers and were seeking relief for our producers to continue producing through this pandemic sustaining the local economy and preventing orphaned well ores. They have not laid off any tribal employees at the expense of risk of the tribal economy. Thank you for that question. Thank you. So since you do have energy in your backyard, how do you strike the right balance between the environment and the able to conserve scarce resources like water . Chairman sage . What was that again . Since you have Energy Production right there in southwest colorado, how is it that youre able to strike the right balance as we know all the Colorado Water issues that are there, between protecting the environment and scarce resources like water . Well, with the water and the economy, really we have a lot of our water our water is Irrigation Water for our farmers and ranchers. And this is really put a damper on it. Because if we have a failing irrigation system. Its taken a lot of the economy away from our farmers and ranchers. Okay. I know my time is expired. I yield back, mr. Chairman. Im sorry. Next we have bobby rush is recognized for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman, for holding todays important meeting. I want to thank our witnesses for sharing their insights. The coronavirus pandemic continues to shine a harsh light on the disparities that exist within our nations most vulnerable communities. Including the longstanding tribal communities, tribal nations among others who have limited access to physical infrastructure, reliable electricity, and a workforce Training Need to support these Critical Resources. You were a Senior Member of the indian Energy Policy office. How are communities by this office and what improvements should we make to the administration . Thank you very much, congressman. Yes, i was i formally served as both the Deputy Director and acting director of the office of indian Energy Policy and programs in the department of energy in the second term of the obama administration. One of Biggest Challenges that that office had, we stood it up from scratch basically and one of the Biggest Challenges that the office had was a lack of administrative infrastructure and our primary focus was to put together programs that would directly help tribal governments and tribal enterprises, including tribal leadership and tribal staff, with building capacity to help them understand and develop their Energy Resources. We had an all of the above Energy Policy and so our focus was to use not only the offices resources which were very limited at the time, 2 million i think was the budget that we had, 5 million had just been operated. Congress has been kind to the office and substantially increased its appropriation now. I think the house interior im sorry, house energy appropriation just increased that to 22 million. And those resources are greatly needed. Those resources tend to be split between Technical Assistance for tribes and other capacitybuilding efforts and deployment grants for tribes. There is a bit of a challenge now, though, as tribes get more sophisticated and try and do more projects with the department being able to keep up with them and the resources necessary for the department to keep up with them. So the more funding that congress can provide to that office to help with Technical Assistance, to help with Capacity Building, 575 tribes, plus 200plus alaska native corporations and countless other enterprises which are all covered by the office is a lot of constituency. So i do think that theres a lot of benefit to continuing to fund that office at a robust amount so that it can continue to do some of that softtouch work like Technical Assistance and Capacity Building thats necessary to keep moving Energy Development forward on tribal lands. Thank you. And, mr. Chairman, i see that my time is almost expired. I yield back the balance of my time. Thank you, thank you, mr. Rush. Next were going to go to the gentleman from illinois, recognized for five minutes. I cant hear you, john. Are you on mute . Can the rest im sorry. I thought they were unmuting us from your end also. Let me thank you all. Its too much. We should have one on health, we should have one on telecommunications, one on energy because theres obviously so much in our jurisdiction. Im going to boil it down to three quick questions. One is just an observation, chairman. We have this ndaa bill coming up which the authorizers are trying to steal our jurisdiction under the ruling. If ive heard anything from the testimony today is that broadband Internet Access is critical. And if we allow them to interfere with the ability of this satellite broadband, this will not provide our tribal entities an ability to get connected, either their health care or energy or educational issues. I would hope that we would develop a bipartisan strategy for the floor to offer an amendment to strip i think in the hask bill, two amendments were passed by our good friend mike turner that will hurt this ability. And it was passed by the fcc unanimously which doesnt happen very much. Soy put th so i put that on the table. I would like to go back to ms. Thomas. Easing Regulatory Burden on Energy Resources is something that we talked about numerous times. And im surprised that nations dont have their ability to control their own destiny in Energy Development. In Rural America we have a electric coops that are not for profit entities. Are you asking for Something Like that in that ability to create some Energy Independence from for indian nations . Thank you, congressman. In about 16 states Rural Electric coops are not regulated by the state utility commissions. And the rest of the states they are. In arizona, for example, our Arizona Corporation commission does regulate the Rural Electric coops from a ratemaking standpoint, tariffs, reliability. Theyre subject to the states Renewable Energy standard. In 16 states, the states dont exercise jurisdiction. So the coops like public power companies, like lawp, get their own rates. Theyre member owned and driven. So the idea is that the members would help control what the coop does. There is some friction admittedly between tribes who are trying to do especially distributed energy and coops who have limits on the amount of Renewable Energy they can put into the system. Its a complicated story, back story, because the gnts play a role in that, but there is a challenge. Theres one tribe, for example, that does have a utility regulatory scheme that it imposes on its coop. And so if tribes in coops that arent regulated by the state do want to do more Renewable Energy, do want to interconnect community solar, going through a state regulatory scheme can be problematic yeah, thats helpful. Let me get to president nez real quick because im from southern illinois. Its a coal basin area. What happens if and when your coalfired power plant is goes offline . What happens to the economy, the employees, to all the folks in that line of work . President nez. Sorry. I was on mute. Thank you for the question and members of the committee and chairman. You know, we already are going through closure of a generating station, two, actually, one on our lands, the navajo generating station. The closure of that facility affect affected the coal mine operation and that had to close because thats where the coal was going to the coalfired power plant. Between the two there, 30 to 50 million of revenue coming into the Navajo Nation is now gone. And so we have to supplement that. And in order for us to bring in new moneys, were looking at, you know, extending broadband and to have other businesses flourish here on our Navajo Nation to bring in that 30 to 50 million loss. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I yield back. Thank you, john. Next we have ms. Eshoo. Thank you. Congratulations on your win last night and i want to thank all of the witnesses. Youve given superb testimony. What im so is that in all of the basics of life whether its clean water, electricity, connectivity relative to broadband, health care, there really is a National Shame that surrounds what has is taking place and i think really true neglect for native americans. So there has to be the political will to get these things done. These are not issues that we dont know how to address. Its a matter of political will. So thank you for your testimony and theres to me, an enormous sadness that surrounds all of this. Let me start by asking dr. Grim and jonathan nez and christine sage, have your tribes been able to get adequate ppe, testing supplies and other resources like ventilators and drugs to treat covid19 cases in your communities in one of the challenges is getting adequate supplies and it seems to me that theres confusion regarding how Indian Health programs can access the strategic National Stockpile. So have tribes been able to access the strategic National Stockpile . Any one of you can address that. Thank you. This is jonathan nez. Thank you, representative, in terms of your question. The Navajo Nation did get some supplies from the strategic National Stockpile, but it took sometime before that resource came to the nation. And when that also came to the nation, we also noticed that some of the items and those supplies were outdated. But we did have to use what we were given because of the shortage throughout the country, of course. That first spike, there was just so many governments and out there out there and municipalities wanting to get ppes and so tribes were left bidding on this finite resource out there and tribes, most of the time, tribes were on the back burner. And states like new york were getting most of the supplies. Were hopeful that the other industries out there will be supplying more ppes and maybe its time for tribes to develop their own stockpile. What clarification do you think is necessary to allow tribes to be able to access the stockpile . I think there needs to be clarity in direct access. Its very clear to us early in the pandemic that those outside of the United States, the World Health Organization, the imf, the world bank all understand the vulnerability to indigenous populations. And theres been a call out for Global Action to address the desperate needs among indigenous communities because everyone recognizes our vulnerability. To the extent theres a Recovery Plan for building economies, i think theres an appetite to work to safeguard our economies. We also saw the World Health Organization called for private sector partnerships with the u. N. Foundation and the swiss philanthropy fund. To the extent this pandemic exceeds the scale of resources, we know theres a global strategy to prop up national economies. We know theres a thank you so thats what we need. We need resources. I appreciate your answer. Very quickly, in the california area of the Indian Health service, the last ihs hospital closed its doors over five decades ago. So my constituents and tribes in my area rely on the california Tribal Health program which receives very limited annual funding from ihs. To dr. Grim, how are areas like mine with no ihs hospitals and a reliance on tribal Health Programs treated differently in funding allocations . One of the things i was going to say, congresswoman, was that ihs has a whole doesnt have that much in the way of intensive care units. There are a number of areas across the ihs that have zero hospitals. And those that do have it, have relatively small number of icu beds. Our hospital has six beds. Six icu beds. They happen to all be full today. And so we are at capacity on icu. Early on, we tried to get, you know, resources such as testing materials, testing machines, other things like that and a lot of times and ventilators too. Somebody would say yes and turn it around and pull it back because it needed to go to a higher priority. What those places have to do that dont have those resources, they have to relied on the deferred care dollars. They are absolutely at the mercy of that to send somebody off to a hospital that has that sort of capacity. Thank you, mr. Chairman. And i yield back. Thank you. Next we go to mike burgess. Did i successfully unmute . You did. I cannot see the clock, chairman, so youre going to trust your kind nature to let me know about time. You generally do. This is a great hearing. The landscape is broad and i agree, there is i hope this isnt just a check the box hearing. I do hope that we can come back in the various subcommittees where the jurisdiction is a little more focused and drill down on some of these issues because the communities that are served, these issues are clearly so critical and it is hard to distill it all down with one single broad panel. And, mr. Chairman, just a point you were talking at the beginning of this, when was the last time we had a hearing on Indian Health service. I recall a subcommittee of health hearing, but it was so long ago, that nathan deal was the chairman of the subcommittee and Sherrod Brown was the Ranking Member. We were due. Im glad you organized it today. Dr. Grim, i want to thank you, first off, for your service and thank you for providing such clear testimony. One of the things in preparation for this reviewing the there was a report up, the office of inspector general, on the on the Indian Health service and the title was monitoring needed and one of their suggestions in there is the that the senate for medicare and Medicaid Services assist the Indian Health service with more frequent surveys. So can i just ask you, and i apologize for not knowing this but in a nonihs hospital, i know its voluntary, but they have a joint agreement with hospitals to be surveyed at least every three years. Is there a similar joint Commission Survey that happens in ihs hospitals. Yes, sir. And the three years is the normal standard surveys. I have often thought, you know, with cms being a Center Agency of the indian service, if they worked together closer when there were problems like that, i thought it would be a great service. They have worked closely with ihs during this time where some of the hospitals now have had some issues that are being rectified now. Some of them have already been rectified. But, yes, i think, you know, more frequent surveys would help. And then the other thing, a lot of the ihs regions put together survey teams and so they will go out and survey their own facilities on a much more regular basis than every three years. And i was on the board of a Hospital Community hospital. Im a physician as well. It was not a good day when the senate for medicare and Medicaid Services came in and surveyed your hospital. Generally there was some sort of problem that had occurred. So it was that was actually not looked upon as a good thing. I suspect that if there was a problem, it needed to be corrected. But you do go through the standard threeyear credit additi cr creditation. Indian Health Service also has the ability to query the database . Let me say i cringed a little bit when i said cms should come in a little more often. Ihs has criteria, as do all the tribes. And one of the requirements is to query the National Practitioner database. Its also a twoway street. Reported back to the National Database if a problem is identified with a physicians practice, is that correct . Yes, sir. Thats true. But theres a process within the agency that you follow to get that done and its been a few years since ive been there. But basically it rises up through, you know, the region, from the facility to the region, to ihs headquarters where things are reviewed if theres been a potential violation, you know, or a tort and then a decision is made whether it was the standard the standard of care was met or the standard of care was not met. The agency has a process to do that and tribes do the same as well. So the Quality Assurance is very similar to a nonihs hospital. Do i understand that correctly . Yes, sir, you do. And then let let me ask you this. Has there been some success in the va system with the Va Mission Act and you described your icu with six beds. If you have a patient who requires ventilation assistance, do you have the ability do you contract with another facility to transfer that patient . How is the care for that patient handled when youre at capacity . Most of the facilities out there, including ours, have ill call them preferred provider networks. Theyre not always called that. But you establish relationships with entities that you use frequently and trust. You have contracts with them. And so most locations have a primary hospital or two or three that they refer to whenever they cannot provide that care locally or theyre at capacity. There are some places within the Indian Health service, however, that its two hours or more to the nearest hospital. There are those challenges as well. Most everyone has that. But i mentioned earlier in one of my comments, the referred care dollars, you know, those arent unlimited either. If you have to refer too many things out, you know, a lot of tribes will run out of that before the year is out. Okay. Youre a minute and a half over. I told you, i couldnt see the clock, chairman. I was depending upon your kindness. I have some additional questions about energy issues. Ill submit those for the record. Thank you, everyone, for being here this morning. Thank you, mike. Next is the gentlewoman from colorado. Thank you so much mr. Chairman, and i want to thank you all of the witnesses for attending today. I want to give a special welcome to christine sage down in my home state of colorado. Ive worked a lot with you and im glad to see you today. Hope youre staying cool, because were having a really bad heat wave up here in denver. I would like to talk about some of the Health Issues that are unique to tribal lands and the first thing i want to talk about is i want to talk about the covid19. Mr. Nez, you talked you very thankfully gave us an update about whats going on in navajo lands with covid. But i think you know, im the cochair of the diabetes caucus in congress and i think one of the reasons why why tribal issues and covid are so extreme is because is because nonhispanic adults, in particular native americans, are 2. 5 times more likely to die from diabetes and i know that diabetes is a big impact on your community. And im wondering if you can talk about how you think its impacted the terrible coronavirus that weve had on navajo lands and other tribal areas. Chairman, members of the committee, and representative deget, thank you for that question, maam. We have heard the vulnerable population and the elders. The data that i cited earlier in the testimony is that of those 300plus deaths here on the Navajo Nation, 379 deaths, 66 of those who have passed from covid19 are over 60 years old. And those are our elderlies. And our elderlies are vulnerable in that vulnerable population because, you know, theyre immune system is not strong. But many of them are, as you are saying are in have diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancers. And so 1 out of 5 native americans do have diabetes. And we here on navajo are starting to focus more on, you know, our health and wellbeing, meaning that we should be bringing some of those individuals out of that vulnerable population category so that they have strong immune systems. I talked earlier about, you know, being in a food desert. We need to get healthier foods to our native american citizens so that their bodies can fight off any virus. Thank you for that question. And that leads me look, thats 20 type two diabetes rate among native americans. Its stunning. This leads me to my question about the special Diabetes Program which was enacted in 1997. Half the money goes for type 2 diabetes among tribes. Its been reauthorized for very short periods of time. And that and you talked a little bit about this, ms. Sharp, in your testimony when you said we need to authorize it for a long period of time. When you talk about why that is so important . Yes, we absolutely need predictability and a Stable Funding source to make sure that we can develop not only shortterm immediate strategy, but underlying challenges that we need a longterm strategy and to work with our community to develop Community Buy in and various strategies, we have to have Stable Funding. Thank you for that question. Yeah, originally when we first passed it in 1997 we had a longterm authorization and everybody agrees that it needs to be authorized long term. It just doesnt seem to happen. Im going to give a shoutout to my representative who is the lead sponsor on the fiveyear reauthorization and it calls for 200 million and frankly thats really what we need to have. And so im hoping half of the money goes for type 1 diabetes, the other for type 2. We need to reauthorize both of those components, meld them together and do it for five years. Mr. Chairman, i know youre committed to doing that. We just need to make it happen. With that, i will yield back. Thank you, diana. Next were going to go to mr. Latta is recognized for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman, for holding this very important hearing today. I really appreciate all of our witnesses for their testimony today and for all that youre doing. President nez, if i may start with you. In may, President Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to review the regulations and modify or rescind them in order to help in the economic recovery from covid19. On behalf of the Navajo Nation, you submitted a white paper in response to that executive order outlaying some of the regulatory reforms that you would speed up, infrastructure deployment on the navajo land. You wrote that currently federal laws, policies, regulations stifle the completion of projects that address the critical and basic needs of your people. Some of these projects are more than three years old because of these obstructions. The Commerce Committee recently revealed a package of 26 bills and for legislation that would achieve many of the similar suggestions you made in your white paper such as stream line reviews and applications for coallocations and exclude previously disturbed land from undergoing lengthy federal reviews. These are reforms that dont cost any money that could help bring broadband to unserved americans. President nez, what are some of the regulatory obstacles you face in the Navajo Nation to deploy broadband infrastructure. Representative latta, chairman, members of the committee, great question and thank you for reading that white paper. Were in an Emergency Operation here on the Navajo Nation, all across the country with this pandemic. And so the c. A. R. E. S. Act funding was intended to aid and give relief to u. S. Citizens. And as we have been mentioning, we got those dollars late into this year, three months ago, 40 of the c. A. R. E. S. Act that was going to tribes went to the tribes. Just three weeks ago, the remaining 40 came to the tribes and so we have a deadline to get these projects done by december 31st and a little bit beyond that. And so what we need here in im hoping all of the Committee Members recognize that tribal lands are characterized as any federal lands throughout the country. You have to jump those federal regular through those federal regulations, those policies and this white paper that we submitted would help temporarily based on these dollars get these projects developed in a timely manner. Thats why were asking for an extension, one to two years. Two years at the most extension to get these c. A. R. E. S. Act funds because in tribal communities, its hard to get projects complete. One of those examples is right of ways. And also environmental clearances for 401 and 404 permits. And you also have business site leasing regulations that hinder development. If we can, you know, set aside certain policies and regulations to help build a wall between mexico and the u. S. , im sure we can do the same here in tribal communities throughout the country. And i appreciate that question, representative latta, and i know this committee could be the champion to, you know, make those changes not just temporary, but permanently for tribes throughout the country. Thank you very much. Chairman sage, if i could ask in my last minute and ten seconds here, the southern ute indian tribe has made significant progress in connecting its citizens despite the challenging geography. How are you able to overcome of the barriers that you faced and bring the connectivity to your reservation . Thank you, representative, for the question. The southern ute indian tribe is unique in many ways including its success on a reservation. It enables greater Economic Development. By making the most of what we have been given, weve been given by our creator, we have been able to provide for our people in a meaningful way. Our most vulnerable, valuable resource is your people. But there is still much to be done if we are to reach our full potential. The current pandemic has made some of these hardships very apparent. Historically tribal lands, particularly those in Rural Communities, have been the most underserved when it comes to essential communication infrastructure. We are the largest employer in southwest colorado and the second largest in the four corners area. We have invested millions of the tribes own funds in technology. But with employees and tribal members working from home, relying on remote education and Health Providers relying on telehealth, those investments are strained and our infrastructure is inadequate given the demands of the modern area. Most communities across this country are concerned about the speed of their internet and cell phone coverage. For the vast theyre worried about whether we would support any congressional measure that help enable Indian Country to have robust [ inaudible ]. That would include measures to help ease the burden of [ inaudible ] provided to the tribe have fewer restrictions [ inaudible ] improve the quality and range of communication services. But as it currently stands, we will struggle [ inaudible ] without the necessary audit by the treasury. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. My times expired and i yield back. Thanks again to our witnesses for being with us today. Thank you, bob. Next we have mr. Schakowsky. Jan. I think you have to unmute. There i am. Okay. Good. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Its just the fact that the United States has failed to meet its responsibilities to provide comprehensive, high Quality Health care to all federally recognized tribal tribes and their members. But nowhere is that failure more apparent in my opinion than in Reproductive Health care. Since 1976, the Hyde Amendment has denied federally funded abortion care to lowincome Vulnerable Women who get their Health Insurance through medicaid. But over the past 44 years, the Hyde Amendment has expanded and expanded. And today restrictions on abortion coverage also impact anyone receiving health care through the Indian Health service. Because ihs facilities are often the lone source of Reproductive Health care for native american women, the Hyde Amendment effectively denies women their con tour nally protected legal right to a safe and legal medical procedure. A study published by the native american Womens Health Education Resource Center found that only 25 abortions were performed through the ihs system between 1976 when the Hyde Amendment was passed and 2002. Tragically, we have also seen nationwide that as Abortion Access goes down, Maternal Mortality and morbidity goes up. The center for Disease Control and prevention, cdc, reports that today American Indians and alaskan native women are twice to three times more likely to die from pregnancyrelated causes than white women. So, president sharp, im committed to passing timely what we call [ inaudible ] representative barbara lee to end the Hyde Amendment once and for all. But what else do you think we need to do to improve Reproductive Health care in tribal communities . I really appreciate that question. Thank you. And thank you for recognizing the disproportionate and high rate of Maternal Mortality rate. Youre right. We do suffer at a rate of 2. 3 times higher, and its even worse in Rural Communities where that rate is 4. 5 times higher for our population. And i can say from personal experience, i have one child. And i ended up in the intensive care unit. My child was at risk of dying, and he was born at four pounds. And i only have one child for that reason. And so because we do suffer these impacts, it is so very important that we pay special attention to womens Reproductive Health in appropriations for ihs. So, thank you so much for that question and raising attention to this very important issue. Well, thank you, and i look forward going ahead to work with you on specifically targeting that community. And let me just say, this is really a historic hearing. You know, we have over the history of our country so badly treated native americans and were still seeing residuals of all of that. We have to do so much more. But the good news is that we are expanding the number of americans in the congress, two women now, dove halen and sherice david are in the congress now. You know the saying, if youre not at the table, youre probably on the menu. So, were happy to have them. And now to have this historic hearing. I think we were talking before this that this may be the first real comprehensive hearing that we have had about tribal communities. So, i hope its the first of many, and lets Work Together on womens Reproductive Health. And with that, i yield back. Thank you so much. Thank you, jan. And now we go to ms. Rogers for five minutes. Good morning. Good morning mr. Chairman, and thank you everyone on the panel for joining us today on this important topic. I have the honor of representing several sovereign nation tribes in Eastern Washington including the caldwell, and the spokane. Like many other tribal communities in the country, theyve been hit hard, especially during this Public Health crisis, the coronavirus, and the many issues that have been brought to the forefront. The Digital Divide is especially highlighted in Rural Communities and in Tribal Community ies, an its underscored the importance of us taking action to address and close the Digital Divide. I am proud that the Eastern Washington tribes are working collaboratively with other stakeholders. We have a Broadband Action Team that is focused on identifying and addressing barriers to deployment including some unique models to lay dark fiber and partner with the private sector to provide the service. Health care is also really important and we must address some of the disparities that are in health care. The caldwell con federated tribe has shared with me today that they have been an abrupt decline in Third Party Billing during the pandemic that as obstructed building a new clinic in washington. This was one of five projects selected by Indian Health services by the joint venture construction program. The very competitive nationwide program and five projects withstood multiple levels of review. However, as dr. Graham discussed in his testimony, the viability of some of these projects has been negatively impacted by covid19. So, dr. Graham, i wanted to start with asking you that if Congress Makes additional appropriations available for ihs facility construction, should it also allow tribes to use those funds for their approved joint venture project. Thank you for that question. I dont say this lightly because thats not the way this program normally works, but i think everyone would agree that were in unprecedented times. All of those projects went through extensive review as you pointed out, a competitive process that meant that they were fully ready to do all these things. And now the economys taken a huge downturn, tribes have been impacted, as you have heard throughout this hearing. And i think allowing the agency that flexibility or asking them to spend some portion of those funds on these projects is entirely appropriate under these circumstances. Thank you. I appreciate that, dr. Graham, and i would like to ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a statement from the con federated tribes of the caldwell reservation and its on their joint venture project. Without objection, so ordered. Thank you. I also wanted to focus on medicaid which is an essential program. And Medicaid Expansion has played a Critical Role for Tribal Health. However, we know that problems still exist within the Indian Health system in states that have expanded. And Washington State is one of those states that has expanded. As we think about how we can support the tribes in both expansion and nonexpansion states, we need to have a full understanding of the needs the tribes are facing and the role here in congress that we can be playing to uphold our obligation. Dr. Graham, can you just detail some of the issues that were seeing in the Medicaid Expansion states as it relates to Indian Health services. Well, as you pointed out, congresswoman, those states that have it are doing better than the states that dont. And some studies are coming out now that show it has improved the health care of the population. But its not the see all and end all. And whenever you, you know, expand it that broadly, you start running into more problems. And so there is a group under cms called the ttag, tribal technical advisory group. That Group Debates and talks and discusses all these issues with cms. My written testimony, a number of things that would both help the efficiency of the agency and of tribes but also the funding. Ill give one example of one of the issues. Its called the four walls issue. Youve heard it a lot. It says that it has to be done within the four walls of a facility. That means at a time like this with covid when tribe ws were putting tent Testing Centers outdoors or might be using alternate care facilities, those things arent able to be billed adequately. The telemedicine that immediately went into effect across the nation, the billings and the rules around that has lagged. Tribes face another issue around Indian Health care providers providing services that are authorized by the law, but since medicaid is a statebystate program, they dont get to necessarily bill for all those services. Congress would fix that issue so if it was authorized that medicaid would allow those services to be billed. Those are a free brief examples. Ill stop there. Great. Thats what i was hoping you would highlight. I appreciate that, certainly initiative that the committee needs to look at. I yield back, mr. Chairman. Thank you. Next is mr. Butterfield. Recognized for five minutes. Is g. K. Available . I dont know. He may not be connected because i think he was driving maybe. Jeff, im going to move on unless you know that g. K. Is on. Okay. Then we go to ms. Matsui. Is doris available . Can you guys hear me . Yes, we can hear you, chairman. All right. Let me see whos next here if those two are not here. Oh, okay. So, the next one, then well go to kathy castor, the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. Hi everybody. Thanks to our terrific witnesses. But thank you, chairman pallone, for calling this very important hearing, and congratulations on your big win last night. I think its very clear we didnt even need to have a hearing to understand that our Indigenous People in our tribal nations have not been respected under the law. But id like to shift to talking about the potential of clean energy and Climate Solutions. Many of you know that last week the democrats on the select committee of the Climate Crisis of which i chair released a majority staff report which laid out a Climate Crisis action plan that included numerous recommendations to support tribal nations. The plan calls on congress to work with tribal leaders to expand clean energy solutions, cut pollution, to advance environmental justice, to improve Public Health among other recommendations. We know that tribal nations can contribute to the deployment of Climate Solutions and clean energy using their Natural Resources and their longstanding at t longstanding tenets of environmental stewardship. The American Congress of American Indians has outlined Indian Countrys priorities for addressing the Climate Crisis in a resolution that emphasizes the importance of Economic Development and tribal sovereignty as part of a transition to a clean energy economy. The offices within the department of interior and the department of energy have provided Technical Assistance to tribes on clean energy, but the level of support for these initiatives is often inconsistent. Broader infrastructure backlogs fe bureau of Indian Affairs also need attention and funding. So, in addition to major statutes like the federal power act, public utility regulatory policies act, theyre all silent on the on jurisdiction of tribes. Utilities, weve discussed come of that today. In a 2015 resolution, ncai called on congress to clarify that Indian Tribes have regulatory jurisdiction over utilities on reservations or villages. I would like to delve into that a little bit deeper and hear from our leaders today. So, president sharp, its good to see you again. Thank you for testifying and advising the Climate Crisis select committee. Thank you for your kind words on our action plan release last week. We recommend expanding and increasing funding for the office of Indian Energy and policy programs at the department of energy. How would this investment assist tribal advanced clean Energy Infrastructure . Yes, thank you so much for your leadership and thank you for directly engaging tribal nations up to this point. I would really like to focus my remarks around the sovereignty of tribal nations in advancing economies. And as we pointed out in our meeting, and i cited an example. When there was traits early in my presidency, the International Rate was 5 to 8 a metric ton. Here in this country, it wasnt even close to that level. But Domestic Companies couldnt access those International Markets because the u. S. Was not a signatory to a kyoto protocol. However, a tribal nation could access those. So, i think looking at Global Solutions and global economy, ways that tribes can stand on sovereign authority, we can attract Foreign Investment that otherwise we would never see in the United States. There are many opportunities in partnership we can do with funding and support. So, those are the exciting things were looking at in building a new economy. You all have suggested that on the resiliency piece there are so many Natural Solutions for sequestering carbon and putting people to work, and the report from the majority staff really suggests bold investments there. Give us some examples of how we can rebuild back, rebuild better at a time where we have over 40 million americans out of work . And i know thats a deep problem on our reservations. The most effective policy that any government can adopt in addressing Climate Change is pricing carbon. And that means holding those who are directly responsible accountable to generate revenue. Those dollars can be invested in Recovery Efforts. That will put millions of people back to work with a new economy around Natural Resources, around restoration. So, we are stand with you to boldly take action to generate revenues that can then be in turn reinvested in creating jobs across many sectors. Thank you very much. I yield back. Thank you, kathy. Next we go to mr. Guthrie for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I appreciate the opportunity and appreciate all the witnesses for being here today. I just want to start out with the last congress, i know representatives mullin and reese coach you on bipartisan Indian Health service task force for the committee. The task force identified numerous issues that should be examined by the subcommittee on oversight investigations, including issues relating to hiring, treatment of patients and general oversight. And the agency is in dire need of oversight. And now during the covid19 pandemic, were seeing even more issues within the Indian Health service that congress and the committee must examine in more detail. And i really appreciate the hearing today, but i hope that we will let our discussion end on the issues of today and that the oversight investigation subcommittee on hearings of oversight Indian Health services again this year. So, for my first question, dr. Graham, the Indian Health care improvement act offered services from dental care to Long Term Care to mental and Behavioral Health care. These are known as qualified indian provider services. But because medicaid is jointly administered by states and the federal government, tribes cant go for these essential services if they arent covered in the state medicaid plan despite being authorized under federal law. So, my two questions for that is what Must Congress do to address this technical issue, and how long would fixing it improve care for native people . And how would fixing this issue impact Third Party Reimbursement at tribal and urban indian facilities . Thank you. Thank you congressman guthrie for that question. That is an issue. The Indian Health care improvement act allows Indian Health care providers to provide a number of services, and were going to do that whether a patient has a third party of any sort or not. We have come to rely heavily on Third Party Resources within the Indian Health services and tribes for our operational budgets. What we need is an authorization from congress to allow Indian Health care providers to receive reimbursement for services authorized under the Indian Health care improvement act and other qualified indian provider services. Whenever we deliver them to medicaideligible American Indians or alaskan natives. Currently, as you pointed out, we only received reimbursement when a state has made the services eligible. And as you know, medicaid varies from state to state in both eligibility and services. And also you all know that the states dont have to pay any match like they do for the rest of their population for American Indian patients seen in indian facilities. So, what were asking you to do would not have an impact on the states budgets either. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for that answer. And chairman sage, in your testimony, you mentioned the impacts that the coronavirus has had on this other new indian tribe. Specifically you mentioned that the pandemic has underscored the lack of access to high Speed Internet in Indian Country. My district, Remote Learning has highlighted the challenge of Broadband Access particularly in the rural parts of my district. How is your tribe bridging the gap in the short term, and what are some of the solutions you are looking at to address this issue in the long term . Thank you. Thank you for the question. [ inaudible ] dealing with the gap here with the internet service. We do have our own entity that i oversee with the what is called the suss department and they monitor all of the internet, the wifi thats all available for us. So, we get that. We are 615 well with this. But we do need the broadband. My concern with the broadband is that if our students are going to go to college and theyre going to have to be taking classes online. Theres no way that theyre going to be able to do this because they dont have the internet, the service that they will need to succeed themselves. And then our telehealth. We have our we have ihs. They also say go through the state. Were always its just always that were pushed aside. Nothings really, you know, dominant and just in stone thing that were going to assist us here. But were doing well here with what you have. Thank you. Thank you very much. Your answer. Good timing. I have five seconds left, and ill yield those back, mr. Chair. Thank you very much for being here today. Thank you. Thank you, brett. Next were going to go to mr. Mcnearny for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I thank you the witnesses. This is a tremendous hearing with a lot of information. Could be done in several hearings like mr. Shimkus noted. But access are clearly Major Concerns for the tribal communities. But even where broadband has been deployed, people are still being left behind because they cant afford broadband or they lacked Digital Literacy skills. Now, im the house sponsor of the Digital Equity act which would help adjust these challenges. Ive introduced this bill with my colleagues representative clark and representative lujan and im pleased that the ncia has endorsed and it and the house passed it last week. President sharp, would your communities benefit from resources that would be made available if we make broadband for affordable, equip individuals with devices and provide literary skills digital literary Skills Including doing tasks like applying for jobs online . Would that be very helpful . Yes, that would be incredibly helpful. And we do thank you for your leadership in recognizing the tremendous need and meeting that need with resources. We would also recommend that there be coordination and communication among the various federal agencies because there are a wide range of agencies that are funded, but theres no one lead agency to provide a very clear strategy. So, those two things would be very helpful and we thank you for your leadership. Well, thank you. Thats a good help and information. President , access to spectrum is also important for connectivity needs of the tribal communities. The tribal priority window for 2. 5 gigahertz ban closes on august 3rd. However the house acted in hr 2 to extend this period by 180 days. The fcc could act on its own to do this today if it happened to do so. President nez, applying for fcc special licenses can be complicated, especially for tribal government representing a vast territory. And you described the typical decisionmaking process for the Navajo Nation when deciding whether to apply for spectrum licenses including how long each step takes . Yes. Thank you for the question, representative mcnerney. And chairman and members of the committee, thank you for that question. Navajo nation is 27,000 square miles. We are in three states. You know, theres mention of Medicaid Expansion. We got a deal with three states. And in terms of broadband and Internet Access, telecommunication, we have to be able to work with the states as well. But this initiative and i appreciate you championing this for tribal communities will allow tribes to fit in the 2. 5 at least Navajo Nation, let me say that, Navajo Nation, 2. 5 to be able to be used in the ruralmost parts of the Navajo Nation. And that is in the eastern part of the Navajo Nation. And one example in the western part of the Navajo Nation, we have a hospital there that doesnt have internet capability for really connecting to the gosh, the word i forgot what its called the connectivity there that we utilized for funding during the american recovery reinvestment act fiber. There it is fiber line to go to the hospital. And right now that hospital in that community doesnt get that fastSpeed Internet. So, during a covid19, this pandemic, you know, its going to be hard for telemedicine and also getting and this type of spectrum would help get some relief getting high Speed Internet and connectivity to these places that dont have fiber. Thank you, representative mcnerney. Well, what else do you believe the federal Communication Committee should be doing to help on this issue . Well, the fcc, if they would look at some of the white paper, representative mcnerney, about how we can have federal agencies Work Together to, you know, either set aside i hate to say but to set aside the federal regulations and policies so that we can get high Speed Internet and also cell service for those people that dont have it, especially now. You know, we have to have students go to these hotspots in order for them to get internet availability. And here were in a shelterinplace or a stayathome order and were seeing students traveling to these hotspots and even Community Members going to these hotspots. Whereas if we open it up, they could be able to connect from the home which would lessen the spread of coronavirus here in the Navajo Nation. Thank you. Thank you. My time is expired but im going to submit a question for the record about the effect on the Navajo Nation. Thank you. I yield back. Thank you, jerry. Next, we have mr. Griffin. Thank you, very much. Can you hear me, mr. Chairman . Yes. Okay. Excellent. Chairman sage, it is remarkable what the southern ute has accomplished over the last several decades creating and operating new businesses on and off the reservation that generate millions for your tribe. While your tribe has a diverse portfolio in investments in real estate, housing, and gaming, oil and Housing Production appear to be particularly important. Can you share a bit about your tribes experience with the National Environmental policy act and any other federal regulatory barriers as you have advanced Energy Development on your tribal lands . If i can get this to mute. Yes, maam. Thank you for the question. Yes, nepa is on development infrastructure. Every time a major federal action is pending, nepa is triggered. At a minimum, agencies should use tribal environment analysis. And where the tribe has the kind of sophisticated government, it should be allowed to develop and administer its own tribal environmental policy act instead of the federal nepa. With the part two, the tribe also faces inconsistent requirement through the various federal agencies on the single project. Blm, usfs, United States Forest Service and inconsistent requirements. Consistency across federal partners would greatly benefit. Thank you. And so would you support current efforts to modernize nepa to help bring clarity to these various matters . Yes, definitely. And are you concerned by some of the environmental proposals, particularly those that are more extreme that are out there that would ban fracking or phase out fossil fuels completely . Thats a good question. To be determined. Yes, yes, definitely. It would have to take a lot of review, collaboration to make sure that this is going to benefit the tribe. Right. And of course if you ban fossil fuels outright, then you have the same situation that president nez had where theyre looking at as many people in my district are looking for ways to reduce the revenues from coal. His state early on said 30 to 50 million had been lost by the nation as a result of closing down the cofired power plant and the coal mine that previously was hiring and employeeing members of his nation. Would that be the same if they suddenly shut down oil and Gas Production in your area . Yes, its a balance there. It would definitely be a balance. And i appreciate that. And president nez, do you have any comments that you might make on how do we replace that 30 to 50 million that you said was lost as a result of the shutting down of the coalfired power plant and the coal mining jobs . How do we replace that . And how does that impact your ability to try to get electricity to the homes in the Navajo Nation that currently lack electricity . Thank you for that question representative griffith. And let me go to representative castors question about clean energy and Climate Change. Yes, we are seeing closures of coal fired power plants, one on the Navajo Nation, another outside our nation. And theres a potential of others closing down in the future. And thats jobs and revenue and the local economy getting impacted negatively. But there is a move to transition away from fossil fuel into Renewable Energy. We do have some projects that are being planned right now. Solar and wind. And, you know, it comes back to, as was mentioned, these federal regulations. You know, nepa, to be able to set some of those regulations aside could really jump start some of these projects quickly. And i appreciate you all talking about that. Thank you. So, reforming knnepa could hp the renewables as well. One of the other things ive been championing is we have research on clean energy and fossil fuels. Im not trying to reduce any of that, but maybe we can find a way to make the coalfired plant a little cheaper or a little more efficient and less costly in the sense of pollutants. That being said, i see my time is up and i have to yield back. Thank you so much to all the witnesses for your time. Thank you, morgan. So, next were going to go to mr. Lujan. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I appreciate that very much. Its an honor to be with you to. Every one of the panelists, its an honor to be with you as well. Thank you for being available today. And special greetings, mr. President , to president nez, hello my friend from the Navajo Nation which im proud to represent in new mexico. The third Congressional District of new mexico, im proud to represent 50 pueblos, hickory, apache and Navajo Nation. The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated challenges and inequities that longexisted before covid19. The inequities include a lack of access to broadband, insufficient housing support, barriers to ensuring an accurate census count, and failure to guarantee access to the ballot box. Simply put, the federal government is not living up to its trust responsibilities. Housing, water, health care, road and broadband projects are underfunded and often wait for federal approval while communities suffer. These failures span many decades and president ial administrations and its not acceptable. And as a congress, we must come together in a bipartisan way to fulfill our obligations to tribal communities. Dr. Graham, your testimony is very clear on this. Will you please state yes or no whether the Indian Health services has chronically been underfunded before covid19 . Yes, sir, it has. And i spoke about a 3 million ihs contract awarded to former Trump White House staffer whose company delivered thousands of faulty masks which were unfit for use which ihs discovered before they were distributed to the facilities of my state. Is it acceptable that ihs patients and physicians and First Responders should receive lower quality supplies, lower quality facilities, or lower Quality Health care . No, sir, none of those things are acceptable. I appreciate that, sir. President nez, in your testimony you note that the Digital Divide affects businesss ability to thrive, students ability to work, and patients ability to see their doctor. And all this has been made worse by the covid19 crisis. According to the cdc, lack access to high speed fixed broadband. This is unacceptable. President nez, yes or no, do we in the congress and the federal government need to make more robust investments in Broadband Access to ensure the tribal communities are not left behind . Absolutely yes, and oh, my friend. I appreciate that, mr. President. Recently fcc commissioner joined me in new mexico to have a conversation with tribal and public communities about the Erate Program which is an Important Program to expand broadband connect i. T. To educational facilities to, libraries to. Me, longterm needs once the stayathome order is lifted, yes or no, do you agree that congress should support connectivity at tribal anchored institutions such as tribal libraries, schools, and chapter houses by making them all eligible for the Erate Program . Yes. And president nez, in your testimony, you say that the United States must, quote, address all the health, cultural and environmental consequences of the uranium extraction and processing on navajo lands. As you know, these consequences include severe forms of cancel, kidney diseases, and respiratory illnesses. Yes or no, has the covid19 crisis exacerbated the Health Impact of our nations legacy of uranium mining on the navajo people . Yes, absolutely. Mr. President , yes or no, should Congress Pass the radiation exposure compensation act amendments to extend eureka and expand compensation to all those impacted by uranium mining and Nuclear Testing during the cold war. Yes, sir. I appreciate that, mr. President. And thats one area where im hoping my colleagues, democrats and republicans, who were currently not cosponsors are providing support to uranium mine workers and communities like in new mexico where the first bomb wassest theed on soil were not included in downward communities. I hope we can all come together and pass this legislation. And as you heard from president nez, its important that aspects of the reka be included in whatever the funding is in response to covid19 fwauf the exposure to so many families because of the respiratory illnesses. The last question i have, what does the lack of access to Running Water mean to the communities of tribal communities and public communities including familys risk for covid19 and other Health Issues. As you know, American Indian and lass can natives, their homes have 6 that have unacceptable water sewer compared to onehalf of 1 in the u. S. White population. One of the biggest things cdc says to do is wash your hands. They dont have the ability to do that. If you look at the mortality and morbidity statistics within the Indian Health service and you take a look at how much can be reduced by safe water and safe sewer, no matter whether you go to a tribal hospital or clinic, its remarkable. Its absolutely necessary for Peoples Health and its absolutely necessary during covid19. I appreciate that. I yield back, mr. Chairman. I think dr. Grims testimony said that it was 10. 83 times more likely in homes without indoor plumbing that there would be spread of covid19. Thank you for this important hearing, mr. Chairman. I yield back. Thank you. Now were going to move to mr. Bilirakis. Youre recognized for five minutes. Thank you. Thank you mr. Chairman. I appreciate it very much. I want to thank the witnesses for testifying today as well. Dr. Grim, Clinical Trials often provide patients with the best, perhaps only treatment option for their condition. However, without coverage of routine costs associated with participation in Clinical Trials, many medicaid beneficiaries do not have the latest technology, technological and scientific advancements as a treatment option. Medicaid serves many demographics including tribal communities that are underrepresented in current Clinical Trial enrollment. Lack of participation in Clinical Trials from the medicaid population means these patients are being excluded from potentially lifesaving trials and are not reflected in the outcome of the clinical research. Congressman lujan, my good friend, and i introduced hr913, the clinical treatment act, which would address this issue by providing coverage of routine care costs associated with Clinical Trial participation for medicaid enrollees. And this is a question. Does increased access to Clinical Trial participation for medicaid enrollees help ensure medical Research Results more accurately capture and reflect the population of this country . And if so, why is that important . And especially if we develop better Treatment Options and a vaccine for the covid19. Thats a question for dr. Grimm please. Thank you, congressman. Youre absolutely right theres been underrepresentation of all minorities and medicaid eligible patients. One of the reasons its so important is that if a new drug or a new treatment is not tested on a specific population group, whenever that medication or treatment comes out, the doctors ask themselves, hm, especially doctors in Indian Health service, theyll say there really wasnt a significant or any indian population in this particular trial. How do we know this drug is going to work the same on our population . And that goes across the spectrum of almost anything. So, i think its extremely important although ive not read your full bill, i support the concept, and i appreciate the question. Very good. Thank you. I appreciate the answer. Dr. Grim, according to the nih, diabetes is a common risk factor for peripheral arterial disease or p. A. D. , a circulatory deficiency that leads to blockages in the blood vessels that supply the lower extremities. Native americans experience both diabetes and p. A. D. At a disproportionate rate. And certain region of the u. S. , native americans are more likely to undergo a p. A. D. Related amputation than caucasians. Patients who undergo amputations have shorter life expectancies and exchange independence and physicality with high death rates and a costly the dependency on our burdened Health Care System. However, most of these are preventable if p. A. D. Is screened diagnosed early and properly managed. And ive actually witnessed a procedure thats really incredible, what were doing today. Because tribal communities are disproportionately affected by p. A. D. , what steps can be taken to ensure that these communities, even in the midst of a pandemic, have better access to care that will prevent such amputations . If you can answer that question, sir, id appreciate it. Thank you, again, congressman. So, amputations specifically ill talk about, in native communities is higher, as you pointed out. And its terrible when the disease reaches that state where theres no other way to treat it. Because of the isolation of many of our communities and the ability to get either the specialists for that sort of care or to recruit people to your community to actually work, those are very difficult hurdles to overcome. And just off of the top of my head and im willing to research this further. But i feel like the agency would need more purchased and referred care dollars, those dollars that we use to refer the higher level specialists for care that would help our population. The other thing that was mentioned earlier too is the approval of the bill that would extend a longer term to the special Diabetes Program for indians and also raise the dollar amount on that. That program has done an immense amount to reduce the prevalence and incidence of diabetes in Indian Country. And as you pointed out, thats one of the primary factors that causes a higher level of this disease in our population. Yeah, really solves this is common sense. I know we could save a lot of money as well because amputations and the care afterwards is very expensive. But its a quality of life issue. Mr. Chairman, im not sure if i have anymore time. I dont see a clock. But i have one more question if i have time. You have time. Very good. I appreciate it. Ms. Sage, your testimony talks about some of the issues tribes have had in accessing the pe paycheck protection program, ppe funding. Al can you tell us more about this and what would you propose to fix the administration of ppp. I know we made some tweaks to it and theyve been very positive. But what else can you add . Thank you. And this is for ms. Page excuse me, ms. Sage. Thank you for that question. With that, we will allow multiple entities to apply under one eim. And that was my answer. Thank you. Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman, i yield back. I appreciate you holding this hearing. Thank you. Thank you, gus. The u. S. House and Senate Return on monday to resume legislative business following their state work period over the fourth of july holiday. The u. S. House considers the 2021 National Defense authorization act with votes expected as early as 11 30 a. M. Eastern. The senate convenes at 3 00 p. M. They resume debate on the nomination of Russell Vought to be director of the office of management and budget. Hes been serving in an acting capacity since january 2019. The senate limited debate and advanced his nomination on july 2nd. At 5 30 p. M. , the senate votes on confirmation of the vote nomination. Watch live coverage of the house when they return on cspan, live coverage of the senate on cspan2. Tonight on American History tv, our series landmark cases produced in cooperation with the National Constitution center. We explore the issues, people and places involved in some of the most Significant Supreme Court cases in our nations history. At 8 00 eastern we begin with schenck versus United States, holding that men who distributed leaflets against the draft could be convicted of espionage and that the First Amendment is not absolute. And then at 9 30 from the 1944 case korematsu versus United States. Watch landmark cases tonight on cspan3 and any time on cspan. Org. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin appears before the House Small Business Committee on oversight of the Small Business administration and department of treasury pandemic program. Live coverage begins friday at 10 30 a. M. Eastern on cspan. And later this month, u. S. Attorney general william barr appears before the house judiciarys committee general Oversight Committee on the justice department. On tuesday july 28th. Watch live coverage of the mnuchin hearing friday at 10 30 a. M. Eastern on cspan, watch any time on cspan. Org, or listen on the go with the cspan radio app. American history tv on cspan3, exploring the people and events that tell the american story every weekend. Coming up saturday, at 6 00 p. M. Eastern on the civil war, historian herald holt zer talk about their joint publication, the civil war and 50 objects all related to the draft riots in new york city. On sunday at 6 00 p. M. On american artifacts well tour fort monroe casement museum, the largest stone forth in the United States that sits at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in virginia. Hear how the fort served as a beacon of freedom for enslaved people and how it held Jefferson Davis for president for two years after the war. At 7 00 p. M. , a look at fdr, trueman, and the atomic bomb on the heels of the anniversary of the bombings. And at 8 00 p. M. On the presidency Ronald Reagans 1983 interview with Readers Digest and his 1988 interview with the bbc. Both interviews were conducted from the oval office with president reagan discussing a variety of issues including his hollywood days, the 1983 bombings that killed u. S. Marines in beirut lebanon, and the assassination attempt that left him seriously wounded. Exploring the american story. Watch American History tv this weekend on cspan3. A House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence examined the use of Ai Technology to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Witnesses debated privacy concerns using ai. This hearing was held by video conference. It was chaired by congressman bill foster. The task force will now come to order. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a recess of the task force at any time. Without objection, the members of the full committee not on onn