"Tribal governments were supposed to get $8 billion in direct emergency relief from the CARES Act, the $2 trillion covid-19 stimulus bill that became law on March 27. More than a month later, they haven’t gotten any of it," Jennifer Bendery reports for HuffPost. "Part of the reason is that the Treasury Department, which is charged with distributing that money, has been flailing in its dealings with tribes."
Aid was also slowed down because of a legal dispute over how the money was to be distributed. The Trump administration intended to give some of the money to for-profit Alaska Native corporations, but tribal governments filed suit, arguing that they could lose millions of dollars if they had to share the money with ANCs. On Monday, a federal judge ruled that ANCs don't qualify as tribal governments and can't get the aid money, Zoe Tillman reports for Buzzfeed News.
The pandemic has hit many rural Native American communities hard, often exacerbated by inadequate infrastructure, overcrowded housing, lack of access to health care, and underlying health conditions, Simon Romero reports for The New York Times.
The delay in distributing the funds violates the 30-day requirement in the CARES Act, as well as a deadline the Treasury imposed on itself: department representatives had told the court that they would begin distributing the money as soon as this past Tuesday, Acee Agoyo reports for Indianz, a news website operated by the Winnebago Tribe. The Trump administration has made no move to appeal the court decision.
Aid was also slowed down because of a legal dispute over how the money was to be distributed. The Trump administration intended to give some of the money to for-profit Alaska Native corporations, but tribal governments filed suit, arguing that they could lose millions of dollars if they had to share the money with ANCs. On Monday, a federal judge ruled that ANCs don't qualify as tribal governments and can't get the aid money, Zoe Tillman reports for Buzzfeed News.
The pandemic has hit many rural Native American communities hard, often exacerbated by inadequate infrastructure, overcrowded housing, lack of access to health care, and underlying health conditions, Simon Romero reports for The New York Times.
The delay in distributing the funds violates the 30-day requirement in the CARES Act, as well as a deadline the Treasury imposed on itself: department representatives had told the court that they would begin distributing the money as soon as this past Tuesday, Acee Agoyo reports for Indianz, a news website operated by the Winnebago Tribe. The Trump administration has made no move to appeal the court decision.
No comments:
Post a Comment