WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) today introduced three bills designed to streamline tribal job training and substance abuse programs and provide assistance to tribal justice systems.

The “Indian Employment, Training, and Related Services Act Amendments of 1999" makes permanent the pilot program that allows tribes to consolidate their federal welfare-to-work programs under one plan. This increases the efficiency of the employment and training programs by reducing the amount of time and paperwork needed to manage them. The amendments also require the Interior Department to report to Congress on how to broaden the program.

The “Native American Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program Consolidation Act of 1999" applies that same concept by allowing tribes to draw together currently uncoordinated programs and target them where they are needed most.

“These bills will allow federal dollars to be spent helping the people they were intended for and not be wasted by federal agencies and by complying with burdensome federal regulations,” Campbell said. “They address two of the most important issues in Indian Country – unemployment and drug and alcohol abuse.

“Indian reservations lead the nation with a 52 percent unemployment rate and far outpace other communities in alcoholism and drug use. The greatest tragedy is in the increased use of drugs and alcohol by teenagers. These bills ensure tribes will get the assistance they need to address these problems while getting the federal government out of the way.”

Campbell also introduced the “Indian Tribal Justice Systems Technical Assistance Act of 1999" which authorizes the U.S. Attorney General to help tribes improve the capacity of their judicial systems and provide legal assistance to their members.