FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 26, 1997
CONTACT: Christopher M. Changery
(202) 224-2251

CAMPBELL: BUDGET NUMBERS MASK QUIET DECLINE IN FEDERAL SPENDING FOR INDIANS

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman Ben Nighthorse Campbell today expressed concern that the federal government's Indian-related spending has been on the decline since 1975.

"While the president's budget reflects minor increases for meeting specific obligations, such as construction of facilities, pay increases and contract support costs, I think it is fair to say that funding for many programs designed to help Native American families has not kept pace with inflation and in most areas has actually declined." Campbell said. "For example: while funding for education programs at the Bureau of Indian Affairs increased, in current dollars, an average of $14.6 million dollars per year from 1975 to 1998, factoring in inflation reveals that those programs have been losing an average of $1.4 million each and every year.

"Indian programs historically have been under funded and continue to be inadequate to meet the needs of Indian people. The fact that the buying power of Indian programs decreases every year only makes the situation worse."

During a committee hearing on the president's FY98 budget requests for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service, Campbell introduced a Congressional Research Service analysis of Indian-related spending from 1975 to 1998. The analysis found that:

• Factored for inflation, overall Indian spending has gone down each year, while federal spending on all other non-defense areas has gone up.



• All major Indian-related spending items except IHS have declined over the 23-year period. The rate of increase of IHS funding has been just over half that of all federal health spending.



• Over this same time period the Indian population has increased at a rate nearly four times that of the overall U.S. population.

"These funding trends represent the very difficult decisions that we are going to be faced with in the years to come," Campbell said. "While it is clear that achieving fiscal responsibility means that the available discretionary dollars will continue to decline, we need to keep our priorities focused on those with the greatest need. I look forward to working with the administration and Indian tribes to seek innovative ways to provide resources to our Indian communities."