WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, today convened a legislative hearing to receive testimony on the following bills:
- S. 279, the Tribal School Federal Insurance Parity Act; legislation to amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to provide parity and allow for tribally controlled grant schools to be eligible for participation in the Federal Employee Health Benefits and the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance programs.
- S. 790, A bill to clarify certain provisions of Public Law 103-116, the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993, and for other purposes, which authorizes the Catawba Indian Nation to own and operate a gaming facility, in accordance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, on lands taken into trust by the Secretary of the Interior, on behalf of the Catawba Indian Nation, located in Cleveland County, North Carolina.
- S. 832, A bill to nullify the Supplemental Treaty Between the United States of America and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of Indians of Middle Oregon, concluded on November 15, 1865.
“Today, the Committee heard from the Administration, two tribal leaders and a tribal education official, on three bills that affect education and economic development within Indian country,” said Hoeven. “The testimony received will help the Committee as it reviews the pending legislation.”
The Committee received testimony from:
- MR. JOHN TAHSUDA III, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC
- THE HONORABLE WILLIAM HARRIS, Chief, Catawba Indian Nation, Rock Hill, SC
- THE HONORABLE RON SUPPAH, Council Member, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Warm Springs, OR
- MS. CECELIA FIRE THUNDER, President, Oglala Lakota Nation Education Coalition, Martin, SD
For witness testimony and video of the legislative hearing, click here.
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