11.15.19

NEXT WEEK: Full Committee Markup, Honoring Native American Heritage Month, Reviewing Report on Funding Shortfalls in Indian Country

Washington, D.C. – The Committee on Natural Resources will hold a full committee markup on 8 bills that protect important and iconic landscapes and the communities who rely on them, as well as an oversight hearing in the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States to investigate the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Broken Promises report – available at https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/12-20-Broken-Promises.pdf – and hear from tribal leaders whose communities have been betrayed by chronic underfunding.

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, Chair Raúl M. Grijalva will host a panel in partnership with the Library of Congress on the importance of funding Native Americans in the arts and the need for Native perspectives to be included in mainstream arts.

The Committee’s full schedule and witness lists are available below. These events are open to media and the public.

Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States

Hearing: Reviewing the Broken Promises Report: Examining the Chronic Federal Funding Shortfalls in Indian Country

When: Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time

Where: 1334 Longworth House Office Building

Witness List

Panel I  

The Honorable Patricia Timmons Goodson

Vice-Chair, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

Washington, DC

Dr. Anna Maria Ortiz

Director, Natural Resources and Environment

U.S. Government Accountability Office

Washington, DC

Rear Adm. Chris Buchanan
Deputy Director, Indian Health Service 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Rockville, MD

Mr. Jason Freihage

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs

U.S. Department of the Interior

Washington, DC

Panel II

The Honorable Fawn Sharp

President

National Congress of American Indians

Washington, DC

The Honorable Lynn Malerba

Secretary

USET Sovereignty Protection Fund

Washington, DC

The Honorable Jonodev Chaudhuri

Ambassador

Muscogee Creek Nation

Okmulgee, OK

Ms. Stacey Bohlen

Chief Executive Officer

National Indian Health Board

Washington, DC

Ms. Francys Crevier
Executive Director
National Council of Urban Indian Health

Washington, DC

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month – A Panel on Native Americans in the Arts

When: Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time

Where: Room LJ-119 of the Thomas Jefferson Building at the Library of Congress

In recognition of November as Native American Heritage Month, the House Committee on Natural Resources in partnership with the Library of Congress will host a panel conversation to discuss the importance of Native Americans in the arts and highlight cultural achievements. A livestream of this event will be available at www.facebook.com/NRDems. 

Featuring:

  • Natalie G. Diaz (Gila River Indian Community), Poet
  • Gertrude “Gertie” Lopez (Tohono O’odham Nation), Musician

Moderator:

  • Dr. Cynthia Chavez Lamar, Assistant Director for Collections, Smithsonian National Museum of American Indians  

Full Committee Markup

When: Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time

Where: 1324 Longworth House Office Building

Bills Considered 

  • H.R. 1708 (Rep. Schiff), To adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, and for other purposes. “Rim of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act.” 
  • H.R. 2199 (Rep. Carbajal), To designate certain Federal land in the State of California as wilderness, and for other purposes. “Central Coast Heritage Protection Act.” 
  • H.R. 2215 (Rep. Chu), To establish as a unit of the National Park System the San Gabriel National Recreation Area in the State of California, and for other purposes. “San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection Act.” 
  • H.R. 2250 (Rep. Huffman), To provide for restoration, economic development, recreation, and conservation on Federal lands in Northern California, and for other purposes. “Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act.” 
  • H.R. 2546 (Rep. DeGette), To designate certain lands in the State of Colorado as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, and for other purposes. “Colorado Wilderness Act of 2019.” 
  • H.R. 2642 (Rep. Kilmer), To designate and expand wilderness areas in Olympic National Forest in the State of Washington, and to designate certain rivers in Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park as wild and scenic rivers, and for other purposes. “Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.” 
  • H.R. 2854 (Rep. Velázquez), To amend the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to prohibit the use of neonicotinoids in a National Wildlife Refuge, and for other purposes. “Protect Our Refuges Act of 2019.”
  • S. 216 (Sen. Cantwell), To provide for equitable compensation to the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation for the use of tribal land for the production of hydropower by the Grand Coulee Dam, and for other purposes. “Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation Equitable Compensation Act.”

Press Contact

Adam Sarvana

(202) 225-6065 or (202) 578-6626 mobile