May 28th, 2024

Dear USET/USET SPF Family, Organizational Partners, and Relatives Across Indian Country,

On May 20, 2024, the Indian Health Service (IHS) published a Dear Tribal Leader Letter sharing the final funding allocations for its Fiscal Year 2024 the annual Sanitation Facilities Construction (SFC) program appropriation.

Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, funding for the SFC program was reduced by $73 million, for a total FY 2024 Fiscal Year (FY) appropriation of $124 million. This is a 37% reduction below the FY 2023 enacted funding level. These annual funds are separate from the supplemental funding provided for the SFC program in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

In light of the funding reduction, IHS has determined that the annual SFC funds for FY 2024 will be used to support the following activities:

• $54 million to provide sanitation facilities to new homes and like-new homes in Tribal communities

• $29 million to resolve sanitation deficiencies at existing homes included in the SDS by supporting planning, design, construction document preparation, and construction cost overruns associated with previously funded SDS projects

• $29 million to resolve sanitation deficiencies at existing homes included in the SDS by supporting planning, design, construction document preparation, and construction cost overruns associated with previously funded SDS projects

• $3 million to support Emergency and Special Projects

As in prior years, the IHS plans to use the remaining $21 million to increase funding for program support activities related to implementing the IIJA, and to ensure that Tribal Nations constructing SFC projects funded by the IIJA also have access to program support funding.

The IHS hopes that future budgets will include restored funding for the SFC program. USET SPF will continue to monitor this issue and provide updates when appropriate.

For more information on the IHS SFC Program click here.

Please contact Melanie Plucinski, Tribal Infrastructure Policy Analyst, at mplucinski@usetinc.org if you have any questions. 

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Established in 1969, the United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc. (USET) is a non-profit, inter-Tribal organization serving thirty-three (33) federally recognized Tribal Nations from the Northeastern Woodlands to the Everglades and across the Gulf of Mexico. USET is dedicated to enhancing the development of Tribal Nations, improving the capabilities of Tribal governments, and improving the quality of life for Indian people through a variety of technical and supportive programmatic services.

Established in 2014, the USET Sovereignty Protection Fund (USET SPF) is a non-profit, inter-Tribal organization advocating on behalf of thirty-three (33) federally recognized Tribal Nations from the Northeastern Woodlands to the Everglades and across the Gulf of Mexico. USET SPF is dedicated to promoting, protecting, and advancing the inherent sovereign rights and authorities of Tribal Nations and in assisting its membership in dealing effectively with public policy issues.