Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
The Co-Chairs of the Congressional Native American Caucus (NA Caucus) have drafted a letter to the leadership of the House Committees on Financial Services and Armed Services urging inclusion of the reauthorization of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA) in the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA is must-pass annual legislation that authorizes defense funding and often serves as a vehicle for other bills. Sponsored by Senators Schatz and Murkowski, the NAHASDA reauthorization was included as Senate NDAA Amendment #1078 to S. 2226, the FY24 NDAA, which passed the Senate on July 27, 2023. The NA Caucus is urging that the NAHASDA reauthorization be retained in the FY24 NDAA.
As the Senate and House of Representatives proceed with Conference Committee negotiations on the FY24 NDAA, the NA Caucus is seeking signatures from House members in support of its letter to retain the NAHASDA reauthorization in the final bill. We strongly encourage our member Tribal Nations to contact their House Representatives and request that they sign on to the NA Caucus support letter for retaining the NAHASDA reauthorization in the FY24 NDAA. To identify your members of the House of Representatives and their contact information, please click here.
Senate NDAA Amendment #1078 included in S. 2226 reauthorizes NAHASDA for 7 years and includes reforms to foster greater local control over programming, streamline environmental reviews for Tribal housing projects, and incentivize private partnerships. Reauthorizing NAHASDA will bring needed program improvements and provide more certainty for future appropriations that better assist Tribal housing entities in successfully developing housing options. Congress must fulfill its trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations and provide annual, dedicated funding to Tribal housing programs. To view a chronology of Congressional activity on NAHASDA and related Native American housing matters, please click here.
For more information, please contact Brian Howard, USET SPF Senior Policy Analyst, at bhoward@usetinc.org.
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