Washington, D.C. – Today, three of Senator Cortez Masto’s (D-Nev.) bills supporting Tribal communities passed the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs with bipartisan support. The Bridging Agency Data Gaps & Ensuring Safety (BADGES) for Native Communities Act, the Indian Health Service (IHS) Workforce Parity Act, and the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation Water Rights Settlement Act now all head to the Senate floor. Last Congress, each of these bills passed the Senate unanimously, but did not receive votes in the House of Representatives.
“Whether it is by advancing public safety, expanding health care access, or ensuring the federal government pays the debts it owes, I will always fight to support Tribal communities,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “I am glad these commonsense bills were voted out of committee with bipartisan support, and I urge my colleagues in both the House and the Senate to swiftly pass them into law.”
- The BADGES for Native Communities Act would support the recruitment and retention of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement officers, bolster federal missing persons resources, and give Tribes and states tools to combat violence.
- The IHS Workforce Parity Act would improve health care in Tribal communities by allowing providers working part-time to access IHS scholarship and loan repayment programs.
- The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation Water Rights Settlement Act would allow the Tribes to collect over $5 million in interest they are owed for their 2009 water rights settlement, which left out commonplace interest payments.
Senator Cortez Masto has long been a champion for Tribal communities. She repeatedly called on the Biden administration to do more to address the epidemic of violence against Native women and girls, including securing federal funding to protect Native communities, urging the administration to draft a plan to address this issue, and requesting the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate the federal response to this crisis.
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