KNBA News for September 18, 2015
17 BIA Settlement
By Lori Townsend, APRN
The U.S. Justice department on Thursday announced the settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by 640 tribes and tribal groups against the Bureau of Indian Affairs over payment of contract support costs. The contracts between tribes and the federal government are for services including education and tribal law enforcement.
The case was first filed in 1990. The total payout amount is 940 million dollars, although court and attorney fees will have to be deducted first. Alaska's tribes will see close to 125 million of those dollars, and regional non-profits such as Tanana Chiefs Conference, Tlingit and Haida Central Council and the Association of Village Council Presidents will also benefit. Lloyd Miller is one of the plaintiff attorneys in the case. He says the federal government erred when it treated the contracts as program costs rather than legal, binding contracts.
“Had they understood that, which they do now, had they understood it at the time, they would have redesigned their budgets to fully pay these contracts first and then requested funds for other discretionary programs they had, based on whatever priority system they use. So the root problem was a failure to appreciate that these were binding legal agreements with the tribes that had to be paid,” Miller said.
The case is similar to a settlement in recent years with the Indian Health Service over costs related to contracting between tribes and the federal government. Miller says beyond the monetary settlement, the way forward for tribal contracts is clearer after congress in 2013 fixed the problem by fully funding contract support costs with tribes starting in 2014.
Miller says even if there are further sequestration cuts, tribal contracts could be exempted from those sequestration cuts.
"And that to me is one of the legacies of these litigations. They were about contracts and contracts being honored, but they are also more deeply about the way that the US of America through Congress and the executive branch deals with tribal governments,” Miller said.
The New Mexico judge in the case will have to approve the settlement. If approved, payments are likely to start going out as soon as next spring.
Land transfer
By Liz Ruskin, APRN
The U.S. House this week passed a bill to transfer 23 acres of federal land in Bethel to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation. The bill now goes to the president, who is expected to sign it.
YKHC wants to get title to the land from the Indian Health Service so it can expand the Bethel hospital. Even though the agency approved it, federal land transfers require an act of Congress. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Congressman Don Young have been working on it for years. Young spoke on the House floor yesterday.
“This is a bill that should have been signed into law a lot sooner. It will be done now, and we’ll be able to take and expand this hospital for my Alaska Natives,” Young said.
YKHC plans to build a primary care clinic attached to the existing hospital. It’s a $250 million project.
Arctic Economic Council
By Ellen Lockyer
The Arctic Economic Council announced Thursday that former FCC commissioner, Robert McDowell, will lead the newly established AEC Telecommunications working group. The Telecommunications working group consists of members from the Arctic Economic Council with input from telecommunication expert advisors. A final work product to include analysis and recommendations is expected in the first quarter of 2017.
McDowell has strong telecommunications experience, serving for seven years as commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C. Appointed in 2006 and 2009 by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, McDowell was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate at each appointment. As commissioner, he worked to formulate and establish U.S. communications policy – covering the media, Internet and wireless industries. He also served on official U.S. diplomatic delegations.