Biden administration chastised for late testimony to Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Channel: indianz
Date: 2023-09-29

The Biden administration got an earful from the Democratic leader of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs at an oversight hearing on September 27, 2023.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), the chair of the committee, chastised the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service for not submitting their testimony on time. The comments came at a hearing on the federal government's trust and treaty responsibilities to tribes.

"This isn't some arbitrary administrative requirement," Schatz said at the hearing in the nation's capital. "I can't see your testimony when I'm prepping for the hearing, right? That's not a trivial thing. That means none of the committee memos can be finished. That means the members are not briefed. That means the vice chair doesn't have the information that she needs."

Schatz asked Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland why the Department of the Interior always seems to be late when submitting testimony to the committee. After repeated but careful questioning, the Biden administration official laid blame at another federal agency.

"Mr. Chairman, we've had some challenges with our colleagues at the Department of Justice, getting timely review of our testimony," said Newland, who is a political appointee of the Biden administration.

"Has this happened before with the Department of Justice and the inter-agency process?" Schatz asked.

"Yes," Newland responded.

Schatz wanted to make sure he heard the story correctly. 

"It is usually them?" Schatz asked, referring to the Department of Justice.

"Yes," Newland confirmed.

Ben Smith, the deputy director of the IHS, was less firm. He would not say whether Department of Health and Human Services has run into similar problems with review of Congressional testimony.

"So, were you guys on time and another agency held you up?" Schatz inquired.

"Is it DOJ with you guys too?" he said again.

"I honestly cannot pinpoint to an agency," Smith said.

The hearing focused on water promised to tribes through treaties, the trust responsibility and other agreements made by the United States.

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