U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

36–243 PDF WASHINGTON : 2019

S. HRG. 116–15 

ENHANCING TRIBAL SELF–GOVERNANCE AND 

SAFETY OF INDIAN ROADS 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

APRIL 3, 2019 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Indian Affairs 

( 

(II) 

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota, Chairman 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico, Vice Chairman 

JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming 

LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

MARTHA MCSALLY, Arizona 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

JON TESTER, Montana, 

BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii 

CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada 

TINA SMITH, Minnesota 

T. MICHAEL ANDREWS, Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

JENNIFER ROMERO, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Hearing held on April 3, 2019 ................................................................................ 1 

Statement of Senator Cortez Masto ....................................................................... 30 

Statement of Senator Daines .................................................................................. 37 

Statement of Senator Hoeven ................................................................................. 1 

Statement of Senator McSally ................................................................................ 31 

Statement of Senator Tester ................................................................................... 33 

Statement of Senator Udall .................................................................................... 2 

WITNESSES

Garcia, Hon. Joe, Head Councilman, Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo Council ............... 19 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 20 

Gishi, Leroy, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

U.S. Department of the Interior ......................................................................... 9 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 11 

Hess, Timothy, Associate Administrator, Federal Lands, Federal Highway 

Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation ........................................ 3 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 5 

Lewis, Hon. Stephen Roe, Governor, Gila River Indian Community .................. 13 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 15 

APPENDIX

Bear Runner, Hon. Julian, President, Oglala Sioux Tribe ................................... 43 

Letters submitted for the record from the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe .............. 45 

(1) 

ENHANCING TRIBAL SELF–GOVERNANCE AND 

SAFETY OF INDIAN ROADS 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2019 

U.S. SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:30 p.m. in room 

628, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. John Hoeven, 

Chairman of the Committee, presiding. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN HOEVEN, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM NORTH DAKOTA 

The CHAIRMAN. Good afternoon. 

I call this oversight hearing to order. 

Today, the Committee will examine transportation programs that 

affect Indian roads and bridges. Approximately 147,000 miles of 

roads and 930 bridges are located throughout Indian Country. 

These roads, highways and bridges are used by children going to 

their schools, emergency and first responders to reach those in 

need, and tribal members to reach their place of employment. 

These roads also provide economic opportunity to tribes by providing access to and from Indian lands. However, many of these 

roads and bridges are in need of improvement. According to the 

Bureau of Indian Affairs, there is at least a $280 million backlog 

of deferred maintenance of BIA roads with only 17 percent of the 

BIA roads considered to be in acceptable condition. 

The conditions of these roads may be a reason why motor vehicle 

crashes are a leading cause of unintentional injury or death for Indians. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, the adult motor vehicle-related death rates for Native 

Americans are more than twice the national average. 

Among Indian infants less than 1 year of age, the motor traffic 

death rate is eight times higher than the national average. This 

has to stop. Approximately every five years, Congress has the opportunity to reauthorize the Highway Transportation bill. 

In 2015, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, the 

FAST Act, was signed into law. It included programs for tribal 

highway maintenance, construction, and safety programs for Indian 

tribes. The FAST Act also authorized increases for the Tribal 

Transportation Program. This program is jointly administered by 

the Department of Transportation’s Highway Administration Federal Lands Highway Office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs DiviVerDate Mar 15 2010 10:49 May 10, 2019 Jkt 036243 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\DOCS\36243.TXT JACK
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sion of Transportation. Together, they administer over $495 million 

of annual funding for transportation programs. 

The FAST Act also directed the Secretary of Transportation to 

complete several reports to Congress regarding tribal transportation safety data. Some of the findings in these reports are very 

concerning. 

For instance, according to the Department of Transportation, 

there is no uniform crash report form among the BIA law enforcement. Without a uniform crash report form, data and statistics cannot be shared among the 12 BIA regions and tribes. 

Data is available to help prevent and address many causes for 

motor vehicle crashes and deaths. Very soon, I plan to introduce 

legislation that would enhance the safety of roads in Indian Country. This bill was drafted based on recommendations from the BIA, 

the Department of Transportation and Indian tribes. 

Highlights of the bill include streamlining traffic safety projects 

at the BIA, creating uniform crash report forms for the use of 

tribes, modifying and increasing funding for tribal bridges and the 

Transportation Safety Fund, and increasing funding for the BIA 

Road Maintenance Program. I hope members of this Committee 

will support the bill. 

Before we hear from witnesses, I want to turn to the Vice Chairman, Senator Udall, for his opening statement. 

STATEMENT OF HON. TOM UDALL, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO 

Senator UDALL. Thank you, Chairman Hoeven, for scheduling today’s hearing to discuss tribal transportation. 

I would first like to welcome my good friend from New Mexico, 

Head Councilman Joe Garcia of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. It is good 

to see you here today, Joe. 

Councilman Garcia wears many hats with his various leadership 

roles and brings a wealth of knowledge to our hearing, not only 

when it comes to transportation but also as a strong leader for selfgovernance, veterans, housing, economic development and many 

other matters across Indian Country. Councilman Garcia, I appreciate your being here and look forward to your testimony. 

As Congress begins its work on reauthorizing the multi-year 

transportation bill set to expire in 2020, known as the FAST Act, 

we must begin by acknowledging what tribal communities across 

the Country know all too well. Indian Country lacks safe and adequate surface transportation infrastructure. 

As the Government Accountability Office has determined, ‘‘Tribal 

transportation data does not accurately reflect road conditions or 

maintenance needs and associated costs’’ and consequently, stifles 

our ability in Congress to make informed funding decisions. The 

bottom line is that the Federal Government must do more to provide the necessary resources to ensure Native communities’ transportation needs are addressed so that they can get to their jobs, 

homes, hospitals and schools. We need the data at the Federal, 

State and tribal levels to support those needs. 

However, providing more funding to build and maintain basic infrastructure in Indian Country is only part of the story. Ensuring 

3 

tribal governments are able to make their own decisions to implement their own priorities is equally important. 

The 2015 FAST Act authorized for the first time a 638 contracting authority for the Department of Transportation’s Tribal 

Transportation Program. The primary goal of DOT’s Tribal Transportation Self-governance Program is to deliver infrastructure 

projects faster and in a more cost-effective way to tribal communities. I am confident the program is on the road to success. 

In addition to self-governance, road safety is a top priority for Indian Country, especially when it comes to student attendance. A 

2015 GAO study found that poor road conditions on Indian lands 

contribute to higher absenteeism rates for Indian students than 

non-Indian students in large part because many Indian students’ 

homes are only accessible by dirt and gravel roads that have become impassable during bad weather. 

For example, tribal officials from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe 

recently reported to my staff that their students must get off the 

bus and wait by the side of the road so that the driver can traverse 

a particularly dangerous section of road without students onboard. 

Stories like this one are all too common in Indian Country. 

Indian students already face a number of challenges gaining equitable access to educational opportunities. The last thing they 

should be worried about is their personal safety on their way to 

school. We must do better to break down these barriers. 

Finally, the link between climate change and poor and deteriorating road conditions in Indian Country cannot be ignored. Indian 

Country’s surface transportation infrastructure needs must include 

tools for ensuring climate resiliency so that tribal transportation 

inventory is built to last. 

I look forward to hearing from today’s witnesses and asking 

questions on these important topics. Again, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the panel for being here today. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Vice Chairman Udall. 

At this point, we will proceed to our witnesses. Today, we have 

Mr. Timothy Hess, Associate Administrator, Federal Lands, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation; 

Mr. Leroy Gishi, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior; The Honorable Stephen Roe Lewis, Governor, Gila River Indian Community, Sacaton, 

Arizona; and The Honorable Joe Garcia, Head Councilman, Ohkay 

Owingeh Pueblo Council, Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico. Welcome 

to you all. 

I want to remind witnesses that your full written testimony will 

be made a part of the official hearing record. Please keep your 

statements to five minutes so that we have time for questions. 

With that, we will turn to Mr. Hess. 

STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY HESS, ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR, 

FEDERAL LANDS, FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Mr. HESS. Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall, and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss enhancing tribal self-governance and safety on Indian roads. 

4 

I am pleased to appear beside Mr. Leroy Gishi of the Bureau of 

Indian Affairs, Mr. Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian 

Community, and Mr. Joe Garcia of the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo 

Council. 

The Federal Highway Administration has a long history of working closely with tribal governments and with the Bureau of Indian 

Affairs. I am proud of the relationships we have built. 

We are committed to continued partnership with tribes to continue to address their transportation needs. Through funding and 

technical assistance, we are committed to delivering a transportation program that works for all tribes no matter their size. 

I would like to take this opportunity to update you on the Department’s work to establish the Tribal Transportation Self-governance Program. This program was created by the FAST Act and authorizes the Department to establish a new option for tribes to receive transportation funding via a compact and funding agreement 

with the Department of Transportation. The Department has been 

engaged with tribal leaders to develop to the maximum extent possible a consensus, self-governance regulation that adequately addresses the concerns of the Federal Government and tribal leaders. 

I am pleased to report that we have made significant progress. 

In mid-2016, we convened a negotiated rulemaking committee comprised of 18 tribal and 7 Federal representatives. This Committee 

has met ten times, most recently just over two weeks ago, to develop recommendations and propose regulatory text for consideration by the Secretary. The Department is hopeful that the Committee will be able to finalize its work for the Secretary’s consideration following the next meeting this June. 

I would also like to address the Department’s top priority, safety. 

The Federal Highway Administration is committed to enhancing 

transportation safety for tribal communities and will continue to 

work with our tribal partners, the BIA, Federal agencies, States 

and other public organizations to identify and implement solutions 

to address this vital issue. 

Tribal transportation facilities are essential to providing safe and 

adequate transportation to and within tribal land. FHWA administers a number of programs that support these facilities. As one 

example, the Federal Highway Administration’s largest Federal 

Lands Highway Program, the Tribal Transportation Program, TTP, 

provides funding to improve transportation for all 573 federally-recognized sovereign tribal governments. 

We jointly administer this program with the BIA and work together to partner with tribes and provide training and technical assistance. In addition to providing general technical assistance on 

tribal transportation issues and training at various meetings and 

conferences, FHWA has a tribal coordinator assigned to each tribe 

that has a Tribal Transportation Program Agreement with FHWA. 

These tribal coordinators perform on-site visits to tribes to provide 

technical assistance on elements of the TTP as well as to help the 

tribes in developing transportation improvement plans for their 

tribal communities. 

One component of the TTP is the TTP Safety Fund. The Tribal 

Transportation Program’s Safety Fund makes funds available to 

tribes through a competitive discretionary program. The TTPSF 

5 

emphasizes safety and the development of transportation safety 

plans which are critical tools in determining how to best address 

tribal transportation safety needs. 

Another component of the TTP is the Tribal Transportation 

Bridge Program. This program addresses the important issue of 

bridge safety by providing resources for bridge projects. 

TTP funds provided through statutory formula are available to 

tribes for general tribal transportation needs but can also be used 

to address specific tribal transportation safety projects. For example, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Oklahoma, using TTPSF 

funds and Tribal Transportation Program tribal shares, designed 

and constructed a pedestrian pathway providing safety access between the tribal area and the nearby City of Shawnee. Safety is of 

paramount importance to the Federal Highway Administration and 

we appreciate Congress’s recognition of the need to address tribal 

transportation safety. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today and your commitment to tribal self-governance and 

transportation safety. 

I look forward to answering your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Hess follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY HESS, ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL

LANDS, FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall, Members of the Committee, thank you 

for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss enhancing Tribal self-governance and safety on Indian roads. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) 

has a long history of working closely with Tribal governments, and I am proud of 

the relationships that we have built. We are committed to partnering with Tribes 

to address their transportation needs. I would like to update you on a number of 

efforts we have underway. 

Tribal Self-Governance 

The Department of Transportation (Department) is working to establish the Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Program created by section 1121 of the Fixing 

America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. This program will establish a new option for Tribes to receive transportation funding via a compact and funding agreement negotiated between the Department and an eligible Tribe that elects to participate in the self-governance program. The Department of the Interior and the Indian 

Health Service already have self-governance programs. However, because the Department does not carry out services or activities on behalf of, or for the benefit of, 

Indian Tribes, the focus of the rulemaking to implement the program has been on 

eligibility, internal Departmental operations to provide flexibility and alleviate administrative burdens, and implementing those provisions of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act that address self-governance, while acknowledging the Department’s inherently Federal functions. 

We have made significant progress in implementing this program, consistent with 

our goal to provide maximum participation of Tribes in the development and management of transportation programs on Tribal lands. To date, the Department has 

preliminarily identified a large number of formula-funded, discretionary, and competitive grant programs that may be included in a self-governance annual funding 

agreement. The Department recognizes the sovereignty of Tribal governments and 

respects Indian self-determination and Tribal self-governance. The Department is 

committed to upholding the Federal Government’s unique trust responsibility by 

honoring the government-to-government relationship between the United States and 

federally recognized Indian Tribes. The Department’s goal is to continue to engage 

Tribal leaders to develop, to the maximum extent possible, a consensus self-governance regulation that adequately addresses the concerns of the Federal Government 

and Tribal leaders. 

6 

Negotiations 

In mid-2016, the Department began to implement the congressional directive to 

promulgate regulations to carry out a Tribal transportation self-governance program 

by convening a negotiated rulemaking committee composed of 18 Tribal and seven 

Federal representatives. The rulemaking committee met five times in 2016, four 

times in 2018, and will meet twice in 2019 to develop recommendations and proposed regulatory text for consideration by the Secretary. 

Following enactment of H.R. 6414 (Public Law 115–235), which extended the statutory deadlines for rulemaking, the Department engaged the services of facilitators 

from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to assist the committee 

in its negotiations. The committee agreed to focus its efforts on discussing goals, intent, and concerns related to the program and its implementation, while charging 

a smaller, drafting work group to develop recommended language for consideration 

by the full committee. The FMCS is also facilitating the work of this drafting group. 

Most recently, the drafting group met in February 2019, and the committee has empowered the drafting group to develop the remainder of the rule using this process. 

The drafting group will meet three times over the next two months to develop additional recommended language for the committee’s consideration, and the proposals 

will be previewed for committee members following each drafting group meeting. 

There will be an additional plenary meeting in June 2019 to present revised proposals for consideration by the full committee. Pending the outcome of this meeting, 

the Department expects to issue a proposed rule later this summer. 

The Department notes that following enactment of H.R. 6414 in August 2018, 

Congress extended to June 4, 2019, the statutory deadline for the Department to 

issue a proposed rule. The Department anticipates that, with the consent of the 

rulemaking committee, it may have to invoke a 180-day extension to issue the proposed rule. If that occurs, the Department will notify Congress. 

Safety On Indian Roads 

Safety is the Department’s top priority and I am committed to enhancing transportation safety for Tribal communities. As stated in the August 2017 Tribal Transportation Strategic Safety Plan, prepared by the Tribal Transportation Safety Management System Steering Committee, despite known underreporting, data from the 

Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) showed 3,278 available fatality reports 

in Tribal areas during the five-year period from 2010–2014. This is not acceptable. 

We must improve transportation safety in Tribal areas. FHWA is committed to 

working with our Tribal partners, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and other Federal agencies, States, and other public organizations to identify and implement solutions to address this important issue. 

FHWA Programs 

Tribal transportation facilities are essential to providing safe and adequate transportation to and within Tribal land. A number of FHWA programs support Tribal 

transportation. Some examples are detailed below. 

Tribal Transportation Program 

The Tribal Transportation Program (TTP) provides funding for projects to provide 

safe and adequate transportation and public road access to and within Indian reservations, Indian lands, and Alaska Native Village communities. The TTP provides 

funding to improve transportation for all 573 federally-recognized sovereign Tribal 

governments and is the largest Federal Lands Highway program. The program is 

jointly administered by FHWA and the BIA. We work together to partner with 

Tribes and provide robust training and technical assistance to support Tribes in enhancing Tribal transportation. 

In addition to promoting safety, the TTP contributes to the economic development, 

self-determination, and employment of Indians and Native Americans. While the 

vast majority of TTP funds are distributed to Tribes via Tribal shares determined 

by statutory formula, the program includes a set-aside for the TTP Safety Fund 

(TTPSF), which makes funds available to Tribes through a competitive, discretionary program. The TTPSF supports the Department’s safety priority and emphasizes the development of Transportation Safety Plans, which play a critical role in 

determining how to best address transportation safety needs. One example of the 

way TTPSF funds benefit Tribes is a project funded by the TTPSF and TTP Tribal 

shares. Using these funds, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Oklahoma designed 

and constructed a pedestrian pathway providing safety access between the Tribal 

area and the nearby city of Shawnee. 

In addition to the TTPSF set-aside, the TTP includes a set-aside for the TTP 

Bridge Program, which addresses the important issue of bridge safety by providing 

7 

resources for planning, design, engineering, preconstruction, construction, and inspection of bridge projects. Tribes apply for these bridge funds, and, after a completed application package is received and accepted by FHWA, applications programmed for funding are placed in either a preliminary engineering or construction 

queue. Applications are ranked and prioritized based on established criteria and 

those applications not funded remain in the queue and carry over from fiscal year 

to fiscal year until funded. 

The TTP also includes a set-aside for Transportation Planning, which funds Tribal 

transportation planning activities. The stated purpose of transportation planning is 

to fulfill goals by developing strategies, including strategies to address public safety, 

to meet transportation needs. 

Not only has the TTP program improved safety, but it has also made infrastructure improvements in Tribal areas that are critical for survival. For example, the 

Gwich’in people who live in the Yukon Flats area of Alaska make a living from 

hunting and selling handicrafts. Their subsistence depends on these hunts, fishing, 

berry picking, and firewood gathering which was, just barely, facilitated by a bridge 

with a National Bridge Inventory (NBI) sufficiency rating of 4.8. The bridge was 

closed to all traffic in 2013, greatly impacting the Gwich’in people. However, because of an FHWA Accelerated Innovation Deployment grant and the TTP Bridge 

Program, it was replaced with a Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil bridge and reopened 

in October 2017. 

Highway Safety Improvement Program 

The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) is a strategic, data-driven program that improves safety on all public roads, including roads in Tribal areas. The 

program’s purpose is to achieve a significant reduction in traffic fatalities and serious injuries. HSIP funds have been used for a number of safety-related projects in 

Tribal areas. For example, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe in Washington State 

made safety realignments to the intersection of US–101 and Chicken Coop-Zaccardo 

with a project that combined TTPSF funds and HSIP program funds. 

Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program 

The Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects (NSFLTP) Program 

provides funding for the construction, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of nationally-significant projects within, adjacent to, or accessing Federal and Tribal lands. 

The Department published a Notice of Funding Opportunity for this competitive 

program in October 2018 and is currently reviewing applications. Consistent with 

the statutory selection criteria established in the FAST Act, evaluation of applications for this program includes consideration of the extent to which the project furthers the goals of the Department, including safety. 

Tribal Technical Assistance Program 

In addition to the programs described above, the Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP) provides centralized delivery of highway-related training, technical assistance, and technology transfer to Tribes. The TTAP operates five Virtual Centers 

of Excellence (CoE), each staffed with subject matter experts to provide training and 

technical assistance in their specialty areas. One of the five CoEs is specifically focused on safety. FHWA is committed to providing effective technical assistance to 

Tribes and is evaluating the centralized delivery model launched in 2018 over the 

course of a two-year pilot. Through February 2019, a total of 2,609 training hours 

have been delivered under the pilot. This is a 60 percent increase over the five-year 

average of training hours delivered from 2012 through 2016. 

In addition to the programs described above, some Tribes have benefitted from 

State planning and investment decisions with a State’s Federal-aid program funding. FHWA will continue to work with our Tribal partners as we administer these 

programs and work together to achieve enhanced safety for all Tribes. 

Tribal Transportation Safety Reports to Congress 

Congress recognized the need to address Tribal transportation safety in the FAST 

Act. Section 1117 of the FAST Act directed the Secretary to: (1) submit to Congress 

a report describing the quality of transportation safety data collected by States, 

counties, and Indian Tribes for transportation safety systems and the relevance of 

that data to improving the collection and sharing of data on crashes on Indian reservations, and (2) complete a study that identifies and evaluates options for improving safety on public roads on Indian reservations and submit to Congress a report 

describing the results of the study. 

8 

Tribal Governments & Transportation Safety Data 

In order to evaluate the quality of transportation safety data, FHWA utilized a 

survey developed by the Tribal Transportation Safety Management Steering Committee (SMS Committee). FHWA has played a key leadership role in this committee, 

which it co-chairs with the BIA. The goal of the SMS Committee is to prevent and 

reduce fatalities and injuries associated with the use of Tribal transportation facilities. The SMS Committee members include representatives from Tribal governments and Federal agencies, including FHWA’s Tribal Transportation Program, Office of Safety, and Resource Center. 

The survey developed by the SMS Committee was made available to all federallyrecognized Tribes and the States in which those Tribes are located. The survey responses were analyzed to evaluate the quality of existing Tribal transportation safety data, opportunities for improved data collection, options for paperless reporting, 

and uses of crash data. Based on that analysis, in May 2017, FHWA delivered to 

Congress the report required pursuant to section 1117(b) of the FAST Act: Tribal 

Governments & Transportation Safety Data. As stated in the May 2017 report, many Tribes are not adequately represented 

in State and national crash databases that often drive policy, program, and project 

decisions because some crash data is not shared with State governments. Additionally, some incidents are undocumented. The report noted that Tribes and States 

identified several barriers inhibiting the sharing of crash data, including TribalState communication, resources required to collect and share crash data, and Federal policy for crash reports. 

The May 2017 report included many actions DOT agencies would take to improve 

the quality and availability of safety data in Tribal areas. Consistent with these recommendations, FHWA continues to accept any form of crash data from Tribes when 

evaluating applications for TTPSF grants and has encouraged Tribes to conduct a 

self-assessment of traffic records and submit the assessment with their grant applications if formal documentation of crashes is not available. FHWA also provides assistance as requested to encourage Tribal involvement in performance measure establishment. 

Additionally, in coordination with FHWA, NHTSA updated their Traffic Records 

Program Assessment Advisory to include multiple references to Tribal governments. 

This Advisory provides guidance on different assessment processes States may utilize to evaluate their State’s highway safety data and traffic records system. The 

inclusion of references to Tribal governments in the Advisory will encourage new 

conversations about partnering with Tribes as States review their safety data systems. In addition to coordinating within the Department, FHWA is involved in ongoing coordination with the Department of the Interior (DOI) to address standardizing 

collection of crash data by DOI law enforcement and continues to work as part of 

the SMS Committee to improve Tribal transportation safety. 

FHWA will continue its efforts and partnerships to improve collection and sharing 

of safety data so that Tribes are better able to address safety issues through strategic safety planning and implementation. Improved data collection and sharing also 

has the potential to afford Tribes improved access to funding opportunities, as analysis of information available via State and national crash databases can inform 

project decisions, such as the selection of roadway safety improvements through the 

Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). 

Options for Improving Transportation Safety in Tribal Areas 

In August 2017, the SMS Committee published the Tribal Transportation Strategic Safety Plan (Safety Plan), addressing topics selected based on review of multiple data sources. Based on this plan, in January 2018, FHWA delivered to Congress the report required pursuant to section 1117(c) of the FAST Act: Options for 

Improving Transportation Safety in Tribal Areas. This report summarizes the topics 

addressed in the Safety Plan, separated into two categories: priority and additional 

topics. The priority topics are those which data indicates are national-level issues 

or which help establish data driven decisionmaking frameworks, while additional 

topics may be emerging issues or may be identified by a Tribe through analysis of 

incident history. The priority topics identified in the January 2018 report are: (1) 

Transportation Safety Decision Making Process; (2) Crash Data Collection, Sharing, 

and Analysis; (3) Occupant Protection, Child Passenger Seats, and Helmets; (4) 

Roadway Departure; (5) Impaired Driving; (6) Pedestrians; and (7) Availability of 

Public Safety Services. In addition to identifying these priority topics, the report discusses strategies identified in the Safety Plan that Tribes may utilize to improve 

transportation safety, and recognizes that a Tribe’s unique incident history and local 

knowledge may identify other priority areas for which other strategies should be 

considered. 

9 

FHWA is promoting the priority topics identified in the January 2018 report at 

regional and national conferences and encouraging Tribes to consider these topics 

as they develop and update Tribal Transportation Safety Plans. FHWA is committed 

to finding additional ways to encourage and assist Tribes with these topics and intends to partner through the SMS Committee to identify additional ways this can 

be accomplished. 

In addition to identifying priority topics and strategies to address them, the January 2018 report identifies general options for Federal agencies to improve transportation safety in Tribal areas. FHWA is already executing many of these recommended options, for example, by accepting the best available data when evaluating applications for TTPSF grants; fostering good relations and facilitating communication between Tribes and States; providing training, technical assistance, and 

resources to support Tribes in addressing safety issues; and continuing to actively 

collaborate with Tribal and Federal agency partners, including the BIA, in the SMS 

Committee. FHWA will continue to look for additional opportunities to partner with 

Tribes, the BIA and other Federal agencies, and other organizations to enhance 

Tribal transportation safety. 

Conclusion 

Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today. I would be happy 

to answer any questions you may have. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Now we will hear from Mr. Gishi. 

STATEMENT OF LEROY GISHI, CHIEF, DIVISION OF 

TRANSPORTATION, BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, U.S. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Mr. GISHI. Good afternoon, Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman 

Udall and members of the Committee. Thank you for inviting the 

Department of the Interior to provide testimony at this oversight 

hearing on the topic of enhancing tribal self-governance and the 

safety of Indian roads. 

Transportation infrastructure continues to be a critical part of 

the well being of tribal and rural communities. One of the many 

barriers to economic development in Native communities is the 

lack of physical infrastructure. 

The Department and BIA remain committed to improving and 

adequately maintaining transportation systems to provide increased public safety and economic development opportunities in 

Indian communities. Safe roads are important when transporting 

people in rural areas, to and from schools, to local hospitals and 

for delivery of emergency services. 

I appreciate this opportunity to share with the Committee some 

of our accomplishments and also our concerns for tribal transportation as we work with tribal, local and Federal stakeholders in implementation of the Tribal Transportation Program. 

The BIA and FHWA within the Department of Transportation 

jointly administer the TTP. The BIA oversees the BIA Road Maintenance Program with the maintaining of BIA roads and transportation facilities. 

Since establishment of the Tribal Transportation Program in 

1982, the total Federal construction authorization for tribal transportation has exceeded $10 million. These investments have contributed greatly to the improvement of roads and replacement and 

rehabilitation of deficient bridges on or near tribal lands throughout Indian Country. 

The National Tribal Transportation Facility inventory is a listing 

of transportation facilities eligible for Federal program assistance. 

10 

This inventory consists of over 156,000 miles of public roads with 

multiple owners, including Indian tribes, the BIA, States, counties 

and local governments, as well as other Federal agencies. 

Over 62 percent of the eligible facilities are the responsibility of 

other public authorities. There remains a great and continuing 

need to improve the transportation systems throughout Indian 

Country. We believe Congress has viewed this as a joint responsibility, including not only Federal agencies but also State and local 

governments with transportation investments on or near American 

Indian and Alaska Native communities. 

Coordination among all new stakeholders is required in order to 

maximize available resources to address regional transportation 

needs. Tribes continue to invest their resources in transportation 

projects that are primarily the responsibility of other public authorities. 

This creates jobs and contributes to the economy of the local 

businesses that provide services and materials. Strengthening existing partnerships will continue to support the local economy and 

bring improved infrastructure to communities on or near Indian 

reservations and lands. An investment in tribal transportation is 

truly an investment in the local economy. 

The BIA Road Maintenance Program is responsible for maintaining roads designated in the inventory as BIA-owned. Today, of the 

145,000 miles of existing roads in the inventory, the BIA has responsibility for approximately 29,000 miles of roads. In fiscal year 2018, the BIA distributed approximately $32 million in tribal priority allocations for the administration and performance of road maintenance. BIA supports self-determination 

and the empowerment of tribes by contracting out a significant portion of the program with tribes. 

Approximately 75 percent of the tribes with BIA system roads 

within their reservation boundaries currently carry out the BIA 

Road Maintenance Program through self-determination contracts 

and self-governance compacts. Approximately 17,000 miles of the 

BIA system are unimproved earth surface roads; 4,700 are gravel. 

The deferred maintenance in BIA roads is estimated at $390 million. 

The FAST Act was enacted in December 2015. The FAST Act has 

continued the statutory formula that was established under the 

previous MAP–21 authorization. Part of that authorization was determining a funding formula for tribal funding shares as well as 

planning. 

In addition, a setaside was established for the replacement and 

rehabilitation of tribal bridges and safety projects. This has allowed 

more funding to be directed directly to tribal priorities. 

The FAST Act formula continues to address the longstanding 

issues of competitive formula. There are still some implementation 

issues regarding application of certain data to calculation of tribal 

shares. 

For example, approximately 11 tribes do not have a recorded 

population within the mandated American and Alaska Native population database. We believe the rationale for considering this information was to provide another data element that reflected relative need of the eligible tribes not to limit funding to those tribes 

11 

who do not have population data. Tribes with zero population as 

reported in the required database do not receive funding based on 

population, but can receive some consideration for funding under 

other elements of the formula. 

The FAST Act also included provisions requiring data collection 

and program performance. This has been very helpful in helping us 

to be able to begin the process of identifying the type of projects 

and the extent to which projects are being prioritized by tribes, information that until now we did not the opportunity to have. 

This is reported on an annual basis. We do have reporting on 

that for fiscal year 2016 through 2018. 

The BIA and the Department are committed to working with the 

Committee and members of Congress to address the transportation 

needs and share successes in Indian Country through our support 

of tribal transportation, road maintenance and other Title 23 programs. 

Thank you for this opportunity to present testimony on these 

issues as an important part of infrastructure, road safety, employment, and economic development needs in Indian Country. 

I will be happy to answer any questions, Mr. Chairman. Thank 

you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Gishi follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF LEROY GISHI, CHIEF, DIVISION OF TRANSPORTATION, BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Good morning Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall, and members of the Committee. Thank you for inviting the Department of the Interior (Department) to provide testimony at this oversight hearing on the topic of ‘‘Enhancing Tribal Self-Governance and Safety of Indian Roads.’’ My name is LeRoy Gishi, and I am the Chief 

of the Division of Transportation for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) at the Department. 

Transportation infrastructure continues to be a critical part of the well-being of 

tribal and rural communities. One of the many barriers to economic development 

in Native Communities is the lack of physical infrastructure. The Department and 

the BIA remain committed to improving and adequately maintaining transportation 

systems to provide increased public safety and economic development opportunities 

in Indian communities. Safe roads are important when transporting people in rural 

areas to and from schools, to local hospitals, and for delivering emergency services. 

I appreciate this opportunity to share with the Committee some of our accomplishments and also our concerns for tribal transportation as we work with tribal, local 

and federal stakeholders in the implementation of the tribal transportation program. 

Overview 

The BIA and the Federal Highway Administration within the Department of 

Transportation (FHWA) jointly administer the Tribal Transportation Program 

(TTP). The BIA alone oversees the BIA Road Maintenance Program (RMP) for the 

maintenance of BIA roads and transportation facilities. 

Tribal Transportation Program 

The Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 established the Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) Program funded within FHWA’s Federal-aid account. Since 

the establishment of the IRR Program, which is now called the Tribal Transportation Program (TTP) and subsequent transportation authorizations, the total Federal construction authorization for Tribal Transportation has exceeded $10 billion. 

These investments have contributed greatly to the improvement of roads and the 

replacement or rehabilitation of deficient bridges on or near tribal lands throughout 

Indian Country. 

We have provided updated information on the National Tribal Transportation Facility Inventory (NTTFI) in previous testimony before this Committee. The NTTFI 

consists of over 156,000 miles of public roads with multiple owners, including Indian 

tribes, the BIA, states, counties and local governments, as well as other Federal 

12 

agencies. Of this amount, approximately 10,800 miles are planned or proposed roads 

of varying surface types and uses. There remains a great and continuing need to 

improve the transportation systems throughout Indian Country. We believe Congress has viewed this as a joint responsibility including not only Federal agencies, 

but also state and local governments with transportation investments in or near 

American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Coordination among all of these 

stakeholders is required in order to maximize available resources to address regional transportation needs. Tribes continue to invest their resources in transportation projects that are primarily the responsibility of other public authorities. This 

creates jobs and contributes to the economy of local businesses that provide services 

and materials. Strengthening existing partnerships will continue to support the 

local economy and bring improved infrastructure to communities on or near Indian 

reservations and lands. An investment in tribal transportation is truly an investment in the local economy. 

NATIVE Act 

During our response to the highway legislation, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), we recognized the importance of our Nation’s 

transportation infrastructure to recreational travel, tourism and trade, and our ability to compete in the global marketplace. The work with ISTEA was an opportunity 

for BIA and the tribes to participate in the dialog and have a say in the execution 

of transportation programs. This participation is crucial to developing economic 

growth, as it is closely tied to access to transportation and related infrastructure. 

Building on the ISTEA, the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act (NATIVE Act) became law in September 2016. It requires federal agencies with recreational travel or tourism functions to update their management plans 

and tourism initiatives to include Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations. 

The Department, through the BIA, is recognized along with the Department of 

Commerce (Commerce) as a lead in the coordination with federal agencies. In September 2018, the BIA, Commerce and the American Indian and Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA) signed an historic memorandum of understanding outlining the roles of each in the implementation of the NATIVE Act. Over the last 

several months, the BIA and AIANTA have entered into a cooperative agreement 

to further develop American Indian Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian tourism. 

For over 20 years, the BIA has invested resources toward the development of technical assistance and training for tribal tourism development through the establishment of the American Indian Tourism Conference in 1999 and AIANTA. AIANTA 

has become a voice for Indian Country to the tourism industry and is successfully 

helping tribal communities to realize their potential in the global tourism industry. 

Tribes deserve the ability to provide visitors with reasonable transportation access 

and safety to their rural homelands and to share their history and culture with the 

travelling public through transportation enhancements such as context sensitive design, interpretive signage, informational kiosks, and scenic byways. 

BIA Road Maintenance 

Unlike the TTP, which is funded by the Department of Transportation and jointly 

administered by BIA and FHWA, the BIA Road Maintenance Program is funded by 

the Department of the Interior and overseen by BIA alone. The BIA Road Maintenance Program has traditionally been responsible for maintaining only roads designated as BIA-owned. Today, of the 145,400 miles of existing roads in the NTTFI, 

the BIA has responsibility for approximately 29,100 miles of roads designated as 

BIA system roads. For FY2018 the BIA distributed approximately $32.6 million in 

Tribal Priority Allocation (TPA) funding for the administration and the performance 

of the road maintenance program. 

BIA supports self-determination and the empowerment of tribes by contracting 

out a significant portion of the program with tribes. Approximately 75 percent of 

tribes with BIA system roads within their reservation boundaries currently carry 

out the BIA Road Maintenance Program through self-determination contracts or 

self-governance compacts. Approximately 17,130 miles of the BIA system roads are 

unimproved and earth surface roads, and 4,720 roads are gravel according to the 

FY 2020 BIA Congressional Budget Justification released earlier this month. The 

FY2018 deferred maintenance for BIA roads was estimated at $392 million. 

FAST Act 

Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, P.L. 114–94 (FAST Act), was enacted on December 4, 2015, with retroactive effect to the beginning of FY2016. The 

FAST Act continued the new statutory formula established under the Moving Ahead 

for Progress in the 21st Century Act, P.L. 112–141 (MAP–21) for determining tribal 

13 

shares and transportation planning shares for tribal governments. In addition, a 

set-aside was established for the replacement and rehabilitation of deficient tribal 

bridges and for safety projects for applying tribes. The statutory funding formula 

was carried forward in the FAST Act with authorized amounts starting at $465 M 

in FY2016 to $505 M in FY2020. This has allowed more funding to be directed to 

tribal priorities. 

The FAST Act formula has addressed the long standing issue of a competitive formula, but there are still some implementation issues regarding the application of 

certain data to the calculation of tribal shares. As an example, approximately 11 

tribes do not have a recorded population within the statutorily mandated American 

Indian and Alaska Native population within each Indian tribe’s American Indian/ 

Alaska Native Reservation or Statistical Area, as computed under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 

4101 et seq.). We believe the rationale for considering this information was to provide another data element that reflected relative need due to tribal population of 

the eligible tribes, not to limit funding to those tribes who do not have population 

data. The use of default minimum or alternate data such as the BIA Labor Force 

Report in addition to the NAHASDA based values to make allocations would help 

to provide some equality to tribes that are currently disadvantaged by use of the 

NAHASDA statistic. 

Tribes with zero population, as reported in NAHASDA, do not receive funding 

based on population but they do receive some consideration for funding under the 

other elements of the formula including total eligible road mileage as of 2004, and 

the ratio of the average of the share percentage from fiscal years 2005 through 2011 

as compared to the amount for all tribes within the particular BIA Region. Tribes 

that have recently been federally recognized and any tribes recognized in the future 

may receive little or no funding because they do not have a population recorded in 

the NAHASDA database nor will they have any eligible miles recorded in the 2004 

inventory or the 2012 inventory update. Additionally, these tribes do not have a history of funding as required by the third element of the formula. This combination 

of data deficiencies generally results in no funding being made available for their 

transportation needs. 

The FAST Act also included new provisions at 23 USC 201 (c)(6)(C) requiring data 

collection on program performance. Regardless of contract or agreement type, within 

90 days of the end of each fiscal year all entities carrying out the TTP must submit 

data identifying the names, description and status of projects and activities, along 

with the number of jobs created and jobs retained as result of the reported projects 

and activities. 

Conclusion 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department are committed to working with 

this Committee and others in Congress to address the transportation needs and 

share successes in Indian Country through our support for the Tribal Transportation Program, the Road Maintenance Program, and other Title 23 funding provided for transportation in Indian Country. 

Thank you for the opportunity to present testimony on an issue that is an important part of the employment, economic infrastructure and roads safety for tribes. I 

will be happy to answer any questions you may have. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Gishi. 

Now we will turn to Governor Lewis. 

STATEMENT OF HON. STEPHEN ROE LEWIS, GOVERNOR, GILA 

RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY 

Mr. LEWIS. [Greeting in Native language.] Good afternoon, Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall, Senator McSally and distinguished members of the Committee. 

I am Stephen Roe Lewis, Governor of the Gila River Indian Community. I want to thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding ways to enhance tribal self-governance and safety on Indian Roads. 

Tribal transportation is an important issue across Indian Country. I have made it a priority in my administration. These roads 

carry our tribal citizens, members of our local community, our 

14 

school children, our elders, law enforcement and emergency services, and patrons to our businesses. 

The transportation programs at Gila Rive are representative of 

what you see across Indian Country. Our reservation is a 583 

square mile, rural island, but our southern boundary borders the 

Phoenix metropolitan area. 

The reservation contains a combination of BIA, tribal, county, 

township and State roads. This means our transportation needs are 

both rural and urban. Our location requires a great deal of collaboration, partnership and respect with the State and local counties. 

The community took over Federal functions that were previously 

performed by the BIA and the Department of Transportation 

through self-governance compacts. Taking over those functions has 

allowed the community to build our own Department of Transportation that has grown to a staff of 45 which oversees the planning, 

realty and right-of-way, construction, engineering, road maintenance, and transit functions on the reservation’s 420 miles of roads 

and 67 bridges. 

This arrangement has allowed the community to exercise more 

self-governance and more sovereignty over its transportation priorities and planning but still requires a high level of coordination 

with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the BIA, State and 

counties. 

One of the areas where that cooperation has been critical has 

been in addressing the community safety plans. The Gila River Indian community was the first tribe in Arizona to prepare a tribal 

safety plan framework. 

To develop this plan, the community conducted workshops and 

included other stakeholders such as the Federal Highway Administration, the Arizona Department of Transportation, the BIA, the 

Intertribal Council of Arizona, the Maricopa Association of Governance, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Indian Health 

Service and community departments such as our police department, emergency services and injury prevention programs. 

We have since also conducted a multi-modal pedestrian safety 

study. These studies have allowed the community to prioritize road 

construction, safety projects, work with external partners and create a long term plan to address the safety needs of our tribal citizens and those who use our roadways. 

Another important component of our safety plan is sharing crash 

and safety data with the State. Arizona encourages all of the law 

enforcement agencies within the State to share data, including tribal law enforcement. This data sharing allows all of the governments, tribal, State, and county, to be more targeted in their funding requests and more strategic in their law enforcement prevention and educational outreach programs. 

While collaboration with State and local governments is key, adequate funding is also required. Increases are critically needed in 

funding directly to tribes for transportation, safety, transit and 

road maintenance programs. 

The community has 306 BIA roads within the reservation and receives funding of only $3 million per year for maintenance of those 

roads. To put it directly, this is approximately $9,771 per road for 

15 

maintenance which is wholly inadequate. That is just for the Gila 

River Indian Community. The total deferred maintenance for BIA roads is nearly $300 million and growing because of the poor condition of many of those 

roads. Senators, this is a strict government-to-government relationship priority that needs to be taken care of. This is also a fundamental responsibility, a trust responsibility the Federal Government has for all tribes throughout Indian Country. 

The Community also recommends increased attention to tribal 

funding for large scale transportation infrastructure projects. The 

Community and State have recently reached agreement to work together to address the improvement needs of the 20 miles of Interstate 10 that runs through the reservation. 

While the State and tribes are working together now, tribes are 

dependent on a willing partner in the State for projects of this size 

because, with few exceptions, funding goes directly to States for 

large scale, multi-jurisdictional projects with no money left over for 

critical tribal projects. 

The Community recommends grants such as the Build grant contained in the Fast Act to include a specific allocation for tribal 

projects. In 2018, a total of $1.5 billion in Build grant funding was 

awarded to 91 projects in 49 States and the District of Columbia. 

Out of those awards, only one, only one went to a tribe. That grant 

amount was $15 million. 

In 2018, 30 percent of Build grants were required to go towards 

rural projects. That amount increases to 50 percent in 2019. We 

recommend, we strongly recommend a certain percentage of those 

grants should be designated exclusively for tribal projects and applications where tribes, States and counties are working together 

on large scale projects. 

Again, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Gila River 

Indian Community’s transportation program on enhancing self-governance and safety in tribal communities. This is a critical need in 

Indian Country. 

I am happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Lewis follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. STEPHEN ROE LEWIS, GOVERNOR, GILA RIVER INDIAN

COMMUNITY

Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall and Members of the Senate Committee 

on Indian Affairs, I want to thank you for holding this hearing on ‘‘Enhancing Tribal Self-Governance and Safety on Indian Roads.’’ Safe and adequate transportation 

infrastructure is not only critical for members of the Gila River Indian Community 

(‘‘Community’’) and others who utilize our roadways, but also for economic development and other governmental functions. We appreciate the Committee holding this 

hearing to ensure that tribal transportation needs are considered in the broader 

conversations occurring nationally around reauthorization of the Fixing America’s 

Surface Transportation Act (‘‘FAST Act’’) and infrastructure development. 

Background On Tribal Transportation 

The latest long-term surface transportation reauthorization, the FAST Act, was 

signed into law on December 4, 2015. This Act provides $305 billion in funding for 

surface transportation infrastructure through fiscal year 2020, when it is set to expire. Specific to tribal transportation, the FAST Act reauthorized the Tribal Transportation program and provided for increased funding for that program from $450 

million in 2015 to $465 million in 2016 with step increases of $10 million per year, 

reaching $505 million in fiscal year 2020. The FAST Act also placed a focus on tribal 

safety funding and reporting and allocated specific funding for tribal planning and 

16 

bridge maintenance. With this surface transportation reauthorization set to expire 

in 2020, there is a renewed focus on how to build on the gains in the last reauthorization and ensure that tribal governments have the resources they need to provide 

safe and efficient transportation for their members, residents of surrounding communities, and to promote development both on and off tribal lands. 

Gila River Indian Community Transportation Program 

The Community’s Reservation abuts the southern boundary of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, and is located in the first and third most populated counties in Arizona—Maricopa County (4.3 million), and Pinal County (430,000). The Community’s 

Reservation is a 583.7 square mile rural island with the Phoenix-Metro to its north 

and Phoenix-Metro exurbs to its south and east. Approximately 15,000 of the Community’s 23,000 members live on our Reservation. The Community’s proximity to 

the sixth largest metropolitan area in the country, combined with a sizeable land 

base, require its transportation programs to address transportation needs associated 

with both a rural and a metropolitan area. This location also means that planning 

for tribal transportation programs and significant projects must be done in conjunction with the local municipalities and the state given that a 20 mile stretch of Interstate 10 crosses the Reservation and five state highway routes are located on the 

Reservation. 

In 1997, the Community established the Gila River Indian Community Department of Transportation (GRIC DOT) which has grown to a staff of 45. GRIC DOT 

oversees the administrative, planning, engineering, surveying, rights-of-way, construction, operations and maintenance activities on the Reservation. GRIC DOT is 

responsible for the Community’s road inventory which consists of approximately 420 

miles of roads and 67 bridges. Of the 420 miles, the majority are Bureau of Indian 

Affairs (BIA) roads (306.7), with the rest tribal, county and township and state 

roads. 

In 2003, the Community entered into a self-governance compact with the BIA to 

take over those functions that the BIA was performing. In 2009, the Community entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration to take over roads activities for all BIA and Community-owned 

roads within the Reservation, including planning, research, design, engineering, construction and maintenance of highway, road, bridge, parkway or transit facility programs or projects located on the Reservation or which provide access to the Community’s Reservation. This agreement still requires a level of coordination with the 

BIA, but allows the Community to determine its own priorities through its five-year 

transportation plan, which is approved by Council. In taking over those programs 

previously performed by the federal agencies, the Community has been able to be 

more strategic and purposeful in its transportation planning. 

Although the majority of the Community’s funding comes through the U.S. Department of Transportation, maintenance of the BIA roads within the Reservation 

is still funded through the BIA. The shortfall in maintenance funding for BIA roads 

nationwide is well documented with the current deferred maintenance estimated at 

nearly $300 million. The Community also faces a maintenance backlog on the BIA 

roads within the Reservation. With approximately 307 BIA roads to maintain and 

an annual allocation of $3 million, each mile of BIA road receives approximately 

$9,771 for maintenance. 

This level of funding is highly inadequate to maintain roads that are considered 

in good shape. Unfortunately, the BIA roads on the Community’s Reservation have 

been neglected for decades. At the wholly inadequate current funding levels all the 

Community is able to do is maintain roads that are in poor shape. It is analogous 

to putting a band aid over a pothole and expecting it to create a safe mode of transportation for tribal and non-tribal citizens who utilize those roads. 

GRIC DOT also operates Gila River Transit which is funded through tribal funds 

and Rural Transit Program funds administered by the Arizona Department of 

Transportation (ADOT). The transit staff includes five full-time employees—one administrator and 4 bus operators and provides shuttle services in Sacaton which 

serves District 3 and the West End which services Districts 6 and 7. Ridership in 

the transit program has steadily increased from the first grant year in 2016 with 

the Sacaton transit going from 7,800 riders in 2016 to 16,714 in 2018. The West 

End ridership increased from 2,277 in 2016 to 8,346 in 2018. In September of 2018, 

GRIC DOT received its second two year funding award from ADOT’s rural transit 

program and receives approximately $304,000 annual to operate the transit system. 

Given it takes approximately two to three years for a transit route to mature, the 

ridership numbers for these two routes is impressive. 

The Community would like to continue to add more routes to its transit service, 

but limited funding directed towards tribal governments and increased competition 

17 

for rural transit funds can bring uncertainty when tribes are investing in much 

needed transit systems for their citizens. 

Safety 

Transportation safety is a critical issue affecting tribal communities. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional death for American Indians and 

Alaska Natives with fatalities more than twice that of other races for adults and 

eight times higher among infants less than one year of age. 

In the FAST Act, 2 percent of the funding allocated for the Tribal Transportation 

Program is eligible to be used for tribal safety. The funds are allocated under a discretionary, competitive grant program for projects that will address prevention and 

reduction of transportation related activities such as motor vehicle crashes. These 

grants can also be used to develop and update transportation safety plans, improve 

collection of, assessment and analysis of crash data, and for infrastructure improvements. While this funding is a positive step forward, the amount remains seriously 

deficient for the safety needs in Indian Country. Despite acknowledging that tribal 

citizens are the most impacted population by motor vehicle crashes, lack of available 

and accessible data is often cited as the reason more funding is not available. 

Therefore, the FAST Act required a report to Congress on Tribal Governments 

and Transportation Safety Data with the goal of improving data collection and sharing among tribes and other jurisdictions to improve transportation policies, funding 

and data collection systems. Some of the major recommendations were to bring increased coordination and consistency in how data is collected among tribes and federal entities. 

In Arizona, the state encourages all of the law enforcement agencies within the 

state to share data, including tribal governments’ law enforcement. The Community 

has been sharing crash data with the state and county for the past several years 

in an effort to ensure that those incidents that occur on, or near the Reservation 

are recorded. This allows the Community to identify those roadways and areas that 

require safety features and also offers the opportunity to ensure those safety 

projects are not only on the tribal transportation plan, but also have the data to 

show why the state should provide resources to improve safety. 

One example of the Community benefiting from sharing safety data with state 

and local jurisdictions is the project on State Route 87 which runs through Districts 

1, 2, and 4. This route was identified as needing additional safety infrastructure 

based on the number of fatalities that have occurred. Following a study of the safety 

needs, and in partnership with ADOT, additional turn lanes were constructed at 15 

intersections on State Route 87 and other measures were taken including new signage, surface treatment, a centerline rumble strip and new pavement markings. 

The continued collection of crash data determined that there are still three areas 

in need of additional safety measures—the intersections of State Route 87 and Gilbert, Sacaton & Olberg roads. These intersections are located within the Reservation and have been the site of a number of fatal and incapacitating intersection related crashes. ADOT has determined that this project is eligible for funding under 

the Highway Safety Improvement Program funding. Therefore, three traffic signals 

will be place at these three intersections. This type of project is typical of those that 

require multi-jurisdictional cooperation based on state, county, federal, tribal and 

BIA roads all running through the Reservation, where the at-risk-site is on the Reservation, but must be on the State’s Transportation Plan in order to received funding approvals. 

Aside from allowing for more targeted funding requests, the Community’s decision 

to share data with the State also allows for more targeted law enforcement in those 

areas that are highest risk and for more strategic educational outreach to the Community on the effects of seat belt usage, speeding, drinking and driving, and impaired driving. 

Tribal Safety Plan—The Community was the first tribe in Arizona to prepare a 

tribal safety plan framework. As of 2013, no tribe in Arizona had a safety plan 

which made it difficult for them to collaborate with ADOT and local municipalities 

on tribal safety. In conjunction with the Intertribal Council of Arizona, the Community developed a tribal safety plan framework that ultimately led to a Tribal Safety 

Plan approved by the Community Council. 

To develop the Tribal Safety Plan Community workshops were conducted with 

other stakeholders including the Federal Highway Administration, ADOT, BIA, 

Intertribal Council of Arizona, Maricopa Association of Governments, Arizona Department of Public Safety, Indian Health Services, and Community departments 

such as the police department, GRIC DOT, emergency services and injury prevention program. 

18 

The Community also conducted a Multimodal Pedestrian Safety Study that evaluated the pedestrian safety needs on the Reservation including sidewalks/shared use 

paths, bus stops/turnouts, and other infrastructure. This study was used to provide 

data for potential funding sources and build a comprehensive safety plan for the 

Community and included input from external stakeholders such as federal officials, 

business, the general public and tribal departments such as the police department, 

housing, senior center, school transportation department, flood control management 

task force and the youth council. This study ultimately provided recommendations 

on issues such as locations for speed reduction, trails, crosswalks, lighting, sidewalks, signage, bike lanes and handicap access. 

The safety plan made recommendations on responses to, and prevention of, crashes and locations deemed in need of safety measures, bicycle and ATV safety, a child 

safety seat program, seatbelt usage, and driving under the influence. The plan was 

approved by the Community Council in July of 2014. 

Together these studies have created a roadmap for safety within the Community. 

This has allowed the Community to prioritize road construction and safety projects, 

work with external partners, such as the State and local municipalities, in a more 

collaborative manner and identify funding sources to address the safety needs of 

tribal citizens and non-tribal users of the Community’s transportation infrastructure. 

Improvements To Interstate 10 

One of the issues facing the Community is working with other governments on 

planning and construction of large-scale transportation projects. In some cases, tribal governments are left out of the planning of large-scale infrastructure projects. 

This has been the Community’s experience in the past as well. Recently, however, 

transportation planning and coordination between the Community and the surrounding governments, including the State, has improved significantly. 

Late last year, ADOT reached out to the Community to participate in a design 

concept report and environmental study on the addition of lanes to I–10, along with 

improvements to existing interchanges. The study is required for federally funded 

projects and will have an accelerated timeline of 18 months. This study will take 

into account the strategy needed to improve traffic capacity along the I–10 and to 

account for growing needs based on current and future economic opportunities along 

the corridor. This is the kind of coordination and planning with tribal nations that 

is essential to ensuring major transportation projects can be completed in a timely 

and efficient manner, taking into account the needs of all the affected governments 

and communities. The Community believes that this cooperation is to be encouraged 

across the country. 

As further evidence of the Community’s growing collaboration with its surrounding governments, both ADOT and the Community will seek funding for the 

I–10 expansion project that traverses the Community’s lands, including the required 

new interchanges. When projects of this size are contemplated, it is imperative that 

tribal governments, as equal partners, have access to the same type and level of 

funding that state and other governments have. There are few federal funding 

agreements that provide direct funding to tribes for projects of this scope and size. 

One grant that the Community recommends that Congress and Appropriators continue to support is the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development 

(‘‘BUILD’’) program. 

The Community is looking into this program as one of the only feasible grants 

that can provide sufficient funding for projects such as the I–10 interchange project. 

This particular grant is a competitive grant for surface transportation projects and 

is open to state, local and tribal governments for projects like the I–10 that have 

a significant local or regional impact. These grants are split between rural and 

urban projects, but the Community recommends Congress also consider having a 

specific percentage of these grants designated for projects located on tribal lands. 

Despite overwhelming need, few tribal governments have been awarded these 

grants. In 2018 only one tribe received direct funding and the other project was a 

joint application with the state. For the Community, direct funding would allow us 

to begin working on this important interchange project. The State could also apply 

which would enable the tribe and state to work as partners on this regionally important project. I encourage Congress to maintain this program in the next reauthorization and to ensure that tribes are able to secure grants in the next phase of the 

allocation of this grant programs. 

Conclusion 

The FAST Act provided positive incremental improvements in the tribal transportation program. It will be important to take those gains to crate even more signifiVerDate Mar 15 2010 10:49 May 10, 2019 Jkt 036243 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\36243.TXT JACK
19 

cant programmatic advances in the next reauthorization. Aside from increasing 

funding levels for surface transportation, transit and safety programs, Congress 

should create incentives for transportation and infrastructure projects that are 

multi-jurisdiction and have significant benefits both on, and off, the Reservation. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Governor Lewis. 

Now I will turn to Councilman Garcia. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOE GARCIA, HEAD COUNCILMAN, 

OHKAY OWINGEH PUEBLO COUNCIL 

Mr. GARCIA. First of all, greetings from New Mexico. All the 

Pueblo tribes give you greetings. 

Thank you, Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall and members of the Committee for the opportunity to provide testimony on 

the importance of surface transportation infrastructure for Indian 

Country. 

My name is Joe Garcia. I am Head Councilman and former 

three-term Governor of Ohkay Owingeh, co-chair of the National 

Congress of American Indians, Intertribal Transportation Association Tribal Transportation Task Force, a former two-term President 

of NCAI, and Tribal Co-Chair of the Tribal Transportation SelfGovernance Program Negotiated Rulemaking Committee. 

I look forward to working with the members of this Committee 

to ensure that Federal transportation policies honor the Federal 

Government’s treaty and trust responsibilities to tribal Nations. 

This Committee, more than any other, understands the Federal 

Government’s sacred obligation to tribal Nations. I ask you to educate your colleagues and carry forward Indian Country’s message 

as Congress debates the next Surface Transportation reauthorization. 

There are 573 sovereign tribal Nations with a formal nation-tonation relationship with the United States. Tribal Nations tried to 

provide the necessary foundations for supporting the building of 

strong economies and ensuring the health and well being of their 

citizens. 

Having safe, well maintained tribal lands, roads, bridges, and 

adequate public transportation is vital to this mission. The stakes 

are high for Indian Country. Numerous government reports address the severe under-investment in tribal infrastructure, the 

crumbling condition of Indian Country roads and the lack of sufficient transportation data and crash statistics. 

The findings of these reports are striking. What is most startling 

is the toll on human life. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of 

unintentional injury or death for American Indians and Alaska Natives under the age of 20. 

Additionally, vehicle-related death rates for American Indians 

and Alaska Natives ages 20 and older are more than twice that of 

non-Hispanic whites and the motor vehicle death rate for American 

Indian and Alaska Native infants is eight times higher than that 

of non-Hispanic whites. These numbers are unacceptable. 

As Congress debates the future of Federal transportation policy, 

it is vital that Congress makes a significant investment in tribal 

roads and bridges, expands tribal access to national programs and 

provides new resources that will improve road safety in Indian 

20 

Country. This starts with ensuring the continued solvency of the 

Highway Trust Fund which funds the Tribal Transportation Program. The Tribal Transportation Program oversees approximately 

161,000 miles of roads and trails in Indian Country and is essential 

for safe and adequate transportation systems for tribal Nations. 

Congress must ensure that any solution to the Highway Trust 

Fund’s insolvency provide adequate and stable funding for tribal 

Nations and does not impose undue financial burden on those living in Indian Country which is largely rural. 

Congress should also increase the initial authorization for the 

Tribal Transportation Program and include larger step increases 

for each fiscal year that follows. Congress should do the same for 

the Tribal Transit Program, appropriate more funding for the BIA 

Road Maintenance Program and increase tribal access to other 

transportation programs by providing tribal set-asides, waiving 

matching requirements and tailoring program requirements to 

meet the unique needs of Indian Country. 

I also want to highlight a few programs that deserve congressional attention. The Tribal Technical Assistance Program is the 

only program for tribal Nations to build capacity through training 

and technical assistance from experts who oversee and construct 

highways and roads in tribal communities. 

The Federal Highway Administration recently centralized the 

seven TTAP offices into a single office without proper tribal consultation. This is very troubling and I ask this Committee to ensure that all future agency actions affecting tribal Nations include 

meaningful consultation. 

The FAST Act created the Tribal Transportation Self-Governance 

Program, which extends the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

Tribal Nations and DOT representatives are engaged in negotiated 

rulemaking to put this important program into operation. I am the 

co-chair of that rulemaking committee. 

Though there have been several delays on the Federal side, the 

tribal and Federal members of our Joint Negotiated Rulemaking 

Committee are aiming to finalize negotiations on a draft rule over 

the next several months. 

DOT has recognized the need to streamline programs and requirements under self-governance. We have urged the Department 

to understand Congress’s expansion of self-governance to DOT as 

a directive for DOT to use its authority to maximize tribal flexibility and decision-making. I ask this Committee urge DOT to do 

the same. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to testify. I would be happy 

to answer any questions you may have. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Garcia follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. JOE GARCIA, HEAD COUNCILMAN, OHKAY OWINGEH

PUEBLO COUNCIL

Thank you Chairman Hoeven and Vice-Chairman Udall and members of the Committee for the opportunity to provide testimony on the importance of surface transportation infrastructure for Indian Country. My name is Joe Garcia, and I am Head 

Councilman and former three term Governor of Ohkay Owingeh, a co-chair of the 

National Congress of American Indians-Intertribal Transportation Association Tribal Transportation Task Force, a former two term President of NCAI, and Tribal CoVerDate Mar 15 2010 10:49 May 10, 2019 Jkt 036243 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\36243.TXT JACK
21 

1 U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Broken Promises: Continued Federal Funding Shortfall for 

Native Americans, https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/12-20-Broken-Promises.pdf 2 Id. 

3 Id., citing U.S. Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Testimony before the Senate Committee on Indian 

Affairs, July 12, 2007, https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-110shrg37860/html/CHRG110shrg37860.htm 4Tribal/Interior Budget Council, Roads Maintenance Subcommittee Presentation, November 

15, 2018. http://www.ncai.org/TIBC-Nov201lROADSlSubcmtelPreso.pdf 5 Id. 

Chair of the Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Program Negotiated Rulemaking Committee. I look forward to working with the members of this Committee 

and other members of Congress to ensure that federal transportation policies, including the next surface transportation reauthorization, honor the federal government’s treaty and trust responsibilities to tribal nations. 

Indian Country and Transportation Infrastructure 

There are 573 sovereign tribal nations with a formal nation-to-nation relationship 

with the United States. Two hundred and twenty-nine tribal nations are located in 

Alaska, while 344 are located in 34 other states. The total land mass under American Indian or Alaska Native jurisdiction is about 100 million acres, which would 

make Indian Country the fourth-largest state geographically in the U.S. Additionally, there are twelve tribal nations that have a larger land base than the state of 

Delaware, and the Navajo Nation alone would be the 42nd-largest state. According 

to the 2010 Census, 5.2 million people identified as American Indian/Alaska Native 

(AI/AN) alone or in combination with other races, which would make Indian Country the 22nd most populous state. 

Like all other governments, tribal nations strive to provide the necessary foundations for supporting the building of strong economies and ensuring the health and 

wellbeing of their citizens. To this end, tribal nations construct, improve, and maintain transportation infrastructure and facilities that are used by tribal citizens and 

non-tribal citizens alike. Having safe, well-maintained tribal roads, bridges, and 

adequate public transportation is vital to public safety and commerce in tribal communities and benefits tribal citizens and those living in and around Indian Country. 

According to the most recent National Tribal Transportation Facility Inventory 

(NTTFI), there are approximately 161,000 miles of roads and trails in Indian Country eligible for federal funding. Of those, tribal nations own and maintain 13,650 

miles of roads and trails, of which only 1,000 (or 7.3 percent) are paved (the other 

12,650 miles are gravel, earth, or primitive). Of the 29,400 miles owned and maintained by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), 75 percent are gravel, earth, or primitive. Altogether, the 42,000 miles of roads in Indian Country are still among the 

most underdeveloped, unsafe, and poorly maintained road networks in the nation, 

even though they are the primary means of access to American Indian and Alaska 

Native communities by Native and non-Native residents and visitors. 

Lack of Federal Resources and Data 

There is great need for additional surface transportation funding and data in Indian Country. In December of 2018, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) 

released its report, titled Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall 

for Native Americans, as an update to its 2003 A Quiet Crisis report. 1 The Broken 

Promises report emphasizes federal underinvestment in transportation and other infrastructure in Indian Country and discusses how the lack of investment causes significant safety concerns, interrupts the provision of tribal government services, and 

affects the overall health of tribal economies. 2 In addition to the chronic underinvestment in the physical infrastructure of tribal communities, the USCCR goes on 

to highlight the ‘‘severe lack of public transportation in Indian Country.’’ 3

Additionally, the BIA recently conducted a road maintenance survey that found 

that the total dollar value of deferred road maintenance for surveyed stakeholders 

is estimated at $498 million. The survey also found that more funding was the number one priority of stakeholders, followed by equipment needs. 4 Data indicated that 

tribal nations are using Tribal Transportation Program (TTP) funds that could otherwise be used for road construction or improvement to backfill unmet road maintenance needs. The survey estimated that the expenditures for road maintenance in 

FY 2017 were more than double the allocated amount of funding for the BIA Road 

Maintenance program in FY 2017. 5 Borrowing funds from vital programs to backfill 

underfunded programs results in a drag on the construction, maintenance, and overall safety of roads throughout Indian Country. 

In May 2017, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a study 

on tribal transportation data, road management, and student attendance. GAO 

22 

6 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Tribal Transportation: Better Data Could Improve 

Road Management and Inform Indian Student Attendance Strategies, GAO–17–432, p. 47 (May 

22, 2017). 7 Id. 

8 Id. 

9 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Highlights of GAO–17–432, https://www.gao.gov/ 

products/GAO-17-423 10Pub. L. 114–94 § 1117(b)(2)(B). 11Federal Highway Administration, Report to Congress on Tribal Governments & Transportation Safety Data, p. 20, https://flh.fhwa.dot.gov/programs/ttp/safety/documents/2016-tribalgovernments-safety-data.pdf 12 Id., p. 7. 13Federal Highway Administration, Transportation Safety in Tribal Areas, FHWA–HRT–18– 

004, Vol. 82 No. 2, https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/18summer/02.cfm 14 CDC, Tribal Road Safety: Get the Facts, https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/native/ 

factsheet.html 15 Id. 16Federal Highway Administration, Distribution of Highway Safety Improvement Program 

(HSIP) Funds Apportioned for FY 2018, https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/legsregs/directives/notices/ 

n4510824/n4510824lt12.cfm 

found that the NTTFI and Deferred Maintenance Reporting (DMR) systems contain 

incomplete and inconsistent road description and condition data that affect program 

efficiency and delivery. As a result, reports and budget submissions that rely on 

these datasets ‘‘may not accurately reflect road conditions or maintenance needs and 

associated costs.inhibit[ing] the ability of Congress’’ and the appropriate bureaus, offices, and agencies to make better-informed decisions about priorities and the transportation system as a whole. 6

GAO also identified the significant practical impacts of poor tribal road conditions. 

The report concluded that road conditions on tribal lands pose challenges ‘‘in connecting people to education, employment, healthcare, and other essential services,’’ 

which are magnified during adverse weather due to remoteness and existing road 

conditions. 7 Additionally, GAO concluded that road conditions do affect student attendance 8 and rough road conditions can increase maintenance needs for school vehicles. 9

The lack of consistent transportation data also extends to crash statistics in Indian Country that, in turn, affect the ability to make better-informed decisions and 

allocate resources to address road safety. As a requirement of the Fixing America’s 

Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), the Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA) produced a report on safety data collected in Indian Country. The purpose 

of this report was to ‘‘improve the collection and sharing of data of crashes on Indian reservations’’ and to ‘‘develop data that Indian tribes can use to recover damages to tribal property caused by motorists.’’ 10 FHWA’s report found that databases 

at the state and federal level that drive programmatic decisions are incomplete in 

tribal areas. 11 In its report, FHWA states that ‘‘[i]mproved collection and sharing 

of safety data, especially crash reports, in tribal areas would facilitate more effective 

transportation safety planning and would afford Tribes improved access to State 

and Federal funding opportunities to address transportation safety problems.’’ 12

Road Safety in Indian Country 

Road safety remains a top priority for Indian Country and Congress must provide 

additional funding and resources to address road safety and behavioral issues that 

contribute to high rates of death and injury in Indian Country. According to FHWA, 

motor vehicle crashes caused an average of 655 fatalities each year in tribal 

areas. 13 Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury death 

for AI/ANs under the age of 20. 14 Additionally, motor vehicle-related death rates for 

AI/ANs ages 20 and older are more than twice that of non-Hispanic whites, and AI/ 

AN infants have a motor vehicle death rate that is eight times higher than that of 

non-Hispanic whites. 15

Despite these startling statistics, there is significant underfunding for tribal road 

safety, especially when compared to state funding. In FY 2018, State Departments 

of Transportation shared $2.23 billion from the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) (23 U.S.C. § 402) under an allocation formula. 16 By comparison, tribal 

nations must compete for discretionary and competitive highway safety grants 

under BIA’s Indian Highway Safety Program (IHSP), 23 U.S.C. § 402 (2 percent of 

State apportionment); and the Tribal Transportation Program Safety Program, 23 

U.S.C. § 202(e) (2 percent set-aside of annual TTP allocation). In FY 2018, tribal nations competed for $8.89 million in TTP safety grants and had access to $5.2 million 

from BIA’s Indian Highway Safety Program (IHSP). Despite motor vehicle fatalities 

occurring throughout Indian Country, only a select few tribal nations receive federal 

23 

17Federal Transit Administration, Public Transportation on Indian Reservations Program; 

Tribal Transit Program, https://www.transit.dot.gov/tribal-transit 

safety funds to address behavioral issues that factor into roadway accidents, injuries, and fatalities (DUI, seat belt use, child safety restraints, etc.) and to make 

highway safety improvements. 

Tribal Transportation Program 

TTP oversees approximately 161,000 miles of roads and trails in Indian Country, 

which are owned by the BIA, tribal nations, states, and counties, in order to provide 

safe and adequate transportation systems. These roadways and trails serve as the 

primary transportation thoroughfares for residents of and visitors to AI/AN communities, and funding for TTP is essential to safe and reliable road systems across Indian Country. 

TTP is funded from the Highway Trust Fund and allocated through a statutory 

formula. As such, this important source of funding for Indian Country roads will be 

greatly impacted by the potential future insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund. 

Currently, several pilot projects are underway to examine alternatives to an increase in the federal fuel tax. As Congress considers how to address the future insolvency of the Fund, it must uphold its treaty and trust responsibilities by ensuring 

that any solution provides a stable, adequate source of funding for tribal transportation infrastructure and does not impose undue financial burdens on those living 

in Indian Country, which is largely rural. 

The last surface transportation reauthorization, the FAST Act, authorized TTP 

funding starting at $465 million in FY 2016 and increases funding at $10 million 

per year through FY 2020 with a final year level of $505 million. In light of the 

significant unmet need as evidenced by recent reports, Congress must support and 

enhance funding for this program in the next surface transportation reauthorization 

so that tribal nations can provide safe and acceptable transportation systems in Indian Country. Enhancements should include a significant increase to the overall authorization level for the initial year and larger step increases for each year that follows. 

Tribal Transit Program Funding 

The Public Transportation in Indian Reservations Program (Tribal Transit Program) enables tribal nations to use transit program funding for capital, operating, 

planning, and administrative expenses for public transit projects to meet the needs 

of public transportation in rural tribal communities. The Tribal Transit Program is 

a successful program for tribal nations to serve the community, including elders, 

those with disabilities, and Native youth; however, this program suffers from the 

same underinvestment that limits other transportation programs that benefit Indian Country. 

The Tribal Transit Program is authorized by section 5311(j) of the FAST Act and 

currently consists of $30 million in formula funding and $5 million in competitive 

grant funding. 17 This program is critical to meeting the growing needs of tribal 

communities. Congress must support and enhance funding for the Tribal Transit 

Program in the next surface transportation reauthorization. Enhancements to this 

program should include an increase in formula funding levels and adoption of step 

increases in funding levels, similar to those found in the FAST Act for TTP funding. 

Step increases for the Tribal Transit Program should be greater than $10 million 

per year to address the severe underinvestment in public transit in Indian Country. 

Access to Transportation Program Funding 

Several transportation and transit programs that provide funding to tribal nations 

consist of a formula funding component and a competitive grant component, while 

other funding opportunities are offered solely through competitive grant models that 

require tribal nations to compete against non-tribal applicants. Formula funding 

methods are generally preferable as they provide certainty for the planning and financing required to complete transportation construction, improvement, and maintenance projects. Competitive grants, on the other hand, are not as conducive to 

planning and require labor input and other planning expenses that may never be 

recovered even where a tribal applicant receives grant funding. 

Additionally, competitive grant models can fail to address the unique needs of 

tribal communities, and their requirements often leave tribal nations effectively ineligible for programs where Congress intends tribal nation eligibility. Competitive 

grants with large dollar thresholds for project proposals effectively bar many tribal 

nations with shovel-ready projects from programs for which they otherwise appear 

eligible. Conversely, the complete absence of transportation infrastructure in certain 

24 

tribal communities generates much larger project funding needs. In these circumstances, matching requirements can prohibit tribal nations from having meaningful access to these competitive grant opportunities. 

To help address the significant transportation needs in Indian Country, Congress 

should eliminate matching requirements for tribal applicants, provide significant 

tribal set-asides from national surface transportation programs, and ensure the application and programmatic requirements account for the unique needs of and circumstances in Indian Country. 

Tribal Technical Assistance Program 

The Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP) is the only program for tribal 

nations to build capacity through training and technical assistance from experts 

who oversee and construct highways and roads in tribal communities. In Fall 2016, 

FHWA announced the restructuring of the TTAP and eliminated the seven TTAPs 

around the country that served all 573 federally-recognized tribal nations. In December 2017, the FHWA announced a two-year pilot program and centralized the 

TTAP at the University of Virginia, Center for Transportation Studies (CTS) in Virginia. The entire restructuring proceeded without proper tribal consultation, which 

is very concerning. The program remains an important resource to improve the technical expertise of tribal transportation officials. Accordingly, Congress should provide a $5 million increase in TTAP funding. 

Bureau of Indian Affairs Road Maintenance Program 

Another federal transportation program that is vital to infrastructure in Indian 

Country is the BIA Road Maintenance Program, which is funded and authorized 

under the Department of the Interior. The BIA Road Maintenance Program covers 

the approximately 29,400 miles of BIA owned roads in Indian Country, including 

900 bridges. As part of a recent survey conducted by the BIA, the deferred maintenance backlog throughout Indian Country is estimated in excess of $490 million. In 

FY 2018, Congress appropriated $34.6 million for BIA road maintenance and this 

funding level has remained roughly the same for several consecutive fiscal years, 

even though maintenance needs continue to increase. Congress should increase 

funding levels to at least $50 million in FY 2020 to address the BIA roads maintenance backlog. 

Tribal Self-Governance at the Department of Transportation 

Over the past two decades, Congress has recognized that tribal communities have 

significant and unique transportation needs. Congress also has recognized that tribal governments are most effective in determining how to meet those needs. Congress 

has made additional federal transportation programs directly available to tribal nations and has expanded tribal authority and flexibility with respect to the administration of those programs. Most significantly, in the FAST Act Congress created the 

Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Program, which extends the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to the U.S. Department of Transportation 

(DOT). The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act already has 

proven that federal funds are used most effectively and efficiently when administered at the local level by tribal nations themselves. Through this extension of SelfGovernance to the DOT, tribal nations will be able to obtain all of their transportation funds (including not only their TTP funds, but also transit, federal-aid, and 

other DOT funds) under a single DOT self-governance agreement. Authorizing tribal 

nations to use these Self-Governance funding agreements for all their transportation 

activities means that the administrative procedures associated with the various 

DOT programs will be streamlined, resulting in a faster project delivery timeline. 

This means that tribal nations will be getting safe and reliable transportation infrastructure on the ground and into operation faster with more cost effectiveness than 

ever before. 

Tribal nations and DOT representatives are engaged in a negotiated rulemaking 

to put this important program into operation. I am the Co-Chair of that rulemaking 

committee. Though there have been several delays on the federal side (including the 

recent government shutdown), the tribal and federal members of our joint negotiated rulemaking committee are aiming to finalize substantive negotiations on a 

draft rule over the next several months. 

In our most recent meeting, the federal and tribal committee members have been 

able to identify their respective goals and intents with regard to the rule. The Committee aims to review drafts of substantive language in its next meeting in June. 

Our shared goal is to have a draft rule for public comment out by Fall 2019 and 

that the Committee will reconvene to review comments and finalize the rule by this 

time next year. 

25 

DOT has recognized the need to streamline programs and requirements under 

Self-Governance, and we have urged the Department to understand Congress’ expansion of Self-Governance to DOT as a directive for DOT to use its authority to 

maximize tribal flexibility and decisionmaking. I ask that this Committee urge DOT 

to do the same. 

Conclusion 

Thank you again for the opportunity to testify at this important oversight hearing. Safe and reliable transportation infrastructure is vital to the enhancement of 

tribal economic development and to the wellbeing of tribal communities and surrounding non-tribal areas. I look forward to working with this Committee to ensure 

the next surface transportation reauthorization bill will improve the lives of tribal 

citizens across Indian Country. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you Councilman Garcia. Thanks also for 

your military service. We truly appreciate it. 

I am going to turn to the Vice Chairman first to start the questions. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you, Chairman Hoeven. 

Mr. Gishi and Mr. Hess, you are both aware that the GAO issued 

a report in 2017 about the potential link between road conditions 

and increased student absenteeism on tribal lands. I worked 

through the Interior appropriations process to direct the Department to use $1 million to improve roads used by Indian students 

in fiscal year 2018. In the last Congress, I asked BIA and BIE 

about this issue but got a response with no details. 

The GAO report also recommended that the Assistant Secretary 

for Indian Affairs coordinate with the Federal Highway Administration and tribal stakeholders to reexamine the current data collected, issue clarifying guidance to ensure consistent reporting and 

establish a process for timely corrections to missing or bad data. 

Mr. Gishi, how has DOI used the additional $1 million in fiscal 

year 2018 appropriations to improve the conditions of roads and 

bridges for school buses? 

Mr. GISHI. Thank you, Vice Chairman. 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs, with the funds provided not only 

in 2018 but also a specific earmark in 2017, addressed specifically 

the requirements in the conference report and directed those funds 

toward those tribes who had identified not only school bus routes 

but also were in those categories of earth roads, unpaved roads. 

As I mentioned in our testimony, 75 percent of the road inventory on the BIA system is in that category of what we call unimproved earth or gravel roads. As many of you are aware, it does 

not take much in terms of weather to change roads in those conditions as opposed to surfaced, all-weather roads. 

That is where our funds went and will continue to go. We support that in the process of what is in 2019 also. 

Senator UDALL. Right. Thank you. 

Mr. Gishi and Mr. Hess, are your agencies coordinating to address GAO’s eight recommendations from 2017? Mr. Hess, why 

don’t you start? 

Mr. HESS. Thank you, Vice Chairman. 

Yes, the Federal Highway Administration works very closely 

with BIA and the tribes in reference to the development of the 

transportation improvement plans that each tribe has to develop to 

receive funds. 

26 

We have tribal coordinators for every tribe that the Federal 

Highway Administration has entered into agreement with. We assign them a tribal coordinator. The tribal coordinator helps the 

tribe navigate through the programs and the funds available to 

that tribe. 

We work with them and with the transportation planning funds 

to develop a transportation improvement plan. Given the needs of 

the tribes, the top priorities we have found are school bus routes 

and also safety. I would say almost all tribes rise to the top of the 

priority list. Those are the projects funded through the tribal 

shares that we provide to the tribes. 

We provide funding through a statutory formula to each of the 

573 nationally-recognized tribes to address these varied needs. 

Senator UDALL. Mr. Gishi, would you like to add to that? 

Mr. GISHI. Yes, please. Thank you. 

We have been working with the Federal Highway Administration 

and tribes since the report was released, specifically looking at the 

data in the inventory, reexamining it and have actually been able 

to work with the Tribal Transportation Program Coordinating 

Committee. This Committee is a regulatory committee established 

for the purpose of specifically providing input and recommendations to the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Interior. 

It is through this process that we have been able to narrow down 

the inventory to those areas they feel are necessary and those they 

feel may be better off being eliminated. We continue to work with 

those tribal entities as well as the tribes themselves. 

Senator UDALL. Mr. Chairman, I think I am going to yield to you 

since we are close here on the numbers. 

The CHAIRMAN. That would be your choice if they call the vote. 

Do you want to finish your questions in case they call the vote? 

Senator UDALL. Sure. Let me move on to safety and school attendance issues. Because the roads within Indian Country are unpaved and not regularly maintained, the schools on reservations 

have to pay more for school bus maintenance. These increased 

maintenance costs are not factored into the transportation funding 

formula for BIE schools meaning some schools have to scramble for 

resources to keep their buses running. 

Councilman Garcia, you discussed the need for a stable and adequate source of funding for tribal transportation infrastructure to 

ensure Indian families are able to access health care, employment 

and educational opportunities for their children. Many of these 

families rely on school transportation to ensure that their children 

attend school but these children cannot attend school if there are 

no school buses available. 

Councilman Garcia, do you know how maintenance costs for your 

school buses on Ohkay Owingeh compare to those of other schools? 

Mr. GARCIA. Senator, I can speak for Ohkay Owingeh and other 

pueblos and tribes as well, that the maintenance cost goes up as 

the roadways are deteriorated or in bad condition. For instance, in 

our small community, we have a BIA tribally-controlled school so 

we only have basically one big bus. 

When you talk about greater than $8,000 for repairing and cost 

of one bus, it adds up when you include the Head Start facility. ReVerDate Mar 15 2010 10:49 May 10, 2019 Jkt 036243 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\36243.TXT JACK
27 

member that the communities also have other transportation 

issues like with the senior citizens. Their costs are high and they 

have a van they use as well as the transit program. 

All of these entities are facing some great cost in terms of expenditures. The biggest one in New Mexico is the transportation 

cost for Santa Fe Indian School. They provide transportation all 

the way from Ohkay Owingeh to Santo Domingo and San Felipe. 

Many of those pueblos continue to have roadways were you would 

not want to go if you did not have to go there or travel on those 

routes. 

I think the transportation costs for the maintenance of the buses 

is higher because of those roadways. The numbers continue to go 

up. The biggest one I see, a big issue for me, is the school in Death 

Valley, California. They transport students 52 miles one way on a 

dirt road to get those students to a school facility. That is every 

day, one way, 52 miles. That is uncalled for in the United States 

of America. That is a bad situation. It is the same way in a lot of 

rural communities, Senator. 

Senator UDALL. Clearly Congress should ensure that school bus 

maintenance costs are considered in funding formulas. Thank you 

very much for that statement. 

I yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Gishi, your written testimony indicated 

there are some issues with implementation of the FAST Act. Specifically, you stated, ‘‘The FAST Act addressed the longstanding 

issue of a competitive funding formula but there are still some implementation issues regarding application of certain data to the calculation of the tribal share of the funding.’’ 

What has the tribal response been regarding the calculation of 

the tribal share under the FAST Act and the Tribal Transportation 

Program? 

Mr. GISHI. Thank you, Chairman Hoeven. 

There have been some concerns from tribes that use the data associated with the formula primarily because the data is associated 

with a point in time. Many of the tribes felt this occurred at a time 

after which they began becoming part of the process of planning 

and being a part of the program. They feel information currently 

available them as part of their planning that they normally would 

prioritize projects by today is not being considered as part of the 

formula as it was developed. 

Having said that, there are a number of tribes who welcome the 

formula because it provides the means to maintain some uniformity, an ongoing, year-to-year amount of funding made available 

for tribal shares for not only their construction needs but also other 

areas including the planning. 

The CHAIRMAN. In the May 17 report to Congress, the Department of Transportation cited a lack of uniform standards in reporting crash data within BIA law enforcement. It found among the 12 

BIA regions, each one uses a different crash report form. 

How are you addressing that to have consistency and the concerns that have been raised by the Department of Transportation 

regarding that? 

Mr. GISHI. BIA law enforcement is currently working within 

their incident management reporting system to try to find a way 

28 

of providing uniform reporting at least for the BIA portions that 

are identified in the 12 regions. 

Keep in mind that the data from State to State also varies and 

the methodologies that are there. We are just one area that needs 

to have some improvement in crash data reporting. 

The CHAIRMAN. Are you trying to standardize it? 

Mr. GISHI. We are making an effort to try and standardize that. 

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Hess, each year, under the FAST Act, 2 percent of the available Tribal Transportation Program funds are set 

aside to address transportation safety issues for reservation roads. 

How beneficial has this been and how many of the tribes are actually being awarded funds? 

Mr. HESS. Mr. Chairman, the 2 percent set aside in the statute 

sets aside 2 percent of the funds made available to the Tribal 

Transportation Program. This is a critical program for the Federal 

Highway Administration and the tribes. 

We use the 2 percent of funds set aside primarily in two areas. 

The first area is for development of tribal transportation safety 

plans. We are pleased to report that for the last several years, any 

tribe that has requested funds for development of a tribal transportation safety plan, we have been able to fund that in full. 

Once the plans are developed, the tribes use those plans, based 

upon crash data, to develop areas where infrastructure improvements dealing with safety are needed. Through statute, Congress 

has made available to the Federal Highway Administration almost 

$10 million this year. Through the FAST Act, there was about $9 

million a year which has gone up to $10 million. Those funds are 

awarded directly to tribes through competitive, discretionary grant 

programs. 

We award the funds we receive to the tribes based upon applications they submit. Those funds are provided directly to tribes 

where they design and construct infrastructure safety improvements to address safety needs on tribal lands. 

The CHAIRMAN. My next question is for both Governor Lewis and 

Councilman Garcia. 

I am going to introduce a tribal transportation bill very soon. The 

bill would increase the money authorized for the Bureau of Indian 

Affairs’ Road Maintenance Program from $35 million to $46 million, among other things. 

These are some of the things it does. It reinstates the Tribal 

Transportation Bridge Program as a standalone program instead of 

a 2 percent carve-out of the Tribal Transportation Program. 

It directs the Secretaries of Interior and Transportation to work 

with Indian tribes in developing a standard and uniform crash report form. It directs the BIA to adopt one standard crash report 

form to be used by law enforcement officials. It increases money 

available for the Tribal Transportation Safety Fund from 2 percent 

to 4 percent. Those are some of the provisions. 

I would ask your opinion and whether or not you feel you could 

support that legislation? Gentlemen? 

Mr. LEWIS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The Community would very much look forward to legislation 

such as you articulated. We would be happy to work with you on 

it as it goes through the Senate. 

29 

There are several key issues highlighted in my testimony I think 

you have addressed. They are: increased funding for the BIA Maintenance Program; doubling the percentage of the tribal transportation safety funding available to tribes; and reinstating the Tribal 

Transportation Bridge Program as a separate program with its own 

funding source. 

The Community has found sharing data with the State in a consistent manner is helpful to ensure that we have the information 

we need to address these areas of safety in our Community’s roads. 

This would also help with the serious under count that exists in 

Indian Country regarding data about serious injuries and fatalities 

for our Native people. I would say that works for the Gila River 

Indian Community. 

I know it may be hard to have a one size fits all approach on 

data collection but adding consistency in how and when data is collected would help us to show the funding and programmatic safety 

needs throughout Indian Country which, in turn, could result in a 

more targeted, successful policy with positive results. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Governor. 

Councilman Garcia? 

Mr. GARCIA. Thank you for the question. 

In terms of data, the way I understand, in a simple man’s mind, 

is that the funding should follow the needs. The data is not adequate. The data is not correct. The data is not validated but comes 

from different sources. Then you have a mixture of data that comes 

to the people making budget and financial decisions. 

Much like you do in business, you had better have good data if 

you are going to make a good business decision on how much funding you are providing. Whether the 2 percent set aside is enough 

is important, based on which data and what data you believe. 

I think it is important that all the data sources really have to 

be researched. It does not take a whole lot to research to ensure 

it is valid data. There has to be a cross corollary. For instance, Hill 

River is in the same boat as Ohkay Owingeh in that we have four 

different jurisdictions in terms of crashes and accidents. That is 

our tribal law enforcement, the county, Rio Arriba, the State highway patrol and the City of Espan ̃ ola police department. 

When you investigate the data itself and look at that data, for 

one incident, you have four different versions of what happened 

and the data that goes into whichever database you use. If the 

databases cannot talk to each other, then you are in a world of 

hurt. I figure that is what is happening in Indian Country that 

there are several databases out there but which one is the right 

one, which is the correct one, which one is used to make financial 

decisions. 

It is an important issue. I think the set aside ought to reflect the 

needs of Indian Country overall. It is worse in some cases where 

they have even more jurisdictions. I think Navajo might be one of 

those cases but some of the more remote areas in Montana and 

South or North Dakota, are in that same boat. 

I think it is important. If we can reflect the true needs in Indian 

Country relative to safety and transportation for all members who 

traverse those roadways, that funding should be elevated to some 

level higher than 2 percent. 

30 

The CHAIRMAN. I thank both of you for your input. I appreciate 

it and I think it is very valuable. 

Thanks to all the witnesses. 

Senator Cortez Masto. 

STATEMENT OF HON. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM NEVADA 

Senator CORTEZ MASTO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Thank you all for being here. 

I have two letters here pertaining to an issue involving the 

Death Valley Shoshone Tribe in Nye County, Nevada. It is relevant 

to the hearing today. 

The first letter is from the tribe to the Bureau of Land Management. It is dated February 27, 2017 regarding a land expansion 

that is mandated by the Nevada Native Nations Land Act. This letter is actually a follow up to multiple letters the tribe had already 

sent to the BLM. 

The tribe has been waiting years now for the Bureau of Land 

Management to complete not only a land survey but also to respond to a request for a self-governance compact. It is very important and highly relevant to the hearing today. It is also the subject 

of a second letter. 

I would like to ask the Chair that both letters be submitted for 

the record without opposition. 

The CHAIRMAN. Without objection. 

I would have been right on top of that but my outstanding staff 

assistant has me doing homework, so I apologize. 

Senator CORTEZ MASTO. Thank you. 

Mr. Hess or Mr. Gishi, are you either of you aware of this issue 

in Nevada with this particular tribe? 

Mr. HESS. Senator, I am not aware of this specific issue. 

Senator CORTEZ MASTO. Can I ask that you take a look at these 

letters? Would you get back to me with how we can timely respond 

to the tribe with respect to these issues? Would you be willing to 

do that? 

Mr. HESS. Yes, Senator. The Department of Transportation 

would be glad to take a look at those letters. We will get back to 

you on that. 

Mr. GISHI. Likewise, we will take those back also. Thank you. 

Senator CORTEZ MASTO. Very quickly, I have one final question 

for you. 

We are talking about infrastructure and our roads. It is also important to get broadband access to our tribal communities. I know 

recently, I think a year ago, Congress passed legislation directing 

the various State Departments of Transportation to lay the groundwork for a dig once. 

In other words, as they are laying and paving road, they are also 

paving it for broadband and making sure we are bringing 

broadband to our communities. I think it is called a ‘‘dig once’’ program. 

Mr. Hess, I am curious, are you aware of this policy and program, its implementation and how it is working? Do you know anything about it? 

31 

Mr. HESS. This specific program, not the specific issues but in 

terms of the right-of-way program, we have been working closely 

with BIA on the right-of-way issues. 

Senator CORTEZ MASTO. The goal is to make sure we are only 

digging once so when we are working on infrastructure, we are also 

looking at how we lay the fiber along with that. 

Mr. HESS. Yes. 

Senator CORTEZ MASTO. Can you address that because it is the 

key to bringing broadband to all of these communities? 

Mr. HESS. Yes, Senator, I am aware of those types of programs. 

They are available not only to States but also tribes. That is an 

emphasis with the States as well as the tribes that when roads are 

put in, to put broadband lines in as well. 

Senator CORTEZ MASTO. Is that happening now? 

Mr. HESS. To my understanding, yes, it us. 

Senator CORTEZ MASTO. If you could give me a report to my office, that would be helpful. Just send an update on where we are. 

Mr. HESS. Senator, we would be glad to get back with you and 

provide more information on the status of that program. 

Senator CORTEZ MASTO. I appreciate that. Thank you very much. 

I have no further questions. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator. 

At this time, I will turn to Senator McSally who would also like 

to do an introduction. 

STATEMENT OF HON. MARTHA MCSALLY, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM ARIZONA 

Senator MCSALLY. Thank you, Chairman Hoeven. 

It actually is wonderful to have Governor Lewis of the Gila River 

Indian Community from Arizona here today as a witness. I am 

really grateful. Governor Lewis, you are such a leader in Arizona 

on so many issues. It is a real honor to have you here testifying 

today. 

As a little about his background, he is an Arizona State University graduate and the JFK School of Government at Harvard, of 

which I am also a graduate. You have leveraged your education 

and experience to provide years of dedicated service. 

You were elected Governor in 2014. Governor Lewis previously 

served as a Lieutenant Governor and in various leadership positions in gaming, telecommunications and health care. You also 

served as a board member of the National Indian Education Association and were a delegate to the White House conference on Indian education. As Governor, Governor Lewis has advocated for 

protection of the Community’s water and promoted agricultural development vital to the Community’s economy. 

As we have visited many times recently, your leadership has 

played an integral role in the drought contingency plan just introduced in legislation yesterday. You were absolutely critical in helping getting that across the finish line in Arizona. 

Your leadership has been noted by many and we are really grateful for your leadership in that regard. I appreciate everything you 

are doing on those issues. You are here today to talk about transportation. 

32 

Governor Lewis, you mentioned in your testimony that more 

than 40,000 cars travel on I–10 through your community every single day. That number is expected to rise. You mentioned the example of collaboration on I–10 projects being a better example of how 

collaboration could happen. 

Your community sits at a very strategic and important location. 

These transportation issues are going to be vital for the State and 

your Community. That collaboration and consultation is really important. 

I know in your written testimony, you spoke about it but can you 

elaborate a bit more on this project? It is a major project, larger 

than most of the funding opportunities discussed today but it is absolutely critical. What else can you share on it? 

Mr. LEWIS. Thank you. 

Senator McSally, thank you as well for your leadership in championing such an important piece of legislation in the DCP. Thank 

you very much. 

Regarding the I–10, that is a main artery that not only cuts 

through the Gila River Indian Community but also is a main transportation artery for Arizona. It is critical that the Community 

works in collaboration with the State and all of the transportation 

entities. Tribes need to be at the table, especially when it deals 

with economics and infrastructure needs. 

The strip that goes through the Gila River Indian Community 

has an acute safety need as well. A lot of accidents occur. The 

tribe’s, our own, first responders, our fire departments, our police, 

and our EMTs answer those calls many times. In fact, we are one 

of the few entities I think throughout Indian Country acknowledged as an expert in hazardous materials training as well. You 

have all types of safety and transportation issues. 

The Community, myself, Lieutenant Governor Stone, and our 17- 

member council are all very encouraged by the recent discussions 

with the State and working in a collaborative manner. I think that 

positively sets the table as we move forward in addressing these 

needs and concerns. 

Senator MCSALLY. Thank you. The Gila River Indian Community 

is so critical in this project. It is good to hear that collaboration is 

there. 

If there is anything else we can do to help with cooperation or 

collaboration, please let us know. I travel that road many times 

back and forth. 

I know there have been other examples where you have been late 

to be consulted or not consulted at all. This example is one we 

could use moving forward. Is that fair to say? 

Mr. LEWIS. I think the history has been inconsistent in regard 

to the proper respect due to a tribal sovereign such as the Gila 

River Indian Community. We are trying to work past that. We are 

looking toward the future now with all of our concerns and the 

needs of all our community members. 

There is so much potential in regard to economic development 

and transportation issues not only for the Community but also for 

Arizona. That is a major traffic pathway. We want to be at the 

table, we want to collaborate, and we want to be a part of the solution for the future. 

33 

Senator MCSALLY. Thank you for your continued leadership in 

all of these issues. It is really an honor to have you here today. I 

look forward to continually partnering with you on many issues 

that affect your Community. 

Mr. LEWIS. Thank you, Senator. 

Senator MCSALLY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator UDALL. [Presiding.] Senator Tester. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JON TESTER, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA 

Senator TESTER. I guess this is a question for Mr. Lewis or Mr. 

Garcia. 

In my town when I am driving down the State highways and I 

hit the line of one of the reservations, in most cases, the road is 

not in as good shape as the road I was on once I hit Indian Country. 

Whose responsibility is it for maintenance, upkeep, resurfacing 

and I would say plowing snow but you guys do not do much of that, 

basic upkeep on the highways, a chip seal or that kind of stuff? Is 

that the responsibility of the State, the BIA, the tribe, or who? 

Mr. GARCIA. Good afternoon, Senator. 

Senator TESTER. How are you? 

Mr. GARCIA. It is good to see you. 

Senator TESTER. Good to see you. 

Mr. GARCIA. I just said something about Montana but on roadways, I think it is the responsibility of leadership. In New Mexico, 

for instance, there is a tribal/State collaboration Act that we put 

in place I think in 2006 or some time like that. 

The collaborative act is a partnership between the tribes of New 

Mexico and the State of New Mexico in terms of all of the resources 

available. Transportation is simply one of those but it includes education, health care and all the rest. 

The partnership, I think, is the important piece of it. You must 

not count out the Federal Government in this case. That would be 

part of what the Bureau of Indian Affairs does but BIA is also limited in what resources they provide. Sometimes it cannot just be 

road maintenance; sometimes it has to be new roadways that are 

developed. Tear down the old and create a better new roadway and 

do it right so that it lasts a lot longer. 

It is a responsibility of all governments. It is the tribe, the Federal Government and the State government. If we work together on 

it, we can find a solution but the funding has to come from somewhere. 

Senator TESTER. I will let you off the hook. Mr. Gishi. 

Mr. LEWIS. If I can also add, thank you. 

At the Gila River Indian Community, we have over 306 roads. 

Those are the responsibility of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. We 

have only gotten $3 million to maintain those roads. 

Senator TESTER. Do you agree with that, Mr. Gishi? 

Mr. GISHI. Yes, it is the responsibility of the Bureau, particularly 

if they have BIA roads. 

Senator TESTER. That is good. 

I know we are probably not here talking about the budget but 

we will be at some point in time. Is your budget going to reflect 

34 

the needs in Indian Country because I have to be honest with you. 

I have not been all over the Nation but I have been in Montana 

all over several times a year. The roads in Indian Country are noticeably worse. I will just tell you that. 

They are usually narrower, not as wide a shoulder, and usually 

rougher. You can go down the list. They need work. 

The question is going to be under your purview, are you going 

to ask for enough money to help get basic transportation for economic development done where we have poverty levels north of 50 

percent and sometimes north of 80 percent in Indian Country? 

Mr. GISHI. Addressing the needs as far as transportation in Indian Country is twofold. Not only does it require significant effort 

on the part of road maintenance, referenced here regarding maintenance of BIA roads, but we also have the larger part and that is 

maintaining and constructing roads which are in ownership of others. 

We have approximately 62 percent of the road miles out there in 

Indian Country which are the responsibility of other entities, in 

this case, county, State, other Federal agencies. Part of the process 

is that the tribes are actually prioritizing those roads. 

Senator TESTER. Of that twofold, what about your fold? Are you 

going to have enough money to do anything? 

Mr. GISHI. We do publish on an annual basis the deferred maintenance report which identifies and assesses the need that is out 

there. 

Senator TESTER. Who does that maintenance report? 

Mr. GISHI. The Bureau of Indian Affairs does that deferred maintenance report. It is part of the criteria that we have on an annual 

basis for our performance measures. 

Senator TESTER. I don’t expect you to know this today but could 

you get back to me and tell me what the road maintenance report 

says about not gravel roads but highways in Indian Country and 

Montana? 

I would love to know, just as a measuring stick, if they are in 

good shape by your road report or in bad shape. 

Mr. GISHI. I don’t have that information before me but I can provide that information. 

Senator TESTER. I know the Ranking Member would love to have 

that information also, right? 

Senator UDALL. Yes. 

Senator TESTER. I am out of time. 

Senator UDALL. Go ahead. 

Senator TESTER. Congress is starting to work on the Surface 

Transportation Act and I know you want to give me five priorities, 

but I only want one. If you guys had a wish list and could wave 

a magic wand, what is your number one priority in the Surface 

Transportation Act, I would assume as it applies to Indian Country? 

Mr. GARCIA. While it is not a single point answer but number 

one, I think the funding level has to be where it is in the neighborhood of greater than $1 billion for funding. Along with that is what 

the FAST Act is all about, that the self-governance initiative for 

tribes is the way to go in terms of allowing the tribes or having 

the tribes take on that responsibility so that the funding is availVerDate Mar 15 2010 10:49 May 10, 2019 Jkt 036243 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\36243.TXT JACK
35 

able so they meet the needs of their communities that they can provide the appropriate solutions for local level. 

That is the way it is with all tribes. Self-governance is what we 

are working on. There will be solutions. Those are the one priority. 

Senator TESTER. Mr. Lewis? 

Mr. LEWIS. I can be very specific, Senator, for tribes to be treated 

the same and have the same access to funding as States. 

Senator TESTER. Could you give me an idea of how much below 

they are right now per mile? You probably have not run those numbers. 

Mr. LEWIS. I put in my earlier testimony that we are funded just over $9,000 a year per road. That is below adequate for maintenance and upkeep of the roads, Senator. 

Senator TESTER. Mr. Gishi. 

Mr. GISHI. We continue to support the tribes in areas of their development. They are doing a lot of the planning. They are 

prioritizing the projects. From that standpoint, it is very clear that 

there is a very large need out there as indicated by the tribal testimony today. 

Senator TESTER. Mr. Hess. 

Mr. HESS. Senator, in reference to the reauthorization, safety is 

the Department of Transportation’s top priority. 

Senator TESTER. I just think if we got a bunch of different folds, 

twofold, threefold, fourfold, whatever it might be, on this Committee, we are going to deal with the Federal end of things. We 

need to make sure the Federal end of things is up to snuff. 

We can advocate for the States and the tribes to be able to do 

their fair share too, but folks on this Committee do not have a lot 

of say over what goes on in tribal government, and we should not. 

It is the same with the States. We have legislators and governors 

who take care of that. 

However, at this end of things, I think we need to make sure 

that the budget meets the needs because if we are going to deal 

with issues of jobs in Indian Country, it is not just about giving tax 

breaks to corporations to move on it. There is more important stuff 

than that like roads, transportation, schools, housing and good 

water, all that kind of stuff. 

You get that and then you will be able to get businesses into Indian Country. You will be able to tackle some of these problems we 

have with unemployment and poverty which, by the way, if we ever 

get to a point we can do that, we will be saving money because the 

folks utilizing those programs will start becoming donators to the 

coffers that help build those roads. 

Thank you all for being here today. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you, Senator Tester. 

I would join Senator Tester in his inquiry in terms of saying that 

we need equality when it comes to Native American roads. When 

you hit the reservation and start into the reservation, you should 

have the same kind of surface transportation you do off reservation. 

We have to find a way to do it. I expect you all to submit the 

budgets and let people know there is not equality here. 

I want to ask a question related to climate change, resiliency and 

planning. When we discuss surface transportation needs of Indian 

36 

Country, we are usually talking about the lack of basic infrastructure like paved roads and bridges. 

We also need to plan for the future. More frequent and extreme 

flooding due to climate change is happening in Indian Country and 

across the Nation. To that end, the FAST Act included a provision, 

Section 1428, that gives authority to the Secretary of Transportation to encourage the use of durable, resilient and sustainable 

materials and practices and other innovative technologies. 

Mr. Hess, how is the DOT utilizing this FAST Act authority and 

do you agree it is needed to plan ahead to address the threats 

posed by climate change? 

Mr. HESS. Mr. Vice Chairman, yes, resiliency is part of our technical assistance programs at the Department of Transportation. As 

I mentioned earlier, we work closely with the tribes and with BIA 

to provide, not only funds to the tribes, but also technical assistance as they develop their transportation improvement plans. 

When requested by a tribe, we work closely with them to provide 

innovative technologies to help them update their data, the design 

standards they use to ensure they use the most recent and applicable design standards to address hydraulic openings on culverts and 

bridges, as well as other things caused by what appears to be more 

frequent rain events than we have seen in the past. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you. 

Councilman Garcia, I understand the tribal transportation selfgovernance negotiated rulemaking process got off to a rocky start. 

After Federal mediators were brought in to facilitate, it sounds like 

negotiations are now back on track. 

I am committed to working with you and others to ensure the 

self-governance program at DOT is a success. Would you mind giving us an update on the progress of the negotiations and do you 

believe any legislative changes are necessary prior to the reauthorization of the FAST Act? 

Mr. GARCIA. Yes, sir. 

First, we were not off to a rocky start. When the FAST Act team 

got together in 2016, we were off to a good start. It was in 2017 

when things kind of went by the wayside and we lost a whole year 

in 2017. 

After 2017, we had a rough time getting started. I think it was 

more of a learning experience for many of the Committee members 

but that is history now. I think in 2018, the full Committee decided 

that engaging facilitators may be a better approach rather than 

this coming on the facilitation by co-chairs and the co-chairs on the 

Federal side. 

The Federal team engaged the facilitators. The first meeting we 

had was in December or November. I cannot remember, it has been 

so long. The meeting got off to a good start. We all were encouraged by the results of the first meeting. We went into 2019 encouraged by the activity in the meeting we had. 

Then came the shutdown and then came the postponement of a 

couple of meetings we had planned had there been no shutdown. 

Be that as it may, we got fully engaged again just two weeks ago 

in Shawnee, Oklahoma. 

At that time, the entire Committee was debating where we start 

because we kind of left off in November 2018 with a list of items 

37 

that we had not talked about together. I think the number was like 

18 items. Up to that point, there was also discussion about which 

document do we use to start this new effort. We were calling it new 

effort. 

We all agreed in two days in Shawnee, Oklahoma. That was 

pretty amazing. First, we agreed on which document we were going 

to use to start off the new discussion. Then we all agreed on the 

items that were left and how we were going to resolve all of those 

issues. 

By the second day, the entire Committee was so engaged and the 

facilitators were running back and forth between the tribal caucus 

and the Federal caucus. Then we got to the full Committee. We all 

agreed and there was consensus on those 18 items, if my number 

is right, that were going to proceed. 

The other strategy we had developed was we had the drafting 

people, representatives and attorneys from the tribal side and then 

the Federal attorneys on the DOT side, that they would do the 

drafting. The key decisions were made that these items were in 

concurrence and let us move forward. 

We are hoping that we meet the first deadline for our proposed 

rule which is June 6. I am not going to say we are going to make 

it or not but I am hoping we will. There is good indication that 

even though the rocky road, talking about bad roads, but talking 

about rocky road, maybe that is the way it was supposed to be, we 

are on a new highway now. That new highway is a lot smoother 

than it was a few months ago. 

I am encouraged by the activities we all have engaged in. The 

full Committee is acting like a negotiated rulemaking committee, 

as a full Committee. That is encouraging. I am sure the tribal representatives feel the same way. I am sure the Federal side, the 

DOT people, feels the same way. 

If we are on that same road, then we are off to a good end when 

we get the rules published. Then we have to wait on the reauthorization. That is why we hope to see an increase in the reauthorization of transportation. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you. That is a very encouraging report. 

Senator Daines, if you are ready to go, please proceed. If not, I 

will ask another question. 

STATEMENT OF HON. STEVE DAINES, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA 

Senator DAINES. Vice Chairman Udall, thank you for your patience with today’s kind of crazy schedule in the Senate. I apologize 

to the witnesses for being in and out today. 

Thanks for being here today. I much appreciate it. 

I want to talk a moment about traffic safety. It is a critical issue, 

especially in my home State. In fact, Montana and North Dakota 

are tied for third place in the Country for the highest motor vehicle-related death rates for Native Americans, 56 deaths per 100,000 

people. Tragically, nationwide, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native children. 

There are many factors that contribute to this problem, including 

alcohol-impaired driving, low seatbelt use, and low child safety seat 

use, but I would like to talk about a different aspect of road safety. 

38 

That is the dangers on roads posed by natural disasters such as 

flooding. 

In fact, over the weekend, I spoke with Crow Chairman A.J. Not 

Afraid, Jr. In fact, earlier this week, he was in my office and we 

discussed the recent hardships they are facing. In March, the community of Crow Agency lost its entire supply of stored drinking 

water because of frozen pipes breaking. We had an unusually cold 

March. 

In fact, when I was flying back to Washington on a Monday 

morning in March out of the Boozman airport, it was minus 40 degrees. That is not the wind chill; that is ambient temperature. De 

icing does not work until you get to minus 25. We had to wait for 

it to warm up to minus 25. It has been a tough February and 

March in Montana. Understandably, frozen pipes have broken. To 

this day, the people still lack access to clean drinking water on the 

Crow Reservation in many places. 

Then, a fire erupted and burned down the tribal administrative 

office building. That oftentimes happens when it gets really, really 

cold. You have frozen pipes, you are trying to take extraordinary 

measures to keep things warm, possibly thaw some pipes, and fire 

risk can increase. 

Then, to top it off, frozen pipes and fire, now we are hitting flooding. Heavy flooding has hit the region, combined with the cold winter, above normal snow packs, and rapidly rising temperatures and 

then we had heavy rain. 

Chairman A.J. Not Afraid declared a state of emergency on 

March 23. The flooding effect was so bad that at one point, Interstate 90, one of the key east-west connectors in this Country which 

goes from Boston to Seattle running through Montana, had to be 

completely shutdown from Hardin, Montana to Sheridan, Wyoming. It is kind of a sad story today of what is going on out there 

in Indian Country. 

Mr. Hess, how can the Department of Transportation better help 

keep roads safe in Indian Country when natural disasters strike 

like the severe flooding that recently hit the Crow Reservation? 

Mr. HESS. Thank you, Senator. 

The Department of Transportation works closely with the BIA 

and the tribes with reference to disaster funding. Funds are provided to the Federal Highway Administration. Once we receive 

those funds, they are available to tribes through BIA. 

Once a tribe is in a disaster situation, a national declaration is 

not necessary. The President or the Governor does not have to declare a declaration. That has been delegated to the Federal Highway Administration and a transportation emergency is declared by 

the division administrator for that State. 

Once a disaster has been declared a transportation emergency, 

that would allow the use of emergency relief funds. Funds specifically for ER for Federal agencies, what we call the ERFO funds, 

emergency relief funds for Federal organizations, are made available to BIA and are distributed to tribes if they are eligible. 

It does have to be a disaster of a larger size. It has to meet a 

minimum requirement of $700,000 to be eligible for disaster assistance through those funds made available to Federal Highway. 

Senator DAINES. Thank you, Mr. Hess. 

39 

Mr. Gishi, I want to follow up with you. How can the BIA contribute in this respect? Can you highlight some of the interagency 

work you do with other emergency managers in the Federal Government, for example, FEMA? 

Mr. GISHI. Thank you, Senator Daines. 

One of the ways the BIA does engage is in working closely with 

not only our folks in the field and also the tribes. One of the first 

essential things is to assess the needs that are out there. Regardless of the roads that are out there, it is a cooperative effort in 

being able to sit down and meet not only with the tribe, but also 

if there are county and State people involved. The first step is 

being able to do that and addressing it. 

In some cases, the situation may be something the Bureau of Indian Affairs can address locally. Other times, it may involve more 

coordination and cooperation. That is why the ERFO Program Mr. 

Hess mentioned is important because there are mechanisms in 

place to specifically address emergency needs, repairs and reconstruction. 

Senator DAINES. I have had extensive conversations with various 

tribes. In fact, when I was a little boy, the Old Coyotes lived just 

down the street from us in Boozman. Mr. Old Coyote, the father, 

was one of the Crow Code Talkers in World War II. I used to walk 

to school with Rachel Old Coyote back in the 1960s. These are relationships that extend literally a couple of generations. 

I know sometimes we have conversations with our tribes and 

sometimes get bureaucracies that collide instead of collaborate. 

That is the help we are looking for, to work together to most efficiently and effectively provide the help needed in times of crisis. 

I am looking forward to continuing to see more progress in tribal 

self-governance and programs within DOT and BIA to enable that. 

I want to continue to work hard to promote safety on the roads in 

Indian Country and deal with some of these current crises. 

Lastly, I want to point out that bison head up there was a gift 

from the Crow Tribe. It is here in this hearing room, Ranking 

Member Udall. We are grateful for the generosity of the Crow 

Tribe. They have given to this Committee hearing room literally 

and I am hoping we can be there to help them move through this 

time of need. 

Thank you, Ranking Member Udall. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you, Senator Daines. 

Mr. Hess, the FAST Act authorized a program called The Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program. This 

program provides funding for nationally significant projects in or 

around Federal and tribal lands. 

Tribal governments are eligible for the $300 million in appropriated funding for this program but so are Federal agencies. My 

concern with this program is tribal governments are put in the 

awkward position of competing for grant opportunities with other 

Federal agencies. 

How can DOT ensure that Indian tribes can compete for this 

funding on equal footing with Federal agencies? 

Mr. HESS. Thank you, Senator. The $325 million in funds was provided for this important program. The Federal Highway Administration issued a notice of fundVerDate Mar 15 2010 10:49 May 10, 2019 Jkt 036243 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\36243.TXT JACK
40 

ing opportunity last October. In reference to that notice of funding 

opportunity, we have received applications from 39 different transportation entities with requests totaling $2.7 billion. 

The program is obviously much needed out there. The Department is currently reviewing applications. Once we are done with 

our process, we will provide a notice of awards. I am pleased to say 

of the 39 applicants, 8 of those applicants were tribal Nations. We 

are looking at those applications so tribes are able to compete. The nature of the program is for projects greater than $25 million. Smaller tribes would have trouble for this type of program. 

There are quite a few tribes out there that are able to compete for 

these types of funds and they have submitted applications for this 

program. 

Senator UDALL. Great. 

Governor Lewis, do you have thoughts or suggestions on tribes 

competing for these funds? 

Mr. LEWIS. Senator, yes. It is acknowledged that this is a good 

program for the need for designated funding for large grants. Of 

course, the reality is that tribes compete with all other agencies for 

a small pool, $100 million. 

We, at the Gila River Indian Community, have a project that 

would be upwards of $50 million. You can see that we need tribes 

to have the same access that States and other governmental entities have for meaningful funding. We see this as a trust responsibility. Access to funding is so critical to that, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you. 

Councilman Garcia, the Tribal Transportation Program is primarily funded through the Highway Trust Fund. Revenue supporting the Highway Trust Fund comes primarily from excise taxes 

on gasoline and diesel fuel. Those rates have not been raised since 

1993. 

Unfortunately, the spending from the Highway Trust Fund has 

far exceeded revenues. We are now looking at a situation where the 

Federal Government is forced to transfer funding from the Treasury to make up the difference or must raise the excise gasoline 

taxes. 

Given the high need for building and maintaining surface infrastructure in Indian Country, my guess is that reducing the spending from the Highway Trust Fund would not be a good option. 

Do you believe Congress must consider raising the fuel tax in the 

next FAST Act reauthorization? 

Mr. GARCIA. Mr. Chairman, to put it mildly, that would mean 

the people who need it the most are being asked to pay for the 

roadways they travel on. The rest of the Country would not have 

to worry about that because they can afford to pay for the metropolitan areas and rural communities not a big issue but if you are 

in a remote area, that means you are having to pay an extra few 

cents per gallon to provide for your own funding that comes back 

and is not a fair issue. 

Taxing, I think, is not the solution. I think there are other ways 

to do that but it has to come from the bill itself and then the appropriations part of it. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you for that answer. I think it really 

highlights how we need to look to our formulas in the future beVerDate Mar 15 2010 10:49 May 10, 2019 Jkt 036243 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\36243.TXT JACK
41 

cause we know we now have electric cars on the roads. They are 

using the roads but do not contribute obviously because they are 

not buying gasoline. 

The formula we came up with was a formula that said if you 

used the roads and bought gasoline, then you are going to pay 

some taxes to help out and that would go into the Highway Trust 

Fund. I think we need to look at that formula and take into consideration rural areas and tribal areas whereas we have heard the 

testimony today and questioning from members that there is not 

equality. You drive on a road, you get to the line on the reservation 

and the road is in much worse shape. 

Mr. GARCIA. Mr. Chairman? 

Senator UDALL. Please, go ahead. 

Mr. GARCIA. I wanted to make a point about Ohkay Owingeh. 

Highway 68 runs from New Mexico, Santa Fe, up to Taos. It is in 

the thoroughfare on tribal land. There are plans to improve Highway 68 from Espan ̃ ola up to Taos. 

This is the craziness of transportation. There is a portion that 

runs through Ohkay Owingeh, a ten-mile stretch. The State transportation department can afford to pave six miles of it but they say 

they cannot afford to pay for four miles of it. Unfortunately, the 

way the roadway is, there is a gap between where the road repair 

needs to be done. There is a four-mile gap right smack in the middle of Ohkay Owingeh’s land base, so they are going to pave from 

here to here, leave that gap and then pave from here to there. 

What kind of sense does that make? 

This is the dilemma many tribes, not just Ohkay Owingeh, are 

put in by States and some of them are even Federal highways, like 

interstates and what-not. I bring that story just to make the point 

that we have to work out better solutions. 

Thank you, Senator. 

Senator UDALL. That is a very good story to end on. I think it 

highlights the whole purpose of the hearing the Chairman called 

today. 

If there are no more questions for today, members may also submit follow-up questions for the record. The hearing record will be 

open for two weeks. 

I want to thank the witnesses for your time and testimony today. 

This hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 4:08 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.] 

(43) 

A P P E N D I X 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. JULIAN BEAR RUNNER, PRESIDENT, OGLALA SIOUX

TRIBE

Introduction 

Thank you Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall, and Members of the Committee for the opportunity to provide testimony on the importance of roads infrastructure for Indian Country. The improvement and safety of roads on our Pine 

Ridge Indian Reservation has consistently been a priority for our Oglala Sioux Tribe 

(Tribe or OST)—now more than ever given the disastrous effects of severe blizzards 

and historic flooding that hit our community this March of which we are still feeling 

the effects. This statement sets forth details about our Reservation roads infrastructure needs, including current needs resulting from the recent winter storm. 

Background 

Our Reservation covers approximately 3 million acres (roughly the size of Connecticut) and our Tribe has more than 45,000 enrolled citizens. Our Tribe is one of 

16 sovereign nations in the Great Plains Region. We are also a part of the Oceti 

Sakowin (Seven Council Fires, known as the Great Sioux Nation). Our treaty rights, 

the United States’ obligations to us, and our unique political relationship with the 

United States are set forth in a series of treaties through 1868, including the Fort 

Laramie Treaty of 1851 (11 Stat. 749) and the 1868 Sioux Nation Treaty (15 Stat. 

635). These treaties establish the United States’ obligations to our Tribe. 

Chronic underfunding of Indian Country programs and treaty obligations over the 

years, however, has taken an enormous toll on our Tribe, citizens, and Reservation. 

Extreme poverty and high unemployment plague our Reservation. We have a critical 

need for community development. We know we have tremendous untapped potential 

on our Reservation given our vast land base, abundant natural resources, and the 

strength of our people. Yet, we lack a critical element for success: adequate infrastructure. A reliable transportation network is needed to support our Reservation, 

meet citizens’ needs, and facilitate on-reservation economic development and investment. As a tribal government, we strive to improve our citizens’ lives. But, we cannot achieve this goal without the necessary infrastructure. A robust roads system 

is a key part of this effort. 

Investing in infrastructure development is a classic method of boosting economic 

growth and creating jobs. We need a surge of roads infrastructure funding to promote economic development and job creation on our Reservation. Increased funding 

is also needed to ensure the safety of residents and visitors when traveling on our 

Reservation. The need is even more pressing today because of the serious flooding 

we experienced just weeks ago. The severe flooding and snowfall made roads impassable and cut off citizens’ access to food, water, and medicine. Our roads, which 

have always been in poor condition, are now disastrous. 

Roads Infrastructure Needs on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation 

OST’s Road Maintenance maintains 519 miles of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 

roads and bridges yet receives approximately $565,000 in roads maintenance funding. This pales in comparison to the roads funding of state and local governments. 

Per the 22nd Annual Highway Report, the nationwide average maintenance disbursement per state controlled mile is $25,996 and the average for South Dakota 

is $6,458 per state controlled mile. The Tribe, however, receives only $1,113 in BIA 

Road Maintenance funding per BIA roadway mile, which includes maintenance for 

BIA bridges on the National Bridge Inventory (NBI). $1,113 is a small fraction of 

the weighted average that states receive and only 17.2 percent of what South DaVerDate Mar 15 2010 10:49 May 10, 2019 Jkt 036243 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\36243.TXT JACK
44 

1 22nd Annual Highway Report: The Performance of State Highway Systems, David T. 

Hartgen and M. Gregory Fields (Sept. 2016), available at https://reason.org/wp-content/ 

uploads/files/22ndlannuallhighwaylreport.pdf. 2We also have a specific road issue: the Allen Road between Allen and Highway 18. The State 

receives funding for the road, but it is not maintaining it. A private citizen has been plowing 

this road in an effort to keep it safe for school buses. The Tribe compensates him what it can 

for his work because of the critical need to maintain the road for the buses. This is unacceptable. The Tribe should be provided adequate funding so that we can maintain this road; we 

stand ready to do the work provided we have the funding. 3GAO conducted a site visit at Pine Ridge to assess road conditions and their impact on student attendance and transportation. GAO found that excessive mud and snow conditions sometimes made roads impassable for students and that, further, some roads lack basic safety features such as guardrails that put students’ physical safety at risk. See GAO–17–423, ‘‘Tribal 

Transportation: Better Data Could Improve Road Management and Inform Indian Student Attendance Strategies’’ (May 2017). 4The articles can also be accessed via these links: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/24/us/ 

midwest-flooding-pine-ridge.html and https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/impoverishedpine-ridge-reservation-braces-for-more-flooding/2019/04/09/a466ed62-5b04-11e9-98d4- 

844088d135f2lstory.html?utmlterm=.07acb35d93d9 

* The information referred to has been retained in the Committee files. 

kota receives. 1 The Tribe, thus, incurs significant costs in maintaining BIA roadways whose needs far exceed available federal funding. We also have approximately 

1,900 miles of Tribal roads, not built by the BIA, for which we receive no federal 

funding for maintenance. 2 We have almost $60 million in backlogged road maintenance needs. 

Funding is so tight that routine bridge maintenance is not performed until it 

reaches a state of emergency. Consequently, our citizens face unsafe road conditions 

every time they travel within our Reservation. This includes every time our children 

step on a school bus to go to and from school. This is unacceptable. The BIA simply 

cannot address our road and bridge needs with its limited BIA Road Maintenance 

account. Our backlog continues to grow while we struggle to address immediate concerns. 

Our Reservation is replete with treacherous and sometimes impassable roads, especially in winter with snowy and muddy conditions. Snow and ice removal can consume up to 65 percent of our annual budget each winter. Snowy and muddy conditions present dangerous conditions for our residents (including our students) and 

visitors, impact our children’s school attendance, and increase our school bus maintenance costs because of the extreme wear and tear caused by our precarious road 

conditions. 3

Roads are critical to connecting families, strengthening communities, and furthering economic development. We need the United States to partner with us to 

focus on developing a roads system on Pine Ridge that facilitates on-Reservation 

commerce and ease of transportation. Our citizens need safe and maneuverable 

roadways to get to work, school, medical appointments, their families, and stores. 

Potholes, mud-and snow-laden roads, and an inconvenient road system result in inordinate costs (in gas, car damage, and time) for our citizens and those doing business on our lands. 

Emergency Support Needed for Roads Following Severe Winter Storm 

Our Tribe suffered destructive flooding after a recent winter storm tore across our 

Reservation. We are still struggling to stem the flow of public safety and housing 

crises resulting from this disaster. Many citizens, for example, have been displaced 

from their homes by floodwaters, exacerbating the shortage of adequate housing 

that already existed on Pine Ridge before the storm. 

One indisputable fact is that the storm and subsequent flooding has wreaked 

havoc on our already poor-conditioned roads. The OST Roads Department has almost depleted its FY 2019 Roads Maintenance funding allocation in responding to 

the storm and its aftermath. We need emergency funding immediately so that we 

can complete road repairs to make our roads passable again, this includes funding 

for immediate hires for roads maintenance crews so we can get the work done quickly and efficiently. 

It is difficult to convey the severity of the storm and the scope of our roads funding needs through words alone. So that you can see some of the deplorable conditions of our roads post-storm, we are attaching a PowerPoint entitled, ‘‘Oglala Sioux 

Tribe Cyclone Bomb Blizzard.’’ We have also attached New York Times and Washington Post articles on the flood and its aftermath. 4 We ask this Committee to support our efforts to receive emergency funding for our immediate needs. * 

45 

* The information referred to has been retained in the Committee files. 

Pave the Way to Safety and Prosperity with Increased and Targeted Roads 

Funding 

Dire circumstances require bold solutions. One bold solution is a drastic increase 

in the BIA Road Maintenance account so that Tribes, such as ours, can receive a 

funding amount that is actually viable to get the much needed maintenance work 

done adequately. Another bold solution is to create a new roads maintenance account that targets backlogged road and bridge projects by taking mile inventory, remoteness, and weather conditions into consideration. An influx of funding for road 

construction, maintenance, and equipment would increase public safety, facilitate 

economic development, decrease Tribal costs, and alleviate the hardships our members currently endure. 

We, therefore, urge Congress to provide increased and targeted roads funding to 

address these concerns. Specifically, we respectfully request that Congress allocate 

$60 million to cover our backlogged roads maintenance needs and increase the overall BIA Roads Maintenance Account to begin to address the pressing needs of tribal 

communities across the country. We also urge Congress to provide an initial amount 

of $15 million to establish a BIA roads improvement program for targeted projects 

that take into account a tribe’s geographic size, location (and associated weather factors), and mile inventory. 

Further, to diversify the federal toolbox of programs and funding sources targeting roads infrastructure, we urge Congress to re-establish and fund the Tribal 

High Priority Project Program within the Department of Transportation and create 

a Tribal Set-Aside from the Highway Safety Implementation Program. Both of these 

programs would offer tribes access to critical resources and funding for implementing tribal roads projects. 

Priorities for Tackling Roads Issues in the Great Plains 

Please see the attached document entitled, ‘‘Land Based Tribes Coalition for 

Maintaining and Improving BIA and Tribal Roadways.’’ This is an informative document that lays out seven priority solutions for addressing the severe tribal transportation needs in the Great Plains. We ask this Committee, and Congress overall, to 

take all necessary steps to implement these priorities. * 

Conclusion. 

Thank you for the opportunity to provide written testimony on this critical topic. 

We look to you to fulfill the treaty obligations of the United States to the Oglala 

Sioux Tribe, in part, by providing the necessary support to build a strong Tribal infrastructure. The Committee’s hearing on this important topic is a good step in that 

direction. We look forward to working with Committee Members and staff toward 

repairing, improving, and maintaining our roads in a manner that is safe and facilitates much-needed infrastructure, community and economic development on our 

Reservation. 

DUCKWATER SHOSHONE TRIBE

Duckwater, NV, March 29,2019 

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, 

Hart Senate Office Building, 

Washington, DC. 

Dear Senator Cortez Masto, 

We understand that on Wednesday, April3, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee 

will be holding a hearing on enhancing tribal self-governance and safety of Indian 

roads. We would appreciate it if you could include this correspondence as part of 

the hearing record. 

Our reservation is located in northern Nye County, east-central Nevada. In 2016, 

by federal statute (Public Law 114–232, the Nevada Native Nations Land Act’’) the 

Congress expanded our reservation by over 31 ,229 acres. Pursuant to this law, a 

federal survey of the boundary lines was to be completed within 6 months of enactment, April, 2017. The federal government has missed this deadline by almost two 

years already. 

To proceed with this land expansion, we have asked the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to complete a survey of the land. Despite repeated requests, the BLM 

has not completed this survey. Moreover, for the past several years, our Tribe has 

been seeking a self-governance contract with the BLM but the agency has not been 

46 

* The information referred to has been retained in the Committee files. 

responsive. We are asking for your support to ensure that the BLM responds to our 

request for a self-governance compact. This is important regarding road safety because the current primary road running through the reservation will also be passing 

through the expanded reservation area. 

The Tribe is currently relying on 24 miles of unpaved and unsafe road (State 

Route 379) to reach distant communities where our members work, attend school, 

and visit family. Numerous accidents and fatalities have occurred over the years. 

There is no safe place to change a tire, which occurs often. When we encounter 

semi-trucks, we are forced to wait because the road is too narrow in most places. 

Due to our remote location, this is an urgent issue because the limited access to 

our reservation through a poorly maintained and unpaved dirt road hampers our 

economic development. The most recent estimate for paving this dirt road from 

Duckwater, Nevada to Eureka, Nevada is approximately $31.6 million. 

Our Tribe’s commitment to transportation safety is consistent with Nevada’s ‘‘Zero 

Fatalities, Drive Safe Nevada’’ program aimed at reducing the risk of death and serious injuries that result from incidents within unsafe transportation systems such 

as our primary road, State Route 379. It is important for both the federal and state 

governments to partner with us to address this critical road safety problem. 

For your easy reference we have attached a map outlining the road improvements 

proposed as well as our most recent application to the appropriate federal and state 

agencies. 

We need the support of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U. S. Department 

of Transportation and the Congress to ensure that safety improvements are made 

expeditiously. 

Thank you for our consideration of your request. 

Sincerely, 

RODNEY MIKE; CHAIRMAN

DUCKWATER SHOSHONE TRIBE

Duckwater, NV, February 27, 2017 

Michael J. Herder; District Manager, 

Bureau of Land Management, 

Ely District Office, 

Ely, NV. 

Dear Mr. Herder: 

As we informed you in our correspondence dated July 25, 2016, in addition to the 

broad inherent sovereign authority of the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe, and the reserved rights of the Tribe contained in the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley, the Indian 

Self-Determination Education and Assistance Act (ISDEAA), codified at 25 U.S.C. 

Section 450, et seq., provides specific legal authority to the Tribe to propose to the 

BLM that the Tribe compact for programs currently carried out by the BLM. 

Enclosed is the Tribe’s proposed Self-Governance Compact, Self-Governance Funding Agreement, and Self-Governance Three-year budget from 2017. Also enclosed, 

you will find estimates that support the documentation, together with photographs 

taken at the proposed area for repair and/or replace. 

With regard to our previous correspondences dated back to November 4, 2016, we 

have not heard from your office. We also submitted an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with regard to those items discussed at our first meeting on October 

17, 2016. We look forward to hearing a favorable response with regard to our submissions, soon. Also attached is our Tribal Resolution, for your records. * 

Thank you. 

Sincerely, 

RODNEY MIKE; CHAIRMAN

Æ