III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 141 

Recognizing the critical importance of access to reliable, clean drinking water 

for Native Americans and Alaska Natives and confirming the responsibility of the Federal Government to ensure such water access. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 25, 2021 

Mr. BENNET (for himself, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. WARREN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. KELLY, Mr. BOOKER, 

Mr. TESTER, and Mr. SCHATZ) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the critical importance of access to reliable, 

clean drinking water for Native Americans and Alaska 

Natives and confirming the responsibility of the Federal 

Government to ensure such water access. 

Whereas access to reliable, clean drinking water is an essential human need that is critical to the public health, wellbeing, educational attainment, and economic development 

of all communities in the United States; 

Whereas many countries, along with the United Nations, 

have recognized the urgency of water access by passing 

laws or resolutions regarding the human right to water, 

including recognition of these needs among indigenous 


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•SRES 141 IS 

peoples and establishing aggressive targets for achieving 

universal access to this basic service; 

Whereas access to reliable, clean drinking water has long 

been a significant problem in many Tribal communities 

and in many Alaska Native Villages, such that nearly 

half of all Native American households still do not have 

access to reliable water sources, clean drinking water, 

and are significantly more likely than White households 

to lack indoor plumbing; 

Whereas reliable, clean drinking water may be unavailable to 

these households for a number of reasons, including because— 

(1) there is no piped water system connecting to the 

house; 

(2) the water available to the household does not 

meet minimum protective standards; 

(3) the water infrastructure is deteriorating or insufficient; or 

(4) Indian Tribes face challenges in supporting the 

operation and maintenance needs of existing water infrastructure; 

Whereas Federal programs administered through the Indian 

Health Service of the Department of Health and Human 

Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture, and other Federal and State 

agencies have been unsuccessful in developing the infrastructure necessary to provide reliable, clean drinking 

water for some Tribal communities; 

Whereas many Indian Tribes have significant unresolved 

claims for federally reserved water rights, many of which 

have been unresolved for decades and which may not be 

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plex and significant issues typically involved in water 

rights adjudication and settlements; 

Whereas the development of water infrastructure in Tribal 

communities has frequently been conditioned on the settlement of such Tribal reserved water rights, and has 

been prevented or delayed by continuing uncertainty over 

the status of Tribal water rights, by the years-long process of Tribal water rights settlements, or by continued 

conflict over the quantification of Tribal reserved water 

rights in State water rights adjudications; 

Whereas the quantity of water that would be required to supply reliable, clean drinking water to provide for the basic 

needs of the residents of Tribal communities and in Alaska Native Villages are typically only a small fraction of 

the total quantity of Tribal reserved water rights; 

Whereas the trust responsibility of the Federal Government 

to Tribal nations requires the Federal Government to ensure the survival and welfare of Indian Tribes and people, and the failure to provide basic water service cannot 

be reconciled with this trust responsibility; 

Whereas the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) affirmed the trust 

responsibility of the Federal Government to support Tribal self-governance and self-determination, and these goals 

cannot be fully realized without addressing inequities 

such as ensuring access to reliable, clean drinking water 

for every Tribal community; 

Whereas the ongoing COVID–19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on Native American people due to 

factors including persistent economic disadvantages in 

Tribal communities and in Alaska Native Villages, racial 


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•SRES 141 IS 

inequity, lack of access to adequate health care, and lack 

of public health infrastructure, including access to running water; and 

Whereas the COVID–19 pandemic has provided a stark reminder that access to reliable, clean drinking water to 

support basic hygiene is a matter of life or death for all 

citizens of the United States: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) it is the sense of the Senate that— 

3 (A) access to reliable, clean drinking water 

4 in Tribal communities and in Alaska Native 

5 Villages is an essential human need, is critical 

6 to the health, well-being, and economic develop7 ment of people living on such communities and 

8 in such villages, and is integral to maintaining 

9 the public health of the entire United States; 

10 (B) settlement or adjudication of Tribal 

11 claims of reserved water rights is not and 

12 should not be a prerequisite to the provision of 

13 this basic human service to households located 

14 in Tribal communities and in Alaska Native 

15 Villages, nor should the provision of such basic 

16 human services be used to leverage the resolu17 tion of Tribal reserved water rights and claims; 

18 and 

19 (C) the provision of reliable, clean drinking 

20 water to support the domestic requirements of 


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•SRES 141 IS 

1 Tribal members and Tribal communities is an 

2 essential component of the Federal trust re3 sponsibility to Indian Tribes; and 

4 (2) the Senate— 

5 (A) calls upon the Federal Executive 

6 Branch to work in collaboration with Tribal 

7 governments and with any relevant State and 

8 local jurisdictions to expedite the planning, de9 sign, development, and operation of the infra10 structure necessary to provide reliable, clean 

11 drinking water in Tribal communities and in 

12 Alaska Native Villages, and to inform Congress 

13 of further authorizations and expenditures that 

14 may be necessary to meet this objective; 

15 (B) calls upon the Federal Executive 

16 Branch to employ a ‘‘whole of government’’ ap17 proach to ensure the provision of reliable, clean 

18 drinking water to households in Tribal commu19 nities and in Alaska Native Villages and to cre20 ate an interagency task force consisting of high21 level representatives from departments and 

22 agencies with authority to provide water infra23 structure that will work to remove barriers, op24 timize funding, and make immediate and tan25 gible progress on meeting this objective and reVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Mar 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR141.IS SR141

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1 port annually to Congress on such progress; 

2 and 

3 (C) calls upon the Federal Executive 

4 Branch, State governments, and affected water 

5 agencies to affirmatively support de-coupling 

6 the planning, design, development, and oper7 ation of such infrastructure from the settlement 

8 or adjudication of Tribal reserved water rights, 

9 and to support the development of that infra10 structure necessary to provide reliable, clean 

11 drinking water in Tribal communities inde12 pendent of such settlements or adjudications. 

Æ 


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