Recognizing the critical importance of access to reliable, clean drinking water for Native Americans and affirming the responsibility of the Federal Government to ensure such water access. 

Recognizing the critical importance of access to reliable, clean drinking water for Native Americans and affirming 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, well-being, 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 relating to the human right to water, including recognition of this right among indigenous peoples and establishing aggressive targets for achieving universal access to this basic right; Whereas, in the United States, access to reliable, clean drinking water has long been a significant problem in many Native communities, such that nearly 1/2 Whereas reliable, clean drinking water may be unavailable to Native households for many 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, Alaska Native Villages, and Native Hawaiian communities are unable to support the operation and maintenance needs of existing water infrastructure; Whereas many Native communities have significant unresolved claims for federally reserved water rights, many of which have been unresolved for decades and which may not be resolved for many years to come, due in part to the complex and significant issues typically involved in water rights adjudication and settlements; Whereas the development of water infrastructure on Federal Indian reservations, in particular, has frequently been conditioned on the settlement of Tribal reserved water rights and has been prevented or delayed by (1) continuing uncertainty over the status of Tribal water rights; (2) the years-long process of Tribal water rights settlements; or (3) 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 each Native community is typically only a small fraction of the total quantity water allocated to the Native community; Whereas the trust responsibility of the Federal Government to Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Villages, and Native Hawaiian communities requires the Federal Government to ensure the survival and welfare of Native Americans, 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. Whereas the COVID19 pandemic provided a stark reminder that access to reliable, clean drinking water to support basic hygiene is a matter of life or death for all individuals of the United States and Native communities suffer disproportionate impacts during epidemics and disasters due to a multitude of factors, including (1) persistent economic disadvantages on Federal Indian reservations, in Alaska Native Villages, and in Native Hawaiian communities; (2) lack of on-reservation affordable and safe housing; and (3) lack of public health infrastructure, including access to running water; Whereas, on January 27, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14008 (86 Fed. Reg. 7619; relating to tackling the climate crisis), which provides that it is the policy of the Biden Administration to secure environmental justice and spur economic opportunity for disadvantaged communities that have been historically marginalized and overburdened by pollution and underinvestment in housing, transportation, water and wastewater infrastructure, and health care; Whereas, through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ( Public Law 11758 IIJA Public Law 117169 IRA Whereas many Native communities need technical assistance to ensure that the Native communities can (1) access and take advantage of the new construction funding made available through the IIJA and IRA; (2) develop the managerial, financial, and regulatory framework necessary for a fully functional and self-sustaining utility; and (3) engage appropriate outside support to assist, as needed; Whereas advances in water technology, including treatment, sensors, and innovative pipeline materials, can assist in (1) accelerating efforts to provide universal access to reliable, clean, and drinkable water for all Native communities; and (2) enhancing resilience in the face of climate change; Whereas it is in the interest of the United States, and it is the policy of the United States, that all existing Native communities be provided with safe and adequate water supply systems as soon as practicable; and Whereas appropriate funding at the level of unmet need and a whole-of-government approach among all Federal agencies are both essential to provide a meaningful solution to the lack of access to clean water in Native communities: Now, therefore, be it That (1) it is the sense of the Senate that (A) access to reliable, clean drinking water is an essential human need, and such access on Federal Indian reservations, Alaska Native villages, and in Native Hawaiian communities is (i) critical to the health, well-being, and economic development of the individuals living on those lands and in those communities; and (ii) integral to maintaining the public health of the people of the United States; (B) settlement or adjudication of Tribal claims of reserved water rights is not and should not be a prerequisite to the provision of this basic human service to households located in Native communities, nor should the provision of basic human services be used to leverage the resolution of Tribal reserved water rights and claims; (C) the provision of reliable, clean drinking water to support the domestic requirements of Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Villages, and Native Hawaiian communities is an essential component of the Federal trust responsibility to Native Americans and critical to supporting permanent homelands; (D) while funding for safe drinking water systems for Native communities received a significant and groundbreaking boost from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ( Public Law 11758 IIJA Public Law 117169 IRA (E) technical assistance is urgently needed to allow Native communities to plan and design the systems necessary to remedy the longstanding problem of lack of access to clean drinking water and bring those plans to the shovel ready (F) Native communities need support to develop the managerial, financial, and regulatory capacity necessary for a fully functional and self-sustaining utility and to support the operation and maintenance of water systems; and (G) further measures are necessary to ensure that the benefits of the historic investments made by the IIJA and IRA in infrastructure are fully realized; and (2) the Senate (A) calls upon the Federal executive branch to (i) work in collaboration with the relevant Native governmental entities and State and local jurisdictions to expedite the planning, design, development, and operation of the infrastructure necessary to provide reliable, clean drinking water on Federal Indian reservations, in Alaska Native Villages, and in Native Hawaiian communities; and (ii) inform Congress of further authorizations and expenditures that may be necessary to meet the objective described in clause (i); (B) calls upon the Federal executive branch to (i) employ a whole-of-government (ii) create an interagency task force consisting of high-level representatives from departments and agencies with authority to provide water infrastructure that will work to remove barriers, optimize funding, and make immediate and tangible progress on meeting the objective described in clause (i); and (iii) report annually to Congress on the progress toward the objective described in clause (i); and (C) calls upon the Federal executive branch, State governments, and affected water agencies to (i) affirmatively support de-coupling the planning, design, development, and operation of water infrastructure from the settlement or adjudication of Tribal reserved water rights; and (ii) support the development of water infrastructure necessary to provide reliable, clean drinking water in Native communities independent of settlements or adjudications of Tribal reserved water rights.

Summary: This resolution expresses the sense of the Senate that access to reliable and clean drinking water is critically important to the health and welfare of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. Further, the resolution calls upon the federal government to ensure water access for tribal members and communities.