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Infrastructure

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Water projects will be a high priority for infrastructure spending. (Bureau of Indian Affairs photo)
This is the ideal moment for infrastructure projects across the country and the need remains particularly great in tribal communities.
This is Trahant Reports.
Infrastructure is one of those words that has broad support across politics. (The only dividing line is how to pay for stuff.) Everyone knows we need to rebuild so many structural parts of our society. Then again in tribal communities some of these infrastructure projects are not rebuilds … but being done for the very first time.
What do we mean when we talk about infrastructure?
There are roads, rails and bridges. Water systems. Energy transmission — such as electricity. Ports and waterways. And even pipelines. 
The shared idea is that these projects are extraordinarily expensive and to be successful there has to be a partnership with the federal government.
John Tahsuda III, who was a deputy Interior assistant secretary for Indian affairs, said that roads and bridges will be high priorities for many tribal communities. He told Indian Country Today’s newscast last week about a “horrific accident in South Dakota where a culvert had washed out.” That’s and example of the kind of projects that need to happen
Across the country there are a lot of aging systems, roads, water pipelines … and that’s why Congress is considering spending the $2 trillion as a downpayment. 
In addition to the money there are other challenges for tribal leaders.  In testimony last month, the chair of the Colorado Indian River, Amelia Flores, said “The first thing you need to know: you don’t need to just throw money at the problem. It helps of course, but it’s not the only thing holding tribes back.” She cited a number of legal and policy barriers that make it nearly impossible to maintain a water system.
She said routine maintenance often goes unfinished because the Bureau of Indian Affairs fails to charge water users enough to cover the basic costs of maintenance. Flores testified: “The tribe asks the BIA year after year to raise these rates — essentially taxing ourselves—so that the work can get done. But we have had minimal success even as the maintenance backlog grows.”
None of this is new.  A few years ago a Senate report pegged the unmet infrastructure needs in tribal communities at $50 billion.
Indeed two areas where there will be a lot of discussion are about safe water delivery and waste water management. Both of these were important weaknesses in the transmission of the coronavirus and essential going forward. A report four years ago by the National Congress of American Indians found that nearly 10 percent of American Indian and Alaska Natives do not have access to safe water at home and the backlog of sanitation systems had grown more than 80 percent to $3.39 billion worth of projects. 
So, yes,  the federal government is about to spend a lot of money … but there is still a much longer “to do” list.

 

I am Mark Trahant

Washington

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Tears. Joy. Amazement. These are words that are rarely associated with the act of governing. Yet last week they flooded social media coming from Indigenous communities who rarely see power as “ours.” 
One measure of the week: Hundreds of thousands of people watched Interior Secretary Deb Haaland put her moccasins on before taking the oath of office.
This is Trahant Reports.
Last week Vice President Kamala Harris ceremonially gave the oath of office to Haaland. Then she said: “Congratulations, Madam Secretary. History is being made, yet again.” Haaland is a citizen of Laguna Pueblo.
Madam Secretary has an extraordinary portfolio, managing millions of acres of public lands (far more than any governor). She has direct oversight or significant responsibility for some 60,000 federal employees, U.S. territories around the world, fish and game, geological survey, water management and, of course, the federal government’s relations with tribes.
This history would be amazing all by itself. But the thing is … Haaland is not alone. The administration of President Joe Biden has made a number of key appointments, including, most recently, Janie Hipp, as the general counsel for the Department of Agriculture. 
Hipp is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. Much of the Department of Agriculture is focused on the industry of food; not food itself. Hipp will bring her experience rethinking how important food, good food, is to society and consumers. I expect her to be at the forefront of reform.
Another reformer is Jamie Pinkham. He’s Nez Perce. His new job is a mouthful. He has been appointed principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for civil works. He will have a lot to say about the operation of the Army Corps of Engineers.
The role of the Army Corps cannot be understated for tribal nations. This is the agency that grants permits for pipelines to cross rivers. It works on reclamation and dam projects. And this is where Pinkham’s expertise is so significant … he is an expert on salmon. This is the ideal job to try to use the levers of government to restore a healthy salmon environment.
And I should mention that all of these jobs will give Indigenous communities a voice in a way that has not happened ever before. 
President Biden has said that climate change is an existential threat. So the government should react in order to make decisions based on that danger. These appointments are clear steps in that direction. 
As Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan tweeted last week: “I can’t stop crying, happy tears.”
I am Mark Trahant.

Historic Haaland Confirmation Hearing

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Confirmation hearings for Rep. Deb Haaland begin this week in the U.S. Senate.
This is Trahant Reports. 
She’s the first Native American to ever go through a confirmation hearing for a cabinet post — and if confirmed by the Senate she will be the first ever tribal citizen to run a major agency, the Interior Department.
And there is a lot of history unfolding. 
Rep. Haaland stood with the water protectors at Standing Rock. She has stood with those opposed to oil and gas development in her own home state in New Mexico and she was once a government witness in a hearing about sacred lands on the U.S. border.  At that event she told the Trump administration and the U.S. Border Patrol:   “I don’t know how you can sleep at night.”
Haaland is a citizen of Laguna Pueblo.  She is 60 years old and her job would be extraordinary. The Interior Department has a remarkable mission, managing the relationship with tribal governments, administering mineral rights, national parks, wildlife and endangered species, and approving oil and gas drilling and mining.
And that is the issue that is bringing out the opposition. Republicans generally favor oil and gas development on federal lands. The Biden administration has said climate change — not energy independence — will be its touchstone.
A lot of eyes will be watching Sen. Joe Manchin from West Virginia. He’s chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and a long time supporter of the oil and gas industry. After a vote earlier this month, he reaffirmed that support. He said: “My position on the oil and gas industry has not changed. I have always been and will always be an outspoken advocate for an all-of-the-above energy policy that includes fracking and responsible energy infrastructure development, like the Keystone XL pipeline.” 
One early opponent is Montana Sen. Steve Daines. He has said Haaland’s positions are radical, citing the Green New Deal and her opposition to fracking. 
He recently tweeted that Rep. Haaland’s nomination is “extremely alarming. Rep. Haaland has called for the elimination of oil, natural gas AND coal. America can not afford this radical transition away from reliable energy.”
Daines has said he will use procedural powers to slow or block her nomination.
 Still, if Chairman Manchin, and all of the Democrats vote together, Haaland will be confirmed. 
The Haaland nomination is also a key indicator about the role of tribal nations in the Biden administration. And tribes have high hopes. There are so many issues that have never received full attention from the federal government, ranging from the co-management of public lands and wildlife to the actual return of lands taken illegally. 
Tribes will be expecting a lot more than just window decoration; pushing for a secretary who understands tribal issues and is ready to act accordingly. 
But first she has to get past the Senate.
I am Mark Trahant.

Hold up just a split Senate!

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Senators Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota, Vice President Dan Quayle, and Senator Trent Lott managed the Senate when the numbers were tied, 50/50.
(US Senate photo)
Just how will a 50/50 Senate operate? That remains an open question .. but any answer ought to question the future of that body in a democratic society.

This is Trahant Reports.

The Senate is split 50-50, 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats. And that means the Democrats are supposed to be in control because Vice President Kamala Harris can cast a tie vote. But Senate rules are complicated and there is now a fight going on about just what those rules are.

The last time the Senate was that divided was 2001. Senators Trent Lott and Tom Daschle came up with a method to manage that tie. They wrote that it took several weeks of negotiation and “was one of the most difficult undertakings either of us faced in all the years we served in leadership.”

The country really doesn’t have several weeks for that kind of fight right now. Already the Biden administration’s plan for COVID-19 relief is on hold while the Senate waits to move forward. There could be challenges ahead with administration nominees as well as the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.

As Lott and Daschle wrote in the Washington Post: “The circumstances are more complicated today: The country is more polarized.” And, on top of that, senators from both parties don’t trust each other as much.

And, more often, it takes 60 votes not 50 to pass legislation because of the threat of filibuster. I say “threat” of a filibuster because that’s the way it works. These days no one has to stand and hold the Senate floor talking for hours and hours. Just the threat is enough to demand a 60 vote supermajority.

This supermajority has both worked for and against tribal nations. It’s helped kill bad legislation — and prevented really good ideas from becoming  law. 
Then 60 votes or not the Senate is an institution that really needs “structural reform.”

There have only been four Native Americans to ever serve in the Senate and no Native women. Ever.

Today a single vote from a senator from Wyoming is worth 68 times more than one from California. This imbalance is growing, not shrinking. The most recent calculation from Vox shows that Democrats in the Senate represent 41 million more Americans than the Republicans.

There are a lot of options that would make the United States more democratic. It could be a constitutional shift toward a parliament, like most countries in the world. Ideally a parliamentary ballot allows broad representation (another of our peculiar quirks is a system where candidates win with a bare majority, instead of fifty, plus one.) The Senate could even be proportional with states like California having more senators than just two.

The rules fight going on in the Senate is tied to this structural imbalance — and it’s the voters who come up on the short end. 

 

I am Mark Trahant.

By the Numbers

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Former Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Northern Cheyenne, at a Senate Interior Committee meeting. Campbell was considered for Interior Secretary by former President George Bush. (Senate photo)

Let’s look at the numbers behind any cabinet appointment.
This is Trahant Reports.
The appointment of Rep. Deb Haaland — or any tribal citizen — to a presidential cabinet would make history. Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, would be the first Native American to operate a cabinet level agency.
Vice President Charles Curtis, Kaw, is the only tribal citizen to ever serve in a presidential cabinet, but he did not run an agency. Nor did he do much. He was rarely consulted. Attended only a few cabinet meetings and he did little to influence policy.
Haaland would be the first Native American to serve in the cabinet as an agency head, running the Interior department.
There have been roughly 750 cabinet appointments from 45 presidents.

The math here: One cabinet appointment out of 750 equals 0.133333333333 percent.

Bad. But extrapolate that beyond the cabinet, across government and the daunting nature of this representation is clear. There are 4,000 jobs that will be appointed by the next president. To reach parity with the population, it would require at least 80 such appointments.

There are zero Native Americans in the United States Senate. In the history of the country there have only been four, all men.

The people’s House where Haaland now serves has better numbers. There will be four members in the next Congress, or 0.91954022988506 perc ent. Since the Congress first began there have been 10,363 members since 1789 or 0.16404516066776 percent.

More numbers. There are currently 870 authorized judges; nine on the Supreme Court, 179 on courts of appeals, 673 for the district courts and nine on the Court of International Trade. There are two tribal citizens serving as district court judges. Or 0.22988505747126 percent. In the history of the country there have been three Native Americans serving as district court judges.

At the Interior Department, the agency responsible for the relationship between the government of the United States and tribal governments, there have been 53 secretaries. The math here is easy. Zero from 53 is still zero.

There was at least one candidate for the Interior before Haaland. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell’s name was floated to George Bush. Campbell is Northern Cheyenne. As then Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colorado, wrote about Campbell’s qualifications. “As you know, his work in Congress included time as chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, and he did extensive work on issues important to the West such as water, forestry, public land management and resource development.”  Bush picked Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne.
And Rep. Ben Reifel, R-South Dakota, in another era might have been considered. He took a lame duck appointment as commissioner of Indian affairs under Nixon, serving just a few months. Or even Brig. Gen. Ely Parker, Seneca, who also was commissioner of Indian affairs had to resign his rank in the military in order to take the Indian affairs post.

Then that was another time. At least that’s what we are told.

 

I am Mark Trahant.

Budget Deadline

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It would be nice to have some quiet time. A few days, or better, a few weeks where the country doesn’t face a major challenge. 
Of course in a pandemic that’s not going to happen. And lawmakers in Washington may make things worse. 
Really. 
This is Trahant Reports.
The deadline is December 11th. That’s when the federal government — once again — will run out of money. Three things could happen. First, Congress could enact a real budget for the year that already began in October. Second, there could be another temporary solution, a Continuing Resolution, in the language of Washington. Or finally the House, the Senate, and President Donald Trump could fail to reach a deal altogether. And if that happens … then once again the federal government will go into shutdown mode.
During a pandemic, no less.
So far the House and the Senate have different spending approaches. And after a deal is reached, then President Donald Trump will have to agree too. That might be complicated in a time when he still claims he won the election … “by a lot.”
This year’s spending bills are thorny because of the election results. Democrats want to spend more money on the priorities of the next administration. And, conversely, Republicans are hoping to protect as many of their policies as possible. Think border wall and immigration. 
Congress has a lot on its agenda beyond the immediate budget. There are loud calls for a new pandemic relief bill.
And states and tribes are looking for money to distribute vaccines, a task that’s huge given the size of the country. Imagine reaching 100 million people or more so they can take one or two shots.
More than 125 economists have called on Congress to act soon. They wrote: “The COVID crisis has caused some of the most significant and unequal damage to the U.S. economy in modern history, leaving families and businesses alike struggling to get by. Unless policymakers act quickly to respond to the crisis at the scale necessary, we risk the damage to the economy lasting much longer than necessary, particularly for those at the bottom who have been hit the hardest.”
Tribes, and some states, could also use more time to effectively distribute the already funded 
In the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security or CARES Act. That  $2.2 trillion stimulus package signed into law in late March, was by all accounts a successful factor in mitigating the economic impact of COVID. 
But tribes have asked for more time. Building up an infrastructure, while fighting the pandemic itself, has been particularly challenging for smaller governments. The money is supposed to run out at the end of the year.
So far there doesn’t seem to be a lot of consensus about what to do next.  Democrats are eager to pass something significant, while Republicans in the Senate remain cool to anything costly.
Congress returns to work this week and the deadlines are coming fast.
I am Mark Trahant.

After Election

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The election is over. You’d think that would mean a period of quiet. The time for planning so a new government can take office on January 20th at noon. Already there are lists of potential leadership jobs at every agency in government. Some 4,000 political appointees need to be vetted and hired, including those who run the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service.

This is Trahant Reports.

Every story published  about the election gets an instant comment from supporters of President Donald Trump: The election is not over, they write. There are legal challenges ahead. The media doesn’t call elections, the courts will. 

That packs in a lot of ideas. The news media doesn’t really determine elections, that’s true. 

But we do report results. And the math is the math. It’s a system that has worked pretty well for more than a century. Yes, you could use the standard of certification … but most states take 30 days or more after the counting is completed and that could be mid-December. That’s the deadline for the Electoral College to meet and vote.

Waiting is a problem because it means less time to organize a new government. And, at all levels of government once the news media does the math … the transition planning begins. Even in this election, every single congressional race was “called” by the media, often moments after the polls closed. Not a single member objected. But this president is different. The damage he is doing is to the country and to the essential operation of government. 

The legal challenges are the political equivalent of a lottery ticket. Yes … he could win. Something that everyone who buys a lottery ticket says too.
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect  Kamala Harris celebrated their win Saturday and are beginning a transition anyway. It’s worth noting about this as history: Harris is the first woman, the first daughter of immigrants, the first Black woman. She is shattering the glass ceiling. The Biden team promises more of that, assembling a diverse cabinet, one that could even include a Native American for the first time in history. The possibilities range from a Secretary of the Interior to the United Nations Ambassador. 
There is one more message from this election: The United States remains a divided country. More than 70 million people voted for Trump .. and 75 million voted for Biden. The challenge going forward is for the next president, and Congress, to govern with that fact in mind.
I am Mark Trahant.

2020 Campaign Vision

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The race to be the next president of the United States heats up this week.

This is Trahant Reports.

We have heard from Iowa and New Hampshire — two states that are less representative of the country as a whole — and beginning now a lot more voters will weigh in.

Nevada kicks off the next round with a caucus this weekend. Then South Carolina and then more than thirty contests in March. In fact some two-thirds of the Democratic delegates will be allocated before the end of March.

And Donald J. Trump is cruising through the Republican primaries in states where there is even a contest. There is little question that the GOP will renominate the president — so much so that many states have cancelled the primary vote.

In order to win the nomination, a Democrat must earn 1,991 delegates for the first ballot and 2,375 on the second. This is where it gets interesting. Most of the primary elections are proportional. So a candidate may win the state but only earn a couple more delegates than the other candidate. There is also a bonus if a candidate tops 50 percent … and with this many candidates that’s not likely.

There are a couple of scenarios worth considering.

First, Senator Bernie Sanders could run away with it all. He has an army of volunteers in every state and is now the front-runner. There are establishment Democrats who are uncomfortable with a Sanders nomination. They fear the word “Democratic socialist” will turn off voters and put more states in play for President Trump. But, there is no one “moderate” that people agree on. And candidates are not likely to quit the race just on this point. On the other hand, Sanders is bringing new voters into the process. One exit poll showed that in New Hampshire, Sanders had more votes from young people than all of the other candidates combined. The case for Sanders is that he is bringing about generational change, and that this is not an ordinary election.

The second scenario is that a lot of people will win states. Perhaps it will be former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Mayor Pete Buttigeg, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg or Tom Steyer. If that happens there is a chance no candidate gets the magic number to win the nomination. If not, it will be up to the convention to come up with a candidate. The last time that happened was 1960 with John F. Kennedy.

Indian Country will get a voice in the days ahead. Some of the caucuses in Nevada will be in tribal communities. And Indian Country Today has invited candidates to Arizona for a conversation with Native journalists. Plus there will be a national debate in Arizona in March.

A little more than a month from now we may have a clearer picture about the 2020 election.

I am Mark Trahant.

Impeached

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What’s next in the impeachment process? And, will it force President Trump from office?

This is Trahant Reports.

There have only been three presidents who have been impeached by the House of Representatives. Andrew Johnson in 1868. Bill Clinton in 1998. And now Donald Trump.

Impeachment is only the beginning of the process. The next step will kick in later this week when the House votes to name the managers who will then make a case for conviction.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told ABC’s This Week on Sunday that she will formally send the two articles to the Senate. The speaker hopes the Senate will conduct a formal trial, with witnesses, and due process. “Witnesses with firsthand knowledge of what happened. Documentation, which the President has prevented from coming out to the Congress, as we review this. Now the ball is in their court to either do that or pay a price.”

The impeachment trial is political. It takes two-thirds of that body voting to remove a president from office — and that’s unlikely to happen in a body controlled by Republicans.

But there is a lot of drama ahead. For example what will the rules of the trial be? Will there be witnesses? And when? That ruling will be decided by 51 senators.

Some in the Senate see this as nonsense and want to vote to acquit immediately. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham told Fox News: “All I can say is the impeachment articles are a danger to the presidency, the way they impeached the president is un-American. This trial will end in a matter of days, not weeks and he’s going to be acquitted. I hope every Republican votes to acquit and I hope some Democrats will too.”

The politics of impeachment change depending on the party in the White House. The same arguments about witnesses and process that Republicans once made are now those of the Democrats. And the same is true for the Democrats who in Clinton’s day wanted the process over.

Still there are some differences. One is contrition. Bill Clinton admitted doing wrong. “I am profoundly sorry for all I have done wrong in words and deeds. I never should have misled the country, the Congress, my friends or my family. Quite simply, I gave in to my shame.”

Trump, on the other hand, has said his actions were perfect and the impeachment process itself is corrupt.

Indian Country is in a tough spot when it comes to impeachment. Tribal leaders are representing governments that have a direct relationship with the United States. So that means staying focused on the mechanics of how that works. At the same time tribal leaders are political leaders — with views and concerns about how the United States is led.

One final note: The impeachment trial will not be the end of the process. If the Clinton impeachment is a guide, then, there will be a lot of litigation ahead.

 

I am Mark Trahant.

Reprise: Native Primary

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There is really no reason for a presidential candidate to spend much time on tribal issues in Iowa or New Hampshire. The problem is not the candidates; it’s the process itself. What if there were an Indian Country primary? This story originally aired on Feb. 25, 2019.

 


This is Trahant Reports.

The first time I saw a presidential candidate campaign in Indian Country was Jesse Jackson in 1984. He took the time to meet and speak with the Navajo Nation Council as well as campaign events in Window Rock and Shiprock. He did this because it was the right thing to do. But imagine if the Navajo Nation had a primary? What if early in the process, Jackson won those delegates and the conversation about his viability was matched with delegates that included Indian Country?

Presidential campaigns have already changed candidates. As I wrote in The Last Great Battle of the Indian Wars, Washington Sen. Henry Jackson went from being a longtime supporter of termination to a champion for self-determination and a primary sponsor of legislation to make that so. He did this about the same time he ran for president.

George McGovern wasn’t a strident supporter of tribes before he ran for president. But he was sure was after.

Indian Country should have a voice – and a primary that includes tribal voters would be an ideal forum.

Indian Country has an advantage that the United States needs, a young population. This is a perfect moment for education innovation — and that takes resources. The median age in the United States is 37.9 years and getting older with smaller family sizes. Indian Country’s median age is 31.2 years. There are 2.1 million American Indians and Alaska Natives under the age of 24. That is a constituency deserving a voice in picking the next president. (New Hampshire’s population is 1.3 million.)

There is really no reason for a candidate to spend much time on tribal issues in Iowa or New Hampshire. The problem is not the candidates; it’s the process itself. In the small meetings in small states these issues are just not likely to surface.

But that would change if there was an Indian Country primary.

How would this primary work? Every tribe has an election process of some kind. The Democratic and Republican parties could work with the tribes that choose to participate to come up with a voter list (imagine how potent that data would be) and then to manage how the results are calculated.

What a great statement a primary election could be. This would be the America of its own aspirations.

I am Mark Trahant.

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