- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
WASHINGTON — A month and a half after a deadline set by Congress, the Treasury Department on Friday announced their second distribution formula for the remaining 40 percent of the $ billion allocated for tribes in the CARES Act funds.
This is the second round of distribution by the Treasury Department to tribes. The first round was distributed during the first week of May.
Of the $8 billion allocated to tribal governments, 30 percent will be based on employment data and 10 percent will be based on expenditure data.
Allocation Formula
Employment
The allocation based on employment data will result from Treasury taking the following steps:
- Step 1. By tribe, sum reported tribal employment and tribal entity employment for each quarter of 2019 from their IRS Form 941.
- Step 2. Calculate the non-zero annual average of the summed quarters one through four obtained in Step 1.
- Step 3. Calculate the pro-rata payment for each tribal government, based on the annual employment averages obtained in step 2.
Expenditures
The allocation based will result from Treasury calculating the pro-rata payment for each tribal government, based on 2019 tribal total government expenditures.
Reserved Funds
Because there was so much objections raised by tribes in the first round of distribution over Treasury’s formula that used HUD Indian Housing Block Grant information, the Treasury Department is reserving $679 million from amounts that would otherwise be paid to tribal governments.
This represents an estimate of the difference in total payment amounts to Tribal governments if the Treasury Department had made population-based payments based on tribal enrollment data provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, rather than the Census-based HUD data. These funds will be used to resolve these issues that are pending in litigation in lawsuits brought by tribes.
More Stories Like This
San Carlos Apache 22-Year-Old Man Arrested for Setting Fire on Reservation That Destroyed 21 HousesNational Native American Hall of Fame Appoints E. Sequoyah Simermeyer to Board of Directors
State of Michigan to Provide $1.25 Million to Ste. Marie Tribe for Its Homeless Shelter
Vice President Harris Campaigns in Milwaukee for First Rally
Another Option for VP: Interior Secretary Deb Haaland
Join us in observing 100 years of Native American citizenship. On June 2, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act, granting Native Americans US citizenship, a pivotal moment in their quest for equality. This year marks its centennial, inspiring our special project, "Heritage Unbound: Native American Citizenship at 100," observing their journey with stories of resilience, struggle, and triumph. Your donations fuel initiatives like these, ensuring our coverage and projects honoring Native American heritage thrive. Your donations fuel initiatives like these, ensuring our coverage and projects honoring Native American heritage thrive.
