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- By Native News Online Staff
WASHINGTON — In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other news released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country recently.
ACYF Announces Tribal Consultations on "Supporting America's Children and Families Act
The Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) and the Children’s Bureau (CB) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) recognize the central role that Tribal Nations play in the care and protection of children and families.
To advance our collaborative efforts to that end, we extend an invitation to participate in formal tribal consultation on the “Supporting America’s Children and Families Act,” (Public Law 118-258), which reauthorized Title IV-B of the Social Security Act (Act). Consultation will focus on the changes to title IV-B of the Act, listed in detail in attached documents, and how they may impact Tribes. In summary, the focus areas are the Indian Child Welfare Act, title IV-B funding for child welfare agencies, the Court Improvement Program and remote hearings, and the Prevention Services Clearinghouse.
Congress Rejects Trump Cuts to Native Housing Programs for Fiscal 2026
Appropriations committees in both the House and Senate have rejected the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to Native housing programs for fiscal 2026. However, bureaucratic congestion and administrative uncertainty could still hamper tribal housing authorities that don't plan ahead, Native housing advocates say.
President Donald Trump's fiscal 2026 budget request would have slashed $477 million from block grant and competitive grant funding programs. The House Appropriations Committee instead suggested that the Department of Housing and Urban Development preserve current funding levels, at $1.344 billion. The Senate Committee on Appropriations kept that funding in their markup, S. 2465, which passed in a 27-1 vote in late July. If passed into law, the money would support programs under the Native American Housing and Self Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA).
Rudy Soto, executive director of the National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC), said the bill would “safeguard” vital Native housing resources.
“Congress' proposed funding level demonstrates a recognition of the crucial importance of tribal housing programs for Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians,” Soto wrote to Tribal Business News. The funding, he said, would “support tribal self-sufficiency, sustain community economic development, and address housing gaps.”
Read more in Tribal Business News
US Senate Passes FY26 Appropriations Bill
The bill provides $235 million for the Food Distribution on Indian Reservation Program (FDPIR) and $3 million for a FDPIR pilot program that allows Tribes participating in FDPIR to purchase traditional food from small Tribal producers.
The bill also provides $700,000 for processing and federal inspection of Tribal bison, which will help support Tribal food sovereignty by enabling Tribes to include bison raised on their own lands to be included in federal nutrition programs like school meals.
Additionally, bill provides $5.1 million for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Tribal Relations, which is responsible for government-to-government relations between USDA and Tribal governments.
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