>>> MORE THAN FIVE WEEKS AGO, THE $2 TRILLION CORONAVIRUS
RELIEF PACKAGE WAS SIGNED INTO
LAW BY THE PRESIDENT.
AND IN THERE, THERE WAS SET
ABIDE $8 BILLION APPROPRIATED
FOR AID IN NATIVE AMERICAN
TRIBAL COMMUNITIES TO COMBAT THE
VIRUS.
VIRUS. SOME OF THE COMMUNITIES HAVE
BEEN OVERWHELMED BY THE
PANDEMIC.
PANDEMIC. THE NAVAJO NATION HAD A RATE OF
DEATH OF 46 DEATHS PER 100,000,
WHICH IS HIGHER THAN EVERY STATE
IN THE COUNTRY EXCEPT NEW YORK,
NEW JERSEY, CONNECTICUT AND
MASSACHUSETTS.
MASSACHUSETTS. UP UNTIL YESTERDAY, ZERO DOLLARS
OF THE $8 BILLION HAD BEEN
RELEASED TO HELP THOSE
COMMUNITIES.
COMMUNITIES. THEN TODAY, A LITTLE OVER HALF
WAS RELEASED.
WAS RELEASED. THEY ARE WAITING ON THE REST OF
THE MONEY.
THE MONEY. JOINING ME TO TALK ABOUT WHAT IS
GOING ON, CONGRESSWOMAN DEB
HOLLAND, A DEMOCRAT IN NEW
MEXICO,.
MEXICO,. CONGRESSWOMAN, MAYBE FIRST YOU
CAN JUST START WITH THE CONTEXT
OF HOW THIS PANDEMIC HAS HIT
INDIAN COUNTRY, PARTICULARLY THE
NAVAJO NATION.
NAVAJO NATION. >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME,
CHRIS.
CHRIS. SO HAPPY TO BE HERE.
THANK YOU FOR COVERING THIS
IMPORTANT ISSUE.
IMPORTANT ISSUE. SO LET ME START HERE, CHRIS.
INDIAN COUNTRY IS -- STARTS WAY
BEHIND EVERY OTHER COMMUNITY,
BECAUSE THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAS
NOT LIVED UP TO ITS TRUST
RESPONSIBILITY.
RESPONSIBILITY. THIS IS UNDERFUNDING AND NEGLECT
NOR DECADES AND DECADES.
SOME AREAS OF THE NAVAJO NATION
YOU ASKED ABOUT DON’T HAVE
RUNNING WATER.
RUNNING WATER. SOME TRIBES, THE WATER IS
POLLUTED SO THEY CAN’T USE IT.
SOME PEOPLE DON’T HAVE
ELECTRICITY.
ELECTRICITY. AND MANY, MANY TRIBES DON’T HAVE
BROAD BAND INTERNET SERVICE, SO
CONNECTING WITH THEIR HOSPITAL,
WITH TELEHEALTH, WITH THEIR
KID’S SCHOOLS, THAT IS
ABSOLUTELY SOMETHING THEY’RE
UNABLE TO DO BECAUSE OF ALL
THOSE DISPARITIES.
THOSE DISPARITIES. AND SO THAT’S WHERE WE START
BEHIND THE START LINE, YOU KNOW,
MILES BACK.
MILES BACK. AND THEN I WANT TO ALSO MENTION,
CHRIS, TODAY THE PRESIDENT WAS
ON FACEBOOK LIVE TALKING ABOUT
HOW $8 BILLION WAS THE LARGEST
AMOUNT OF FUNDING THAT INDIAN
COUNTRY HAS EVER GOTTEN.
AND, LOOK, THIS SHOULD BE $20
BILLION.
BILLION. THAT’S WHAT WE ASKED FOR, THAT’S
WHAT WE FOUGHT FOR.
THE WHITE HOUSE CAME BACK WITH
ZERO.
ZERO. THEY DIDN’T WANT TO GIVE TRIBES
ANYTHING, NOT ONE DIME.
AND SO WE END UP WITH AID, SO
THAT’S WHERE WE ARE.
>> SO I’M GLAD THAT YOU SORT OF
SPER
SPER INTERPOSED THAT, BECAUSE I WAS
LISTENING TO AN INTERVIEW.
DEMOCRATS ASKED FOR $20 BILLION,
THERE WAS A SETTLEMENT OF $8
BILLION.
BILLION. EXPLAIN TO ME, I DON’T
UNDERSTAND THIS, OBVIOUSLY THE
GOVERNMENT HAS A LOT ON ITS
HANDS, TRYING TO MOVE A LOT OF
MONEY OUT THE DOOR QUICKLY.
40 DAYS GO BY, 39 DAYS AND NONE
OF THAT MONEY ENDS UP WITH
TRIBAL COMMUNITIES.
TRIBAL COMMUNITIES. I DON’T UNDERSTAND THAT.
SOZ
SOZ >> SO THE TREASURY NEEDS TO DO A
FORMULA, WHICH IT SOUNDS LIKE
THEY CAME ONE A FORMULA TODAY.
IT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE TWO
WEEKS AGO.
WEEKS AGO. THEY COULD HAVE ACTED SOONER
THAN THEY DID.
BUT WE WERE WAITING ON THE
TREASURY TO DO A FORMULA.
IN FACT, LAST WEEK,
REPRESENTATIVES OR CHAIRMAN
RUBEN GUYEGO AND I WROTE A
LETTER TO TREASURY SAYING YOU
NEED TO MOVE ON THIS AND MAKE
SURE THAT YOU ARE PUTTING THIS
AS A PRIORITY.
INDIAN COUNTRY HAS NOT GOTTEN A
THING AND PEOPLE ARE DYING.
SO THEY FINALLY COME OUT WITH A
FORMULA TODAY.
FORMULA TODAY. BUT THERE’S NO TIMELINE YET, AND
QUITE FRANKLY, IT’S PRETTY EASY
FOR ME TO JUST GET ON MY PHONE
AND CALL TRIBAL LEADERS AND ASK
THEM IF THEY HAVE GOTTEN ANY
FUNDING AT ALL.
AND MY GUESS WOULD BE THAT THEY
HAVEN’T GOTTEN IT YET.
SO WE’RE FIGHTING FOR THIS.
WE’RE STRUGGLING FOR IT.
AS YOU MENTIONED, THERE ARE HIGH
RATES OF VIRUS AFFECTING INDIAN
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. AND THIS IS -- THERE’S A DIRE
NEED FOR THIS FUNDING.
AND THAT’S WHAT WE’RE FIGHTING
FOR.
FOR. >> I KNOW THERE ARE THOSE
PARTICULARLY THE NAVAJO NATION
AND OTHER NATIONS THAT HAVE HAD
A VERY DIFFICULT TIME IN TERMS
OF THE SOCIOECONOMIC CONDITIONS
PRIOR TO THE VIRUS AND THE VIRUS
PARTICULARLY IN FIGHTING IT.
WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THAT FIGHT
RIGHT NOW AND THE STATUS OF
POLICY IN INDIAN COUNTRY FOR
DEALING WITH IT?
>> SO, WELL, LOOK, THERE ARE 574
FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBES IN
OUR COUNTRY.
OUR COUNTRY. AND THE DISPARITIES BETWEEN
THOSE TRIBES, THEY’RE DIFFERENT.
SOME TRIBES HAVE TRIBAL CLINICS,
SOME DON’T.
SOME DON’T. SOME ARE CLOSE TO AN INDIAN
HEALTH SERVICE FACILITY, SOME
ARE NOT.
ARE NOT. SOME LIVE IN VERY RURAL
COMMUNITIES AND AS I SAID, THEY
DON’T HAVE A -- THEY CAN’T EVEN
CONNECT WITH ANYONE.
I’LL TELL YOU WHAT’S HAPPENING
RIGHT NOW, THE TRIBAL
GOVERNMENTS THEMSELVES ARE
STEPPING UP, MANY OF THEM HAVE
APPOINTED -- YOU KNOW, THEY
STARTED EMERGENCY TASK FORCES.
I KNOW THE INDIAN AFFAIRS
DEPARTMENT HERE IN NEW MEXICO,
THE STATE DEPARTMENT HAS STEPPED
UP TO WORK WITH TRIBES.
EVERYONE IS DOING WHAT THEY CAN.
TONIGHT, I HAD A FACEBOOK LIVE
WITH AN ORGANIZER FOR A
NONPROFIT OORGRGANIZATION THAT
DELIVERS FOOD BOXES TO TRIBAL
FAMILIES.
FAMILIES. AND THE NEED IS DIRE.
SO WHERE THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION SHOULD HAVE
GOTTEN THIS FUNDING TO TRIBES
WEEKS AGO, NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATIONS HAVE STEPPED UP TO
MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE HAVE WATER
AND FOOD.
AND FOOD. AND IT’S SHAMEFUL, QUITE
FRANKLY.
FRANKLY. >> CONGRESSWOMAN DEB HOLLAND IN
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO.
CONGRESSWOMAN, AS WE GO THROUGH
THIS QUARANTINE, THE BEAUTIFUL
ALBUQUERQUE LIFE PLAYING IN THE