FHBC Chairman Ladd Edmo testifies in Washington D.C. for tribal funding
Fort Hall Business Council Chairman Ladd Edmo, Chair of the House
Appropriations Subcommittee Betty McCollum and Fort Hall Business Council
Secretary Donna Thompson.
By YVETTE TUELL
Tribal Public Affairs
WASHINGTON D.C. — Fort Hall Business Council Chairman Ladd Edmo and Council member Donna Thompson had a busy week in Washington D.C. from February 10 to 13, testifying on Tribal needs for federal funding, meeting with Idaho congressional delegation, attending BIA Listening Sessions at the National Congress of American Indians and advocating to Indian Country congressional supporters on various tribal issues.
Chairman Edmo testified in front of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies on February 11, emphasizing the need for the following: the need for EPA to require clean up the Eastern Michaud Flats Superfund Site; need for strategic planning for reclamation and remediation of the Gay Mine Superfund Site; need for advance appropriations for tribal programs; opposition to the National Park Service’s proposed regulatory changes to the National Historic Preservation Act; concerns with the Council of Environmental Quality’s proposed changes to the NEPA process; need for adult and youth transitional housing; need for BIE competitive salaries for teachers; BIA Road Maintenance Program funding needs; and addressing the long-standing and pressing infrastructure needs on the Reservation.
Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee Betty McCollum, as a former school teacher, was sympathetic to the low salaries of Sho-Ban Jr./Sr. High School teachers, and asked questions on the BIE teacher salaries, and questioned Chairman Edmo on local problems of recruiting and retaining school teachers at tribal school. Chairman Edmo responded, “The wages offered to our local teachers are just not competitive enough for teachers. If there were better wages, it would be more competitive.”
At a later discussion with House Representative Ben Ray Lujan, N.M., the topic of flat BIE teacher salaries, said his office is looking into this problem. It appears back in 2011, the federal line item for teacher salaries in both the BIE and schools in the Department of Defense (DOD) were disconnected, for reasons unknown, when they were previously linked together. Since then, funding for BIE teacher salaries remains stagnant. Additional information on local tribal needs on Sho-Ban High School will be provided to congressional staffers.
Issues raised by other tribes included wildlife health, wildland fire funding needs, displacement of tribal communities due to climate change, fish restoration, and forestry needs. Chairman Edmo also explained to the Subcommittee the importance of fisheries resources, by collaborating with other tribes, purchasing lands for salmon restoration, and the concerns on climate change and its impacts to tribal fishing.
Chairman Edmo spoke in a Natural Resource panel that included Tribal representatives from the Penobscot Nation of Maine, Nisqually Tribe of Washington State, and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. The Subcommittee members thanked all the tribal leaders and representatives for coming to Washington DC to offer formal testimony and share tribal priorities for agencies in DOE, EPA, IHS, US Forest Service, CEQ and related agencies.
