Almost every day, a new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding opportunity notice is issued. Coming almost as quickly are the deadlines to apply. In fact, quite a few have come and gone, and the federal agencies setting them have already announced the award recipients.
How can tribes keep up? There is $787 billion in economic stimulus money being handed out, and they do not want to miss their shot at getting some of it. Read the rest at American Indian Report.
More than 50 trailer parks operate illegally on tribal land in Southern
Chandra Gehri Spencer, a lawyer for the tenants, asked BIA Southern California Superintendent James Fletcher how many other trailer parks operated on Indian land with no leases. He said four. She informed him that there are “in excess of 50 parks on tribal land without leases.” Read the story here.
The
The state’s decision to eliminate adult dental benefits, know as Denti-Cal, has the Indian clinic and other cash-strapped community health centers struggling to survive at a time when their cliental is growing most. Read more about it here.
Associate Attorney General Thomas J. Perrelli announced today that more than $248 million is available for Tribes to assist with addressing the Indian Country’s criminal justice needs. These funds are part of $4 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funds managed by the Justice Department to assist tribal, state, and local law enforcement and for other criminal justice activities that help to prevent crime and improve the criminal and juvenile justice systems in the United States, while supporting the creation of jobs and providing much needed resources for states and local communities.
Of the $248 million in Recovery Act funding available for Tribes, $225 million is available for Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands grants, $20.8 million for Indian Tribal Government grants, and $2.8 million for Tribal Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalitions grants.
In addition to these funds, Tribes are also eligible to apply for several Department of Justice Recovery Act competitive grant programs that are available to states, local governments and other entities depending upon the eligibility requirements in the solicitations. Application, registration and deadline information are available on the Department’s website at http://www.usdoj.gov/recovery.
Associated Press reports that Sen. Tim Johnson will introduce a bill that would let tribes transfer their unused share of federal wind production tax credits to their private partners without having to give up their portion of project ownership.
Last month the Department of Transportation allocated $17 million in federal funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 2009 for the Federal Transit Administration’s Tribal Transit Program.
The ARRA tribal transit funds will provide grants to Indian tribes for capital expenditures including transit equipment and facilities. A notice soliciting project proposals was published March 23 in the Federal Register. The notice includes application procedures, the criteria that FTA will utilize to select projects, and grant terms, conditions, and reporting requirements.
Tribes will have 60 days to submit project proposals. The Federal Register notice can be found at:http://www.fta.dot.gov/laws/leg_reg_federal_register.html.
Once projects are selected and funding is awarded, tribal recipients must obligate funds by September 30, 2010. Interested parties are encouraged to contact the nearest FTA Regional Office for additional information on the ARRA Tribal Transit Program. A contact list of FTA regional offices may be found at http://www.fta.dot.gov/.
