COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP ADVOCATES FOR FEDERAL FUNDING AND PROTECTION OF TRIBAL PROGRAMS

August 22, 2025

Submitted by

Office of General Counsel

Gila River Indian

Community

The Gila River Indian Community and tribes from across the United States have been focused on policy shifts resulting from Executive Orders issued by the President, new priorities set by the Administration, and laws passed by Congress.

To date, President Trump has issued approximately 200 Executive Orders in the first seven months of his second term.  By comparison, former President Biden issued 162 Executive Orders during his entire four-year term.  Early Executive Orders regarding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and freezing of Inflation Reduction Act funding required early advocacy by Governor Stephen Roe Lewis and members of Community Council to ensure protection of tribal sovereignty and self-determination and the continuation of tribal programs and projects.

During the transition of the Administration, the President’s Executive Orders called for a reduction in the federal workforce.  As a result, many agencies have seen reductions through elimination of positions or through early retirement incentive programs. As a result of education and advocacy by the Community’s leadership and other tribes, the Secretary of Health and Human Services exempted Indian Health Service staff from the reductions. 

At the Department of the Interior, approximately 450 Indian Affairs employees accepted early retirement and hiring freezes remain in place at these agencies, with the exception of social services and law enforcement personnel.  Both agencies are also undergoing reorganization planning as a result of an Executive Order that requires all federal agencies to review exiting functions to determine how delivery of services can be streamlined.  The Community has participated in tribal leader consultation about the reorganizations and stressed the need to continue services to tribes and support tribal self-governance programs.

In addition to these staffing changes, the agencies are still working to fill key positions that impact the Community’s priorities.  The positions of Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs and Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation within the Department of the Interior have not yet been filled by the President’s nominee.  Billy Kirkland, the nominee for Assistant Secretary had a hearing in the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in July.  A Committee vote is expected when Congress returns in September and then the full Senate will vote on his confirmation this Fall.  The Commissioner nominee, Mr. Ted Cooke is well known to the Community from his prior work at the Central Arizona Project.  His nomination hearing is expected to take place early in September and like Kirkland, he will likely have a Committee vote and full Senate vote this Fall.

In the meantime, the Community’s leadership continues to build relationships with key members of the Trump Administration.  During the Tribal Self-Governance Conference last April, the Community met with Scott Davis, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior (with the delegated authority of the Assistant Secretary) and Kelly Rael, Special Advisor to the Assistant Secretary.  Governor Lewis provided a tour of the Gila River Police Department and the Casa Blanca Community School to the federal officials.  Since that time, additional meetings have been held in DC and in the Community to discuss Administration and Community priorities such as water conservation projects, streamlining of probate cases, infrastructure and other critical issues.

In Congress, the focus has primarily been on confirmation of the President’s nominees, funding bills and passage of the Budget Reconciliation bill (“One Big Beautiful Bill”).  In April of this year, Governor Lewis testified in the House of Representatives Interior Appropriations Committee and strongly urged appropriators to protect tribal funding – especially given requests to cut federal spending across all agencies.  In subsequent meetings and communications, Community Leadership stressed the need for continued funding for healthcare, education, public safety, social services, and infrastructure projects.  As a result of the Community’s advocacy, and that of other tribal leaders and tribal organizations, appropriations committees in both the House and the Senate have approved bills that either level-fund tribal programs at BIA, BIE and IHS or provide increases for key programs such as healthcare, public safety, and social services.  When Congress returns the House and Senate will resume negotiations on the differences in the bills, but overall Indian Country programs were protected, and both the House and Senate committees stressed the need to honor the trust responsibility for tribal governments.

Current funding for fiscal year 2025 will expire at the end of September, so Congressional discussions will be centered on extending the funding through a continuing resolution – likely through mid-December.  A continuing resolution will require bipartisan support which generally occurs.  However, this year, party agreement may be more difficult because of several recently passed bills which were passed with only Republican support and over the objections of Democrats.

One funding bill was the Recissions Act of 2025 that clawed back $9 billion for USAID, foreign aid and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  Democrats are seeking assurances that the Administration won’t continue to seek more recissions of already agreed-to spending before continuing to negotiate spending bills. In addition,

The second bill that has created tensions in Congress is the Budget Reconciliation Act (“One Big Beautiful Bill).  That legislation continued tax cuts that were passed during the first Trump Administration.  In addition, the bill would cut funding for certain Medicaid programs beginning in 2026 and also have an impact on SNAP benefits.  If left to stand, these cuts could have a significant impact on healthcare for all Americans and especially rural hospitals and families, including tribal healthcare facilities such as Gila River Health Care. 

Because the Medicaid cuts are delayed, several members of Congress (who voted for the bill) have already introduced legislation to roll back the cuts passed in the budget reconciliation bill.  The Community Leadership will continue its strong advocacy to protect Medicaid and SNAP cuts while also working with the State to buffer any impacts that may arise should these cuts become effective. In early discussions, Community Leadership described the difficulty that the Community and other tribal members would have complying with the strict work requirements in the bill, and as a result, there is an exemption to the Medicaid and SNAP work requirements for tribal members included in the final-passed bill.

These are only a few of the issues that Community Leadership has tackled during the first seven months of the Trump Administration and the 119th Congress.  Governor Lewis, Lieutenant Governor Antone and Community Council have consistently advocated on behalf of the Community and engaged with Congress and Administration officials to ensure they have a keen understanding of the impacts that federal decisions can/might have on our Community – always with the goal of furthering the Community’s self-determination and protecting tribal sovereignty.