Tribal leaders are concerned about the implications for Indian country of the budget reconciliation bill passed by Congress this week and signed into law by President Trump on July 4.
From energy extraction on tribal lands and school privatization, to expanded economic oversight, the proposal signals a return to aggressive federal intervention and a potential erosion of tribal sovereignty, tribal leaders said.
“While Trump’s allies pitch the bill as a plan for growth and efficiency, many in Indian Country see warning signs – diminished self-governance, weakened treaty obligations, and a broader rollback of hard-won sovereignty” said Victor Rocha, conference chairman of the Indian Gaming Association who hosted a webinar on the topic July 2. “Education, energy, governance, and jurisdiction are all on the table and tribes may once again find themselves fighting to protect the legal and political foundations of their nations.”
Rocha and his co-host Jason Giles, executive director of IGA, talked with Larry Wright, Jr., executive director of the National Congress of American Indians and lobbyist, John Harte of Mapetsi Policy Group.
“It comes back to Indian Country taking this on,” Wright said. “Some of President Trump’s agenda and executive orders have directly or indirectly had a positive impact on Indian Country. But without a doubt, this bill will have a long-lasting impact on tribal members throughout the country.”
Harte said the bill was forced through the reconciliation process that dates back to Richard Nixon in the early 1970s and it has to relate to the budget, spending, or taxation. President Obama used it to pass the Affordable Care Act, while Trump used it to pass his 2017 tax cuts. President Biden used it for his COVID recovery plan and Inflation Reduction Act.
“It’s an overreach.” Harte said it only had one-party support. “Four trillion dollars to extend the tax cuts permanently and $150 billion go to immigration enforcement and border-wall construction, $150 billion to additional military funding, about $150 billion for the SALT (tax deduction), and $150 billion for no tax on tips. It comes to $4.8 trillion in additional spending over 10 years and how are they going to pay for it? They don’t come close to that. Their offsets in trying to limit those deficits are cutting Medicaid and food-assistance programs and clawing back $500 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act for clean energy. When you add it up, it still comes to a $3.3 trillion federal deficit over 10 years.”
There are some good measures for tribes. Wright said provisions in the bill that they’ve seen provide grant funding for tribes for Homeland Security and tax credits and other funding. Tribal members are exempt from work requirements for the food-assistance program and Medicaid.
“We know some of those requirements on our reservations and rural areas are just impossible to meet,” Wright said. “Having those as positive outcomes as we look for them are significant, especially when some of our clinics are depending on third-party billing opportunities to keep the clinics open.”
The panel brought up an element of the bill that allows gamblers to deduct only up to 90% of losses and what impact it may have on tribal casinos, for example, players going offshore.
“The entire industry is freaking out,” Rocha said. “There’s pain all the way across.”
Giles said he doesn’t think there’s much sympathy for gamblers who report their losses and get a deduction.
“I heard that a gambler said we’ll just go offshore and we won’t report it,” Rocha said. “Everyone in the industry is shocked by that.”
Giles said the gambling-tax measure shows desperation to grab revenue from everywhere.
Harte said a bi-partisan gambling caucus in the House can help on the legislative front with this and other gambling-related measures.
There are worries about what comes next. Tribes have a lot of money tied up in Small Business Administration programs and with cuts in the Indian Health Service program and Bureau of Indian Affairs, Giles said he worries that more is coming in the next round.
“This one is bad enough, but we’re back in September debating next year’s budget,” Giles said. “The president’s budget has even lower levels of spending across the board. This isn’t going to end whatsoever. We can write letters, but if they’re going to keep using reconciliation (no requirement of 60 votes in the Senate), they will keep jamming everything through.”
Harte said that fortunately, the annual budget requires compromise and bipartisan support with 60 votes in the Senate.
“We have champions on the Appropriations Committee in both the House and Senate,” Harte said. “In order to get that done, they have to compromise. More than likely they won’t and we’ll get continuing resolutions. This past year, we had a year-long one. When it comes down to another year-long continuing resolution or some of these cuts proposed, Indian Country would take the year-long CR as long as we have some stipulations in there.”
Wright said the design of the legislation by Republicans and what will hit tribal members the hardest won’t go into effect until after the 2026-midterm elections, so it doesn’t impact their chances of retaining the House. “So people don’t feel the pain before then and make their vote known. That’s sick, cruel, and underhanded and will have a huge impact for our tribal community.”
Wright said he worries that the more tribes push back against the Trump administration, Congress will take a closer look at tribal set asides and opportunities.
“How much is too much in trying to raise these issues? At the same time, we can’t afford to sit back,” Wright said. “If there is a positive, it’s working on both sides of the Hill. We have Republican support on many of these issues. Some of the things that were saved were because of that.”
What’s frustrating, Wright added, is that treaties and funding requirements under them are the law.
“We know that’s the federal government’s responsibility, but we’re still a line item being affected,” Wright said. “SBA has shown a lot of opportunities for tribes and to have that cut along, with BIA and others, compounds the issues.”
Giles said Congress will have a difficult time placing tribes in a special-interest category, since they’re sovereign nation with treaties. He pointed out that rural hospitals serve more than tribal citizens and that will raise further concerns.
Wright said what’s happening shows the importance of tribal members getting out to vote and letting their elected leaders know what they want for their communities.
“We’re not saying Democrats or Republicans,” Wright said. “We need them both. We need to continue to help Indian Country identify candidates that understand and help support our issues and defend them when they get there. We know now is as critical a time as ever.”
Giles said tribal casinos in the northern U.S. close to the border are already facing fallout from the tariff battle between the Trump administration and Canada. Those casinos are reporting a downturn in customers visiting and some have laid off employees. Others have cut hours, because they don’t have the volume any longer, he added.
“Something is going on, and it’s rolling out slowly,” Giles said. “I don’t know if this tariff insecurity makes it any better. I’m amazed the stock market is at an all-time high, but on the ground, it’s a little different. You see it in consumer sentiment as well. It’s way low.”
