“Today’s hearing will focus on the implementation of the Self-governance Demonstration Project Act by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service. We will discuss some of the obstacles as well as some of the successes of the project since its enactment in 1988.
For the past 2 days, a number of the self-governance tribes have been meeting here in Washington, DC to discuss establishing the project on a permanent basis. To assist with those deliberations, I provide the tribes with a draft bill that would make the program permanent for the Department of the Interior with the full intention of including the Indian Health Service at a later date.
I would be interested in any comments the tribes might have on this draft bill as well as your own ideas on what should be included in permanent legislation. I believe this project has been a success and deserves to be established as a permanent option for all tribes.”
