Tribe must apply for stimulus money

O n Feb. 17 President Barack Obama signed into law a $787 billion economic stimulus package aimed at turning the bleak national economic situation around.

About $2.5 billion of that money will be going to Native American programs, but it is still very much up in the air as to how much each tribe will secure.

None of the money in the stimulus package is earmarked for any particular tribe, or for that matter, any city.

Congressmen took this approach so to lessen the politics of "pet projects" taking over the bill, said Sharon Clahchischilliage, executive director of the Navajo Nation Washington Office.

Although the Navajo Nation will probably receive some of the money through established avenues from federal agencies, such as the BIA, IHS and Housing and Urban Development, the tribe will have to apply for the money through various federal agencies as well.

Some of the money will be available in the form of competitive grants, matching grants, and loans, said Chischilliage.

Obama has made it clear that the money must go to projects that are "shovel-ready," or on the fast track to development. Once a project wins approval and receives the money, it will have be up and running within a year and a half or the money will be pulled.

Clahchischilliage said the Navajo Nation is currently working on getting a system in place to "expedite all the mechanisms to receive the money and get the projects on the road." That system would involve Navajo Nation division directors and program managers working with federal and state officials to identify which project funds the tribe is eligible for.

The stimulus package that the Navajo Nation sent to the Obama transition team in January detailed some of the specific projects, such as roads and education initiatives, that were "shovel-ready," added Clahchischilliage.

"A lot of people are thinking (the money) is going to come directly to Navajo, but it's not," said Clagchischilliage. "We're going to have to apply for it. Nothing's for sure."

Of the $2.5 billion, $415 million is set aside for Indian health facilities, $315 million is going to the Indian Reservation Roads program, and $510 million is for Indian housing.

According to an outline by the Navajo Nation Washington Office, the Navajo Nation can also apply for energy tax incentives that would encourage tribes to invest in renewable energy initiatives.

Rural broadband, the basis of high-speed Internet, is another area of funding highlighted as ideal for the Navajo Nation to pursue.