Letters | Record on ARPA

Record on ARPA

Editor,

I am writing to respond and correct inaccuracies published in the Navajo Times article titled, “ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act of 2021) housing stalls as Navajo Nation faces billion-dollar deadlines, zero completed units,” by Donovan Quintero, published in the Nov. 26, 2025, edition.

This article is incorrect and misrepresents the facts and the status of the Navajo Nation’s ARPA recovery efforts. Chapters are actively using funds to deliver homes and services, and federal subrecipient agreements exist to protect the Nation, not slow it down. Spreading outdated or incomplete information misleads the public and ignores the real progress happening in our communities.

The story repeatedly relies on outdated, incomplete, or misinterpreted information. It portrays subrecipient agreements as a problem, when in reality, SRAs are standard federal requirements used by all tribal and local governments receiving Fiscal Recovery Funds. They do not delay projects – they ensure compliance and protect the Nation from federal findings, penalties and clawbacks.

The article also falsely claims the Navajo Nation has “not built a single home” with ARPA funds. This is inaccurate. Progress is occurring at the chapter level, and I regularly share updates via my weekly radio address, social media and agency council meetings, yet the reporter ignores verified data, completed units and projects already underway.

Contrary to the article, the Navajo Nation has made significant progress. According to data from the Navajo Nation Community Housing Infrastructure Department (CHID), shared with the 25th Navajo Nation Council and the Nygren Administration on Dec. 3, 2025:

Work Order No. 3 (150 Manufactured Homes): 134 homes have been delivered (89% complete) and 73 key turnovers successfully completed, meaning 73 families have received homes. On-site work continues for the remaining units: 124 homes are skirted and painted, 100 have gutters installed, and 107 interiors are finished. Turnovers for the Northern Agency are complete, with focus now on the Eastern Agency, followed by the Fort Defiance Agency.

Work Order No. 1 (50 Modular Homes): 36 homes have been delivered (72%). An initial delay due to Arizona State Inspector approval was resolved, allowing deliveries to begin in mid-July.

Work Order No. 5 (138 Manufactured Homes): Initiated on November 19, 2025, this work order reallocates recipients originally assigned to the halted WO No. 4, ensuring their projects move forward immediately with the established vendor.

In addition, I also reported in my October 2025 State of the Nation report that there were sixty-eight (68) veteran homes under construction, seventeen (17) homes have been completed with utilities pending, and thirty (30) turnkey ceremonies. Lastly, the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission was expected to drop eighty-four (84) homes. In total, fifty-seven (57) homes had been delivered by this time and set, while eleven (11) are scheduled for shipping.

Although there are many other inaccuracies with the Navajo Times article such as misstating deadlines, conflating ARPA categories, drawing incorrect conclusions from U.S. Treasury reporting, among other issues, I must correct the statement that the Navajo Nation has “not built a single home,” as I trust that the Navajo people have seen homes being delivered within their respective communities.

Overall, the article does not reflect the current reality and progress of ARPA projects under the Nygren Administration. If this reporter did his job, he would be reporting the real progress that has already been achieved. A more accurate story would acknowledge improvements in transparency, federal compliance, project management, and the ongoing work to deliver homes, infrastructure, and services to Navajo families.

For CHID and ARPA reports go to: //www.nndcd.org/documents/ and go to “DCD Documents.” For my October 2025 quarterly report on the State of the Nation, go to opvp.navajo-nsn.gov/251020-state-of-the-nation/.

Buu Nygren
President, Navajo Nation
Window Rock, Ariz.

Cost of leadership

Editor,

It has never been easy to keep Navajo elected officials from overspending or finding ways to enrich themselves. Our own history shows this.

Back in 1989, a former chairman was convicted for taking a $4 million bribe. In 2001, the OnSat scheme cost $32 million to the tribe and forced a sitting president onto leave. In 2005, 78 Council delegates misused $36 million from a tribal discretionary fund. And not long ago, the ZenniHome payout of $74 million again looks like it lined the pockets of certain officials.

Now, remember, much of this happened when today’s leaders were still in grade school. Yet here we are, decades later, facing the same outcome. The difference today is that social media, reporters, and AI have helped shine a light on these abuses so the Navajo people can see them more clearly.

Both sides of our tribal government shares responsibility. The Navajo people through a majority vote set the president’s salary at $55,000 and Council delegates at $25,000. But everyone knew those numbers were just placeholders. By 2025, both sides are averaging about $125,000 a year – that is half a million dollars over a four-year term.

Now ask yourselves: Is that right? Fifteen percent of our people rely on SNAP, living on about $10,000 a year to feed their families. Ten percent are elders over 65, surviving on Social Security checks, averaging $9,000 a year.

Meanwhile, officials spend $4,000 on flights to Washington or New York and stay in $900-a-night hotels. Compare that to the average income of $35,000 for most of the 170,000 Navajos living on the reservation. No wonder voters get angry and vote leaders out after one term. But when new leaders come in, the same behavior continues.

So, what can we Navajos do? One idea is to put all elected officials on a fixed salary and a set travel budget. Will it solve everything? Probably not. But it might cut down on the half-million-dollar payouts we see today. And it could keep the IRS and U.S. Treasury from constantly investigating what our leaders are really making.

At the end of the day, tribal secrets do not stay hidden forever. In Navajo politics, everything eventually comes out. And when it does, it becomes an open book for the Navajo people.

Samuel Begay Sr.
Shiprock, N.M.

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