Diné 75 by May 31 can apply for $250 hardship checks

DÁ’DEESTŁ’IN HÓTSAA

Diné who were at least 75 by May 31 may apply beginning Oct. 5 for a one-time $250 hardship payment, more than four months after a June 1 launch deadline set by President Buu Nygren.

The Office of the Controller announced Sept. 22 that $7,954,605 has been designated for the 2026 Hardship Program. About 30,000 people are estimated to meet the eligibility requirements.

Applications will close Nov. 20. Check distribution is scheduled to begin in October and continue through Dec. 4. The program is scheduled to end Dec. 11.

Applicants must be registered members of the Navajo Nation and provide a copy of a valid Certificate of Indian Blood or Navajo Nation Tribal ID card. They also must provide a valid state-issued identification card, driver’s license or passport.

Nygren signed Executive Order No. 01-2026 in January directing the controller’s office to identify available funding by Jan. 31 and develop eligibility requirements and deadlines by Feb. 1. The order required the hardship program to launch no later than June 1 with an application portal open and operational.

The Sept. 22 guidelines call for paper applications to be processed during in-person outreach events beginning Oct. 5. Diné who cannot apply in person may email frfohardship@navajo-nsn.gov to arrange a teleconference with Fiscal Recovery Fund staff. The announcement does not list dates and locations for the outreach events.

Controller Sean McCabe attributed the delay largely to uncertainty over how much FRF money would ultimately be available.

Asked whether the earlier deadlines in the executive order had been met, McCabe pointed to regular expenditure updates his office has provided to the Navajo Nation Council and other leaders. He said two meetings had been held within the previous month, including one covering expenditures through August, but he did not specifically say whether the Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 deadlines were met.

Officials were still trying to determine how much money assigned to other FRF projects would be spent and how much could become available for hardship assistance. The controller’s office sought information from entities including the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority and Navajo Engineering and Construction Authority. McCabe said officials also had difficulty determining the remaining plan for housing funds.

The funding question became more complicated when McCabe contacted the U.S. Department of the Treasury about whether the Nation could increase the amount obligated for hardship assistance.

McCabe initially believed tens of millions of dollars might be available to shift to hardship based on expenditure levels. Treasury first responded that the Nation could not increase the hardship obligation, he said.

The Navajo Nation Department of Justice then corresponded with Treasury, which later indicated there might be a way to increase the amount. McCabe said the response was not definitive enough for him to risk moving money that Treasury could later determine was not allowable.

“It wasn’t intentional to defy an executive order,” McCabe said Tuesday night. “I just don’t think we were anywhere near ready to actually make a decision by that executive order deadline.”

U.S. Treasury rules required recipients of State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to obligate the money by Dec. 31, 2024. Most obligated funds must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026. Money not spent by the applicable deadline must be returned to Treasury.

Resolution CMY-28-24, signed into law June 17, 2024, required Navajo Nation Fiscal Recovery Funds not obligated by Nov. 1, 2024, to automatically revert to the Hardship Assistance Expenditure Plan without further legislative action.

Nygren later signed Resolution CD-54-24 on Dec. 24, 2024. The January executive order states that an interagency agreement between Nygren and Speaker Crystalyne Curley recognized $5,623,603 as allocated to the controller’s office for the Hardship Assistance Expenditure Plan.

The guidelines state that another $2,331,002 has been added, bringing the amount designated for hardship assistance to $7,954,605. The announcement does not identify the source of the additional $2.33 million.

The amount available also shaped who would qualify for the payments.

Officials considered several groups, including children, veterans and households. The Nation’s enterprise resource planning system allowed officials to estimate how many people would qualify under different age limits.

An age cutoff of 72 also was considered, but lowering the age would have added thousands of potential recipients and reduced the amount each person could receive, according to McCabe.

McCabe said suggestions also came from the Council. Some were incorporated into the program while others would have been difficult to implement. Officials ultimately settled on 75 after considering the size of the eligible population and the amount available for each payment.

The Nation’s Enterprise Resource Planning system identified about 30,000 people who could meet the age requirement. Payments to 30,000 people at $250 each would total $7.5 million.

That leaves a $454,605 difference between the estimated payments and the $7,954,605 designated for the program. The guidelines do not state what would happen to that difference, and McCabe did not identify a specific use for money that could remain after payments are distributed.

Applicants may receive their checks in person or by mail. Those who want a check mailed must indicate that preference on the application. Another person generally may not pick up a check for an applicant unless an exception is approved.

The guidelines state recipients will have 90 days to cash their checks but also state that checks will be void after Dec. 31. Because distribution may continue through Dec. 4, the guidelines do not explain how the 90-day period applies to checks issued later in the program.

The May 31 eligibility date excludes Diné who turned 75 after that date, even if they are 75 when applications begin.

Officials considered later cutoff dates, including July 31 and Aug. 31, but each date changed the number of people who could qualify. McCabe said they ultimately kept the May 31 cutoff.

“No matter what date we pick, there’s going to be people that missed out by a day or two,” McCabe said. “So, it’s just one of those decisions we had to make.”

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