Politics

In a special session June 25, the Navajo Nation Council unanimously approved a bill to establish a Phase II CARES Fund Hardship Assistance Expenditure Plan.

On Tuesday, acting Navajo Nation Controller Elizabeth Begay informed the Budget and Finance Committee that approximately 1,000 approved and 9,000 wait-listed Hardship Assistance applicants who have not received their checks are now in limbo since the controller’s contractor, Baker Tilly, has put its CARES Act work on hold.

On June 2, delegates Eugenia Charles-Newton and Vince James submitted a request for a bill to use American Rescue Plan Act funds to give every enrolled Diné adult $2,000 and every child $1,000 in hardship assistance.