Native American Tribes Won't Have To Share Coronavirus Relief Money With Native Corporations, Judge Rules
It's the first loss in court for the government over how administration officials are managing the billions of dollars that Congress approved in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. Dozens of tribal governments raced to court in the past two weeks to challenge the Treasury Department's decision to make Alaska Native Corporations eligible for $8 billion in funding set aside to benefit Native American tribes.
Mehta noted that Congress put the language about funding for tribal governments in a section of the CARES Act dealing with other"governments," including states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. “The Chehalis Tribe is pleased that the court saw what was obvious to many of us. Corporations have no place taking dollars that were allocated for tribal governments, period!” said Harry Pickernell, senior chair of the Chehalis Tribe, one of the tribal governments that sued. “This ruling will ensure that tribes and tribal members will reap the intended benefits that Congress envisioned in the CARES Act. This ruling will help tribal governments to lead in the aid and recovery of their people.
Mehta also rejected the administration's argument that the court shouldn't get involved in the case at all. The judge wrote that federal courts had a role to play in resolving disputes over how agencies interpret laws passed by Congress — in this case, what exactly Congress meant by using the term"tribal government.
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