[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 355 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 355

   Recognizing the critical importance of access to reliable, clean 
drinking water for Native Americans and affirming the responsibility of 
          the Federal Government to ensure such water access.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 21, 2023

   Mr. Bennet (for himself, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Wyden, Ms. 
Warren, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mrs. Murray, Mr. 
 Booker, Mr. Tester, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Lujan, Mr. King, Mr. Heinrich, and 
Ms. Cantwell) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Indian Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Recognizing the critical importance of access to reliable, clean 
drinking water for Native Americans and affirming the responsibility of 
          the Federal Government to ensure such water access.

Whereas access to reliable, clean drinking water is an essential human need that 
        is critical to the public health, well-being, educational attainment, 
        and economic development of all communities in the United States;
Whereas many countries, along with the United Nations, have recognized the 
        urgency of water access by passing laws or resolutions relating to the 
        human right to water, including recognition of this right among 
        indigenous peoples and establishing aggressive targets for achieving 
        universal access to this basic right;
Whereas, in the United States, access to reliable, clean drinking water has long 
        been a significant problem in many Native communities, such that nearly 
        \1/2\ of all Native households in the continental United States still do 
        not have access to reliable water sources or clean drinking water, and 
        Native households are significantly more likely than White households to 
        lack indoor plumbing;
Whereas reliable, clean drinking water may be unavailable to Native households 
        for many reasons, including because--

    (1) there is no piped water system connecting to the house;

    (2) the water available to the household does not meet minimum 
protective standards;

    (3) the water infrastructure is deteriorating or insufficient; or

    (4) Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Villages, and Native Hawaiian 
communities are unable to support the operation and maintenance needs of 
existing water infrastructure;

Whereas many Native communities have significant unresolved claims for federally 
        reserved water rights, many of which have been unresolved for decades 
        and which may not be resolved for many years to come, due in part to the 
        complex and significant issues typically involved in water rights 
        adjudication and settlements;
Whereas the development of water infrastructure on Federal Indian reservations, 
        in particular, has frequently been conditioned on the settlement of 
        Tribal reserved water rights and has been prevented or delayed by--

    (1) continuing uncertainty over the status of Tribal water rights;

    (2) the years-long process of Tribal water rights settlements; or

    (3) conflict over the quantification of Tribal reserved water rights in 
State water rights adjudications;

Whereas the quantity of water that would be required to supply reliable, clean 
        drinking water to provide for the basic needs of each Native community 
        is typically only a small fraction of the total quantity water allocated 
        to the Native community;
Whereas the trust responsibility of the Federal Government to Indian Tribes, 
        Alaska Native Villages, and Native Hawaiian communities requires the 
        Federal Government to ensure the survival and welfare of Native 
        Americans, and the failure to provide basic water service cannot be 
        reconciled with this trust responsibility;
Whereas the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
        5301 et seq.) affirmed the trust responsibility of the Federal 
        Government to support Tribal self-governance and self-determination, and 
        these goals cannot be fully realized without addressing inequities, 
        including ensuring access to reliable, clean drinking water for every 
        Tribal community;
Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic provided a stark reminder that access to reliable, 
        clean drinking water to support basic hygiene is a matter of life or 
        death for all individuals of the United States and Native communities 
        suffer disproportionate impacts during epidemics and disasters due to a 
        multitude of factors, including--

    (1) persistent economic disadvantages on Federal Indian reservations, 
in Alaska Native Villages, and in Native Hawaiian communities;

    (2) lack of on-reservation affordable and safe housing; and

    (3) lack of public health infrastructure, including access to running 
water;

Whereas, on January 27, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14008 (86 
        Fed. Reg. 7619; relating to tackling the climate crisis), which provides 
        that it is the policy of the Biden Administration to secure 
        environmental justice and spur economic opportunity for disadvantaged 
        communities that have been historically marginalized and overburdened by 
        pollution and underinvestment in housing, transportation, water and 
        wastewater infrastructure, and health care;
Whereas, through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public 
        Law 117-58; 135 Stat. 429) (referred to in this preamble as ``IIJA'') 
        and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-169; 136 Stat. 
        1818) (referred to in this preamble as ``IRA''), Congress has provided 
        funding for the Indian Health Service, the Environmental Protection 
        Agency, and the Bureau of Reclamation to support the construction and 
        repair of Tribal clean water infrastructure, but inadequate resources 
        are available to Tribes to assist them with accessing these construction 
        and repair funding programs, and to support Tribal operation and 
        maintenance of water infrastructure, which is necessary to successfully 
        implement the historic investment in clean water infrastructure;
Whereas many Native communities need technical assistance to ensure that the 
        Native communities can--

    (1) access and take advantage of the new construction funding made 
available through the IIJA and IRA;

    (2) develop the managerial, financial, and regulatory framework 
necessary for a fully functional and self-sustaining utility; and

    (3) engage appropriate outside support to assist, as needed;

Whereas advances in water technology, including treatment, sensors, and 
        innovative pipeline materials, can assist in--

    (1) accelerating efforts to provide universal access to reliable, 
clean, and drinkable water for all Native communities; and

    (2) enhancing resilience in the face of climate change;

Whereas it is in the interest of the United States, and it is the policy of the 
        United States, that all existing Native communities be provided with 
        safe and adequate water supply systems as soon as practicable; and
Whereas appropriate funding at the level of unmet need and a ``whole-of-
        government'' approach among all Federal agencies are both essential to 
        provide a meaningful solution to the lack of access to clean water in 
        Native communities: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) it is the sense of the Senate that--
                    (A) access to reliable, clean drinking water is an 
                essential human need, and such access on Federal Indian 
                reservations, Alaska Native villages, and in Native 
                Hawaiian communities is--
                            (i) critical to the health, well-being, and 
                        economic development of the individuals living 
                        on those lands and in those communities; and
                            (ii) integral to maintaining the public 
                        health of the people of the United States;
                    (B) settlement or adjudication of Tribal claims of 
                reserved water rights is not and should not be a 
                prerequisite to the provision of this basic human 
                service to households located in Native communities, 
                nor should the provision of basic human services be 
                used to leverage the resolution of Tribal reserved 
                water rights and claims;
                    (C) the provision of reliable, clean drinking water 
                to support the domestic requirements of Indian Tribes, 
                Alaska Native Villages, and Native Hawaiian communities 
                is an essential component of the Federal trust 
                responsibility to Native Americans and critical to 
                supporting permanent homelands;
                    (D) while funding for safe drinking water systems 
                for Native communities received a significant and 
                groundbreaking boost from the Infrastructure Investment 
                and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58; 135 Stat. 429) 
                (referred to in this resolution as ``IIJA'') and the 
                Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-169; 
                136 Stat. 1818) (referred to in this resolution as 
                ``IRA''), the funding made available for construction 
                and repair of domestic water systems in Native 
                communities is not a complete solution;
                    (E) technical assistance is urgently needed to 
                allow Native communities to plan and design the systems 
                necessary to remedy the longstanding problem of lack of 
                access to clean drinking water and bring those plans to 
                the ``shovel ready'' stage where Native communities can 
                take advantage of available construction funding;
                    (F) Native communities need support to develop the 
                managerial, financial, and regulatory capacity 
                necessary for a fully functional and self-sustaining 
                utility and to support the operation and maintenance of 
                water systems; and
                    (G) further measures are necessary to ensure that 
                the benefits of the historic investments made by the 
                IIJA and IRA in infrastructure are fully realized; and
            (2) the Senate--
                    (A) calls upon the Federal executive branch to--
                            (i) work in collaboration with the relevant 
                        Native governmental entities and State and 
                        local jurisdictions to expedite the planning, 
                        design, development, and operation of the 
                        infrastructure necessary to provide reliable, 
                        clean drinking water on Federal Indian 
                        reservations, in Alaska Native Villages, and in 
                        Native Hawaiian communities; and
                            (ii) inform Congress of further 
                        authorizations and expenditures that may be 
                        necessary to meet the objective described in 
                        clause (i);
                    (B) calls upon the Federal executive branch to--
                            (i) employ a ``whole-of-government'' 
                        approach to ensure the provision of reliable, 
                        clean drinking water to households on Federal 
                        Indian reservations, in Alaska Native villages, 
                        and in Native Hawaiian communities;
                            (ii) create an interagency task force 
                        consisting of high-level representatives from 
                        departments and agencies with authority to 
                        provide water infrastructure that will work to 
                        remove barriers, optimize funding, and make 
                        immediate and tangible progress on meeting the 
                        objective described in clause (i); and
                            (iii) report annually to Congress on the 
                        progress toward the objective described in 
                        clause (i); and
                    (C) calls upon the Federal executive branch, State 
                governments, and affected water agencies to--
                            (i) affirmatively support de-coupling the 
                        planning, design, development, and operation of 
                        water infrastructure from the settlement or 
                        adjudication of Tribal reserved water rights; 
                        and
                            (ii) support the development of water 
                        infrastructure necessary to provide reliable, 
                        clean drinking water in Native communities 
                        independent of settlements or adjudications of 
                        Tribal reserved water rights.
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