[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 33 (Friday, March 14, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2331-S2332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         AMERICAN INDIAN TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1997

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I want to express my strong support for 
the American Indian Transportation Improvement Act introduced by 
Senator Domenici. I am an original cosponsor of this bill because I 
feel strongly that the BIA and other Federal agencies must prioritize 
programs which develop infrastructure on reservations, and that the 
Congress must match those commitments with adequate funding. I know 
first hand the desperate need for road improvement and repair on South 
Dakota's Indian reservations, and I believe increased funding for road 
infrastructure must be a national priority.
  There are nine federally recognized tribes in South Dakota, whose 
members collectively make up one of the largest Native American 
populations in any State. At the same time, South Dakota has 3 of the 
10 poorest counties in the Nation, all of which are within reservation 
boundaries. Unemployment on these extremely rural reservations averages 
above 50 percent. Yet economic depression on rural Indian reservations 
is not unique to my State. I strongly believe that road infrastructure 
is an integral and most basic component to economic development for 
Indian and non-Indian communities alike.
  Senator Domenici's initiative increases funding for reservation roads 
through the existing Indian Reservation Roads [IRR] Program. This 
program returns a portion of the gasoline tax, paid by every Indian who 
buys gasoline, to Indian tribes for the design and construction of BIA 
roads. This bill also expands opportunities under the IRR Program and 
related ISTEA programs to improve the transportation system on our 
Nation's Indian reservations, including bridge construction, transit 
systems, highway enhancements, scenic byways, and Indian technical 
centers.
  In South Dakota, BIA proposed funding for 1997 is 24 percent lower 
than 1996. Yet abysmal road conditions continue to worsen. There are 
nearly 8,000 miles of roads in my State, 1,156 miles of which are on 
reservations. Of these roads, 80 percent are in need of complete 
replacement. Another 10 percent

[[Page S2332]]

are in need of significant repair. Only 10 percent of all the roads on 
South Dakota reservations are rated in good condition. Road statistics 
like these are repeated in state after state, and I believe immediate 
action must be taken.
  I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill for a 
number of reasons, the most serious of which is health and safety. From 
1992 to 1996, the death rate on South Dakota reservation roads was 
three times as high as the rate on non-reservation roads. Children who 
ride buses to school are put at great risk as these buses travel over 
dilapidated road infrastructure, while ambulances and other emergency 
vehicles have to be routed around otherwise direct routes to and from 
emergency situations because of road conditions. The extra moments, 
even hours added to these emergency runs put human life in jeopardy. No 
community in this country should be forced to travel on roads as 
damaged and dangerous as those on reservations in my State.
  Mr. President, I am extremely pleased that my colleague has 
recognized the national need to improve roads in Indian country. 
Senator Domenici has developed this legislation in close consultation 
with Indian leaders, and I am hopeful that the Senate will move the 
American Indian Transportation Improvement Act forward as quickly as 
possible.

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