[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 59 (Wednesday, May 4, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2688-S2689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Mr. Udall of New Mexico):
  S. 885. A bill to amend the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st 
Century to reauthorize a provision relating to additional contract 
authority for States with Indian reservations; to the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today with my distinguished 
colleague Senator Udall of New Mexico to introduce the Indian School 
Bus Route Safety Reauthorization Act of 2011. This bill continues an 
important federal program begun in 1998 that addresses a unique problem 
with the roads in and around the Nation's single largest Indian 
reservation and the neighboring counties. Through this program, Navajo 
children who had been prevented from getting to school by roads that 
were often impassable are now traveling safely to and from their 
schools. Because of the unusual nature of this situation, I believe it 
must continue to be addressed at the Federal level.
  I would like to begin with some statistics on this unique problem and 
why

[[Page S2689]]

I believe a Federal solution continues to be necessary. The Navajo 
Nation is by far the nation's largest Indian Reservation, covering 
25,000 square miles. Portions of the Navajo Nation are in three states: 
Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. No other reservation comes anywhere 
close to the size of Navajo. To give you an idea of its size, the state 
of West Virginia is about 24,000 square miles. In fact, 10 states are 
smaller in size than the Navajo reservation.
  According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, about 9,700 miles of 
public roads serve the Navajo nation. Only about 1/3 of these roads are 
paved. The remaining 6,500 miles, 67 percent, are dirt roads. Every day 
school buses use nearly all of these roads to transport Navajo children 
to and from school.
  About 6,200 miles of the roads on the Navajo reservation are BIA 
roads, and about 3,300 miles are State and county roads. All public 
roads within, adjacent to, or leading to the reservation, including 
BIA, State, and county roads are considered part of the Federal Indian 
Reservation Road System. However, only BIA and tribal roads are 
eligible for Federal maintenance funding from BIA. Moreover, the 
funding for road construction from the Federal Lands Highways Program 
in SAFETEA is generally applied only to BIA or tribal roads. Thus, the 
states and counties are responsible for maintenance and improvement of 
their 2,500 miles of roads that serve the reservation.
  The counties in the three States that include the Navajo reservation 
are simply not in a position to maintain all of the roads on the 
reservation that carry children to and from school. Nearly all of the 
land area in these counties is under Federal or tribal jurisdiction.
  For example, in my State of New Mexico, \3/4\ of McKinley County is 
either tribal or federal land, including BLM, Forest Service, and 
military land. The Indian land area alone comprises 61 percent of 
McKinley County. Consequently, the county can draw upon only a very 
limited tax base as a source of revenue for maintenance purposes. Of 
the nearly 600 miles of county-maintained roads in McKinley County, 512 
miles serve Indian land.
  In San Juan County, Utah, the Navajo Nation comprises 40 percent of 
the land area. The county maintains 611 miles of roads on the Navajo 
Nation. Of these, 357 miles are dirt, 164 miles are gravel and only 90 
miles are paved. On the reservation, the county has three high schools, 
two elementary schools, two BIA boarding schools and four pre-schools.
  The situation is similar in neighboring San Juan County, New Mexico, 
and Apache, Navajo, and Coconino Counties, Arizona. In light of the 
counties' limited resources, I do believe the Federal Government is 
asking the States and counties to bear too large a burden for road 
maintenance in this unique situation.
  Families living in and around the reservation are no different from 
families anywhere else; their children are entitled to the same 
opportunity to get to school safely and to get a good education. 
However, the many miles of unpaved and deficient roads on the 
reservation are frequently impassable, especially when they are wet, 
muddy or snowy. If the school buses don't get through, the kids simply 
cannot get to school.
  These children are literally being left behind.
  Because of the vast size of the Navajo reservation, the cost of 
maintaining the county roads used by the school buses is more than the 
counties can bear without Federal assistance. I believe it is essential 
that the Federal Government help these counties deal with this one-of-
a-kind situation.
  In response to this unique situation, in 1998 Congress began 
providing direct annual funding to the counties that contain the Navajo 
reservation to help ensure that children on the reservation can get to 
and from their public schools. In 2005, the program was reauthorized in 
SAFETEA through 2009, and now extended through 2011.
  Under this program, $1.8 million is made available each year to be 
shared equally among the three states. The funding is provided directly 
to the counties in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah that contain the 
Navajo reservation. I want to be very clear: these Federal funds can be 
used only on roads that are located within or that lead to the 
reservation, that are on the State or county maintenance system, and 
that are used by school buses.
  This program has been very successful. For 14 years, the counties 
have used the annual funding to help maintain the routes used by school 
buses to carry children to school and to Headstart programs. I have had 
an opportunity to see firsthand the importance of this funding when I 
rode in a school bus over some of the roads that are maintained using 
funds from this program.
  The bill we are introducing today provides a simple 6 year 
reauthorization of that program, for fiscal years 2012 through 2017, 
with a modest increase in the annual funding to allow for inflation and 
for additional roads to be maintained in each of the three states.
  I believe that continuing this program for 6 more years is fully 
justified because of the vast area of the Navajo reservation, by far 
the nation's largest, and the unique nature of this need that only the 
Federal Government can deal with effectively.
  I don't believe any child wanting to get to and from school should 
have to risk or tolerate unsafe roads. Kids today, particularly in 
rural and remote areas, face enough hurdles to getting a good 
education. I ask my colleagues to join me again this year in assuring 
that Navajo schoolchildren at least have a chance to get to school 
safely and get an education.
  I look forward to working with Chairman Boxer and Ranking Member 
Inhofe of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Chairman 
Baucus and Ranking Member Vitter of the Transportation and 
Infrastructure Subcommittee, to incorporate this legislation once again 
into the next comprehensive 6 year reauthorization of surface 
transportation programs.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 885

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Indian School Bus Route 
     Safety Reauthorization Act of 2011''.

     SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL CONTRACT AUTHORITY FOR 
                   STATES WITH INDIAN RESERVATIONS.

       Section 1214(d)(5)(A) of the Transportation Equity Act for 
     the 21st Century (23 U.S.C. 202 note; 112 Stat. 206; 119 
     Stat. 1460) is amended by striking ``$1,800,000 for each of 
     fiscal years 2005 through 2009'' and inserting ``$2,000,000 
     for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2017''.
                                 ______