[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 15, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S5131]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BARRASSO (for himself and Mr. Crapo):
  S. 1776. A bill to enhance tribal road safety, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about legislation 
I introduced that will improve safety on roads across Indian Country. 
Roads and bridges in Indian Country are in desperate need of 
improvement.
  According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, only 17 percent of the 
roads are considered to be in acceptable condition. The remainder are 
considered to be in poor and unacceptable condition and many are simply 
unpaved. According to the National Congress of American Indians, 
``These roads are among the most underdeveloped and unsafe road 
networks in the Nation, even though they are the primary means of 
access'' throughout these tribal communities. The Centers for Disease 
Control lists motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of death for 
Native American children. Meanwhile, Indian infants, under the age of 1 
year old, are eight times more likely to die in a vehicle-related crash 
than other children.
  That is why I am introducing the Tribal Infrastructure and Roads 
Enhancement and Safety Act, or TIRES Act for short. The TIRES Act 
supports increasing the safety of roads throughout Indian Country by: 
streamlining the process to start and complete safety projects, 
increasing available funding for tribal road programs, and reinstating 
the tribal facility bridge program. This legislation will reduce the 
administrative fees that the Bureau of Indian Affairs charges tribes 
for road work and will speed up the time such projects take to get 
approved.
  The TIRES Act also commissions two important road safety studies. In 
one study, the Department of Interior, in consultation with the 
Department of Transportation and other relevant Federal agencies, will 
examine the quality of transportation safety data collected. Such a 
study can benefit tribes by finding ways to prevent future car crashes 
and recover damages caused by motorists on roads on Indian 
reservations. The second study will examine and identify ways to 
improve safety on all public roads on Indian reservations.
  The number of lives lost on roads in Indian Country is far too high. 
Something needs to be done and this bill is a good first step towards 
improving safety on the roads in tribal communities.

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