[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 56 (Thursday, March 25, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1834-S1835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 141--RECOGNIZING THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF ACCESS TO 
RELIABLE, CLEAN DRINKING WATER FOR NATIVE AMERICANS AND ALASKA NATIVES 
 AND CONFIRMING THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO ENSURE 
                           SUCH WATER ACCESS

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

                              S. Res. 141

       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 regarding the human right to water, including 
     recognition of these needs among indigenous peoples and 
     establishing aggressive targets for achieving universal 
     access to this basic service;
       Whereas access to reliable, clean drinking water has long 
     been a significant problem in many Tribal communities and in 
     many Alaska Native Villages, such that nearly half of all 
     Native American households still do not have access to 
     reliable water sources, clean drinking water, and are 
     significantly more likely than White households to lack 
     indoor plumbing;
       Whereas reliable, clean drinking water may be unavailable 
     to these households for a number of 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 face challenges in supporting the 
     operation and maintenance needs of existing water 
     infrastructure;
       Whereas Federal programs administered through the Indian 
     Health Service of the Department of Health and Human 
     Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department 
     of Agriculture, and other Federal and State agencies have 
     been unsuccessful in developing the infrastructure necessary 
     to provide reliable, clean drinking water for some Tribal 
     communities;
       Whereas many Indian Tribes 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 in Tribal 
     communities has frequently been conditioned on the settlement 
     of such Tribal reserved water rights, and has been prevented 
     or delayed by continuing uncertainty over the status of 
     Tribal water rights, by the years-long process of Tribal 
     water rights settlements, or by continued 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 the

[[Page S1835]]

     residents of Tribal communities and in Alaska Native Villages 
     are typically only a small fraction of the total quantity of 
     Tribal reserved water rights;
       Whereas the trust responsibility of the Federal Government 
     to Tribal nations requires the Federal Government to ensure 
     the survival and welfare of Indian Tribes and people, 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 such 
     as ensuring access to reliable, clean drinking water for 
     every Tribal community;
       Whereas the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a 
     disproportionate impact on Native American people due to 
     factors including persistent economic disadvantages in Tribal 
     communities and in Alaska Native Villages, racial inequity, 
     lack of access to adequate health care, and lack of public 
     health infrastructure, including access to running water; and
       Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has provided a stark reminder 
     that access to reliable, clean drinking water to support 
     basic hygiene is a matter of life or death for all citizens 
     of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (A) access to reliable, clean drinking water in Tribal 
     communities and in Alaska Native Villages is an essential 
     human need, is critical to the health, well-being, and 
     economic development of people living on such communities and 
     in such villages, and is integral to maintaining the public 
     health of the entire 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 Tribal communities and in Alaska Native Villages, nor 
     should the provision of such basic human services be used to 
     leverage the resolution of Tribal reserved water rights and 
     claims; and
       (C) the provision of reliable, clean drinking water to 
     support the domestic requirements of Tribal members and 
     Tribal communities is an essential component of the Federal 
     trust responsibility to Indian Tribes; and
       (2) the Senate--
       (A) calls upon the Federal Executive Branch to work in 
     collaboration with Tribal governments and with any relevant 
     State and local jurisdictions to expedite the planning, 
     design, development, and operation of the infrastructure 
     necessary to provide reliable, clean drinking water in Tribal 
     communities and in Alaska Native Villages, and to inform 
     Congress of further authorizations and expenditures that may 
     be necessary to meet this objective;
       (B) calls upon the Federal Executive Branch to employ a 
     ``whole of government'' approach to ensure the provision of 
     reliable, clean drinking water to households in Tribal 
     communities and in Alaska Native Villages and to 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 this objective and report annually to 
     Congress on such progress; and
       (C) calls upon the Federal Executive Branch, State 
     governments, and affected water agencies to affirmatively 
     support de-coupling the planning, design, development, and 
     operation of such infrastructure from the settlement or 
     adjudication of Tribal reserved water rights, and to support 
     the development of that infrastructure necessary to provide 
     reliable, clean drinking water in Tribal communities 
     independent of such settlements or adjudications.

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