Post by blackcrowheart on Oct 19, 2005 11:55:22 GMT -5
GORDON SMITH'S INDIAN AFFAIRS UPDATE
October 17, 2005
SMITH, McCAIN TO HOST TRIBAL SUMMIT IN OREGON – Next week, Senator
Smith will host Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs, for a summit with Oregon’s tribal leaders. The meeting
will address issues of concern to Oregon’s tribes and tribal
organization, as well as Senator McCain’s agenda for the Indian Affairs
Committee, of which Senator Smith is a member.
TRIBAL PENSION PLANS -- Both the Senate Finance and Senate Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions Committees have approved a Smith-sponsored
and pro-sovereignty initiative to ensure that tribal pension plans fall
under government regulations. The Governmental Pension Plan Equalization
Act of 2005, introduced by Senator Smith earlier this year, was included
by both Committees as part of a larger pension package. The bill
clarifies that retirement plans sponsored by tribal governments will be
afforded the same treatment as those sponsored by federal, state and
local governments. In the past, the IRS frequently provided
determination letters that explicitly recognized retirement plans
sponsored by tribal governments as governmental plans. However, in
January 2004, the IRS indicated that it will no longer provide these
determinations and rulings. This uncertainty places tribes in a
difficult position, wanting to offer retirement benefits to their
employees while cautious of moving forward without clear guidance from
Congress about the status of their pension plans.
NATIVE AMERICAN SMALL BUSINESS -- Senator Smith has joined Senator Tim
Johnson (D-SD) in introducing the Native American Small Business
Development Act. The bill would advance entrepreneurship in Indian
country by creating a statutory Office of Native American Affairs within
the Small Business Administration and three business-development grant
programs. Its programs would be authorized at a total of $7 million per
year. Specifically, the bill establishes three small business
assistance programs to provide entrepreneurial development opportunities
for Native Americans. It also creates two pilot programs: 1) for
culturally tailored business development training and 2) a four-year
pilot program for American Indian Tribal Assistance Centers to provide
assistance to prospective and current owners of small business concerns
located on or near tribal lands.
KEIZER DEVELOPMENT -- The Grand Ronde and Siletz Tribes have entered
into an economic partnership for the development of former BIA property
near the Keizer exit off of I-5. Technical requirements of the land
transfer from BIA may hinder the development, and Senator Smith plans on
introducing legislation in the near future to allow the development to
move forward unimpeded.
October 17, 2005
SMITH, McCAIN TO HOST TRIBAL SUMMIT IN OREGON – Next week, Senator
Smith will host Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs, for a summit with Oregon’s tribal leaders. The meeting
will address issues of concern to Oregon’s tribes and tribal
organization, as well as Senator McCain’s agenda for the Indian Affairs
Committee, of which Senator Smith is a member.
TRIBAL PENSION PLANS -- Both the Senate Finance and Senate Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions Committees have approved a Smith-sponsored
and pro-sovereignty initiative to ensure that tribal pension plans fall
under government regulations. The Governmental Pension Plan Equalization
Act of 2005, introduced by Senator Smith earlier this year, was included
by both Committees as part of a larger pension package. The bill
clarifies that retirement plans sponsored by tribal governments will be
afforded the same treatment as those sponsored by federal, state and
local governments. In the past, the IRS frequently provided
determination letters that explicitly recognized retirement plans
sponsored by tribal governments as governmental plans. However, in
January 2004, the IRS indicated that it will no longer provide these
determinations and rulings. This uncertainty places tribes in a
difficult position, wanting to offer retirement benefits to their
employees while cautious of moving forward without clear guidance from
Congress about the status of their pension plans.
NATIVE AMERICAN SMALL BUSINESS -- Senator Smith has joined Senator Tim
Johnson (D-SD) in introducing the Native American Small Business
Development Act. The bill would advance entrepreneurship in Indian
country by creating a statutory Office of Native American Affairs within
the Small Business Administration and three business-development grant
programs. Its programs would be authorized at a total of $7 million per
year. Specifically, the bill establishes three small business
assistance programs to provide entrepreneurial development opportunities
for Native Americans. It also creates two pilot programs: 1) for
culturally tailored business development training and 2) a four-year
pilot program for American Indian Tribal Assistance Centers to provide
assistance to prospective and current owners of small business concerns
located on or near tribal lands.
KEIZER DEVELOPMENT -- The Grand Ronde and Siletz Tribes have entered
into an economic partnership for the development of former BIA property
near the Keizer exit off of I-5. Technical requirements of the land
transfer from BIA may hinder the development, and Senator Smith plans on
introducing legislation in the near future to allow the development to
move forward unimpeded.