WASHINGTON, D.C.– Speaking to a summit of American Indian leaders,Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today highlighted more than $2 billion in President Obama’s economic recovery package to create jobs and economic opportunity in Indian Country.
“The challenges we face as a nation are not new to Indian Country,” Salazar told a Tribal Nations Legislative Summit of the National Congress of American Indians. “But President Obama’s recovery package will provide significant investments in Indian Country which can play an important role in helping to stand-up tribal economies.”
Recovery funds to be distributed through the Department of the Interior include $450 million to fix and build roads, repair and construct schools, strengthen detention centers in Indian Country; and another $50 million for housing improvements, workforce training programs, and economic development loans.
Other non-Interior funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for Indian Country includes $510 million in Native American Housing Block Grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development; $310 million for roads, through the Federal Highway Administration; and $500 million for health information technology and facility construction and health services from the Department of Health and Human Services. Additional stimulus funding is included under the Department of Justice and other federal agencies.
For Immediate Release: March 4, 2009
