the federal government still has work to do to fully meet its obligations to Native people.
Work to fully meet federal obligations to Native people.
Occurrences
I work closely with tribal leaders and Native communities to ensure adequate funding for the Indian Health Service, Indian Education, Indian School Construction, and Native American Housing Block Grants.
Evidence
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The federal government has a unique treaty and trust relationship with our 573 sovereign tribal nations. As part of this relationship, the federal government has the responsibility to provide health, education and law enforcement, among other services, for American Indians and Native Alaskans. While significant progress has been made, the federal government still has work to do to fully meet its obligations to Native people. Congresswoman Betty McCollum serves as Co-Chair Emeritus of the bipartisan Congressional Native American Caucus and as Chair of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, and says she works closely with tribal leaders and Native communities to ensure adequate funding for the Indian Health Service, Indian Education, Indian School Construction, and Native American Housing Block Grants.
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McCollum and bipartisan colleagues reintroduced the Indian Programs Advance Appropriations Act to authorize advance appropriations in order to avoid lapses in funding for the Indian Health Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Bureau of Indian Education. McCollum said the federal government has a responsibility to honor our trust and treaty commitments to Indian Country. The bill is described as funding critical public services for Tribal Nations, including hospitals, schools, law enforcement, and child welfare programs.
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McCollum said Democrats secured big wins in the FY2026 appropriations law and that the legislation protects funding for Democratic priorities and rejects partisan cuts. The statement credits the enacted spending package with restoring or protecting domestic programs and reasserting Congress's power of the purse, which is the mechanism she uses to fund Native-serving programs.
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McCollum announced she secured $16,089,000 in federal funding for 13 community projects in Minnesota's Fourth Congressional District through FY2026 appropriations bills that had passed both chambers and were expected to become law. The press release frames this as another example of delivering federal investment through the appropriations process.
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GovInfo text shows H.R. 5328 was introduced in the House by Ms. McCollum on September 11, 2025, and referred to the Committees on Natural Resources, Energy and Commerce, Education and Workforce, and Budget. The bill would authorize advance appropriations for Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, and Indian Health Service accounts, beginning with fiscal year 2026, and require annual reports on resource sufficiency in consultation with tribes.
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The CRS overview says the House Appropriations Committee reported H.R. 9171 for FY2027 Interior appropriations and lists House committee-reported funding of $4.867747 billion for Indian Affairs, including $3.211709 billion for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and $1.547961 billion for the Bureau of Indian Education, plus $9.445812 billion for the Indian Health Service. It also says House- and Senate-passed FY2027 continuing appropriations measures would generally continue FY2026 Interior funding with specified exceptions including Indian Health Service.
Assessments
McCollum has materially worked on the promise in federal office through Native-focused appropriations work, public advocacy, caucus leadership, and sponsorship of the Indian Programs Advance Appropriations Act to stabilize IHS, BIA, and BIE funding. The record supports meaningful same-term effort and some funding progress, but it does not show that the federal government fully met its treaty and trust obligations to Native people; her own issue framing describes the obligation as ongoing. Because the promised outcome remains only partly advanced rather than completed, partial credit is appropriate.
The promise is broad and aspirational: to work toward fully meeting federal obligations to Native people. The evidence shows McCollum has actively pursued that goal in office through her appropriations role, work with tribal leaders, support for Indian Health Service, Indian education, school construction, and housing funding, and by reintroducing the Indian Programs Advance Appropriations Act. Those are meaningful actions and constitute serious effort. However, the record provided also explicitly says the federal government still has work to do to fully meet its obligations, and there is no evidence that the full promised outcome was achieved. Because she demonstrably worked on the issue and secured or protected some relevant funding mechanisms, but did not fully deliver the end state, the best judgment is partial fulfillment during the same term.