September 12, 2017
The Honorable Rob Bishop The Honorable Raúl Grijalva
Chairman Ranking Member
Committee on Natural Resources Committee on Natural Resources
U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Bishop and Ranking Member Grijalva:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly supports H.R. 210, the “Native American
Energy Act,” which is being marked up by your committee today.
As identified in the GAO annual High Risk Report, the GAO has issued three reports on
developing Indian energy resources in the past two years, making more than a dozen
recommendations to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. To date, all those recommendations remain
unaddressed.1
H.R. 210 would be an important step in furthering efforts by Congress to encourage
economic development throughout Indian Country. Not only does H.R. 210 address many of the
concerns raised in the Report, but it also includes provisions that would foster tribal sovereignty,
a sure path to economic growth. Additionally, this bill would make further headway towards
American energy independence while also providing much needed employment in tribal
communities and hard-stricken regions of the country.
The Chamber strongly supports H.R. 210 and urges the Committee to favorably report
this bill.
Sincerely,
Neil L. Bradley
cc: Members of the Committee on Natural Resources
1 http://www.gao.gov/highrisk/improving_federal_management_serve_tribes/wh...
