$3.29 million in federal funding heading to the Snoqualmie and Tulalip Tribes from the landmark Inflation Reduction Act Murray helped pass as Assistant Majority Leader
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced over $3.29 million in federal funding from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service for the Snoqualmie and Tulalip Tribes, to help connect them with the financial resources they need to carry out important forest management activities on Tribal lands. Specifically, the Snoqualmie Tribe will receive $1,999,964 and the Tulalip Tribes will receive $1,293,803 to help them better overcome barriers to accessing emerging private markets for forest resilience, climate mitigation, water quality, and carbon sequestration projects. The funding was made possible through the Inflation Reduction Act Senator Murray helped pass as Assistant Majority Leader, and will further the Forest Service’s Tribal Action Plan to better support Tribal sovereignty.
“I’m always working to get more support out to Tribes across Washington state to improve the quality of life for Native communities and ensure Tribes can carry out important projects, from building new housing to restoring nearby habitat,” said Senator Murray. “I’m glad to see that funding from Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act is going to the Snoqualmie and Tulalip Tribes to help them better protect local forests and ecosystems—I will always fight to make sure Washington state Tribes have a strong voice and a seat at the table when it comes to deciding how we invest federal dollars.”
The funding allocated to the Snoqualmie and Tulalip Tribes is part of a $20 million national USDA Forest Service investment to help federally recognized Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations and Villages access financial resources through emerging private markets. Recipients were selected through a competitive process administered by the Forest Service. Of the total funding, the agency is awarding $16.4 million to ten Tribal recipients. $3.6 million will be also awarded to the First Nations Development Institute to advance efforts to connect Tribes with emerging private climate markets.
Senator Murray has been a consistent advocate for Washington state Tribes in the United States Senate. As Appropriations Chair, Murray protected funding for the Indian Health Service (IHS) despite tough budget caps, and fought for a $61.4 million increase in fiscal year 2024 for IHS to meet increased patient demand. Murray secured advance appropriations for IHS for the upcoming fiscal year to provide more certainty and limit disruptions to provide continuity of care for Tribes. Murray has been a strong advocate of the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program—the largest source of federal resources for housing for Tribal communities—fighting to increase funding for IHBG every year, and securing a record $1.111 billion for the program in the government funding bill signed into law in March 2024. Recently, Senator Murray announced over $4.2 million for financial institutions serving Tribal communities across Washington state.
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