Testimony of:

Chester Carl

Chairman

National American Indian Housing Council

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs

Hearing on the President's Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 1999

February 25, 1998

Ya Ta Hey. Chairman Nighthorse Campbell, Vice Chairman Inouye, and distinguished members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. I am honored that you have asked me to speak today to address the concerns of the National American Indian Housing Council and Indian Country with regard to housing funding under the President's fiscal 1999 budget proposal.

As Executive Director of the Navajo Nation's Housing Authority, I am faced daily with the challenges of providing housing to Indian families. As the new Chairman of the National American Indian Housing Council I am furthered challenged by trying to represent the diverse interests of more than 550 tribes and tribal housing organizations, each of whom has unique needs and challenges to house their people.

I had hoped that I would come before you today to talk about the new opportunities afforded Indian Country as a result of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA) and to use that information to make recommendations for what assistance is required. Unfortunately, that is not possible.

Throughout the last year, tribal leaders and housing officials have worked with HUD to draft regulations under a negotiated rule making requirement Congress placed in NAHASDA. This process produced a regulation that HUD agreed to last fall. Unfortunately, despite the fact that six months have passed since you - the Congress mandated that the new program should be operating, no regulations have been published and no money has been provided to tribes.

This delay makes discussions about budget levels almost academic. Without a mechanism to spend the money, HUD's failure to publish regulations is tantamount to impoundment of federal funds. This is unacceptable and must be changed. We appreciate the efforts of many committee members, in particular Chairman Campbell and Vice Chairman Inouye, who together sent a letter to OMB Director Franklin Raines urging quick action. We still await that action.

Still, there is enough information to comment on the proposal put forth by the President. As we stated in our written testimony to the Committee last year, we believe that in order to begin to address the needs of Indian housing, the NAHASDA block grant should be funded at $850 million. The president's proposal includes only $600 million the same as last year. Therefore, not only is the funding insufficient, it in fact represents a decrease from last year's funding.

As every family in America knows, each year the cost of living rises. Buying food, paying for gas, providing housing for yourself and your children - these get more expensive every year. Likewise, the costs that tribes must pay to build new homes for needy families and the cost to repair existing structures continue to increase. As long as funding levels are "frozen," as the President's budget "freezes" the Indian housing block grant at $600 million, the amount of assistance we can provide goes down. Every year we can afford to build fewer houses, to shelter fewer families.

In order to effectively discuss American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN) housing, we must understand the particular factors effecting Indian housing. First, tremendous diversity exists in housing conditions for AIANS, even among Tribal Areas. Second, a unique responsibility exists on the part of the federal government to communicate with tribes on a sovereign-to-sovereign basis, and to uphold its trust responsibility to Native Americans.

The Need for Indian Housing Assistance:

Mr. Chairman, the housing challenges facing Indian Country are greater than in any other community in the United States.

The housing problems of American Indians and Alaskan Natives are considerably more severe than those of non-Indians in all parts of the nation. These needs are particularly significant in Tribal Areas. U.S. Census data reports that 28% of AIAN households in these areas are overcrowded or lack plumbing and kitchen facilities, compared to 5.4% for all U.S. households. A recent study by the Urban Institute estimates that when deficiencies such as those in structural condition and heating/electrical systems are added in, the total percentage of AIANs living in inadequate housing in Tribal Areas may be 40%, compared to 5.9% nationally. In addition, there are many AIAN families on waiting lists for housing that has not yet been funded, let alone built. Those low-income families who do have homes often experience afford ability problems.

In a telephone survey, Indian housing directors themselves estimated that although publicly assisted units were generally in better shape than unassisted units (72% said that this was the case), on average, 49% of these assisted units were in need of repair. The residents themselves identified some of the housing problems they experienced, including inadequate insulation against the cold (26%), water source and system (17%), and unit size (16%).

Two regions have particularly significant shares of Tribal Area households with housing problems: Alaska, with 71%, and Arizona-New Mexico, with 68%. The next highest regions are the Plains (47%) and the South Central (42%). Oklahoma, which has the lowest percentage of deficient or overcrowded homes in Tribal Areas (29%), has more housing afford ability problems than other regions. 32% of homes in Oklahoma have rent or mortgage payments that exceed 30% of residents'/tenants' incomes, according to the Urban Institute.

When we consider factors such as these individually, the disparity between the housing conditions most Americans enjoy and those of many first Americans becomes even more apparent:

OVERCROWDING: The overcrowding rate for AIAN households exceeds the national average everywhere, whether in urban communities, Tribal Areas, or surrounding counties. In Tribal Areas, in particular, 21 % of AIAN homes are overcrowded, compared to a 2.7% national average for all Americans (Urban Institute, 1996).


INADEQUATE PLUMBING: The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) reports that in 1990, 16.5% of Native American households in Tribal Areas were without complete plumbing. In comparison, only 1.3% of white rural residents --- and a mere 0.3% of white urban residents --- lacked plumbing.

AGING HOUSING STOCK: Existing homes in Tribal Areas are, on average, older than homes in surrounding areas. 27% of AIAN families in Tribal Areas live in homes built before 1950, compared to 16.5% of non-AIAN families in counties surrounding tribal communities. All homes require modernization and upkeep, but for older homes, these needs are particularly great.
WAITING LISTS FOR HOUSING: In 1996, it was estimated that waiting lists for Rental and Mutual Help units remain enormous; in fact, the number of households on waiting lists averages about half of the total number of existing assisted Indian housing units. Approximately 67,000 low-income AIAN households have shelter in these units --- this means that the waiting list stands at well over 30,000 families. From 1990 to 1994, only 1,700 units were built per year. At this rate, it will be almost twenty years before many American Indian and Alaskan Native families enjoy decent, safe, and sanitary housing --- or, indeed, any housing of their own at all.
AFFORDABILITY PROBLEMS: Despite the fact that assisted housing has made a positive impact on meeting housing needs in Indian Country, affordability remains a problem, particularly for very low income American Indians and Alaskan Natives in tribal areas. HAC notes that 82% of renters earning less than $10,000 in these areas paid too much for their housing, and "the vast majority of them paid more than 35% of their income for housing" (1994). In order to understand the significance of this statistic, it is important to keep in mind that paying 35% of a $10,000 income for housing is much more debilitating than it would be on an income that had some leeway for luxuries.

As noted earlier, housing problems for low-income AIAN residents of Tribal Areas are compounded. Indicators such as poverty rates demonstrate that lack of personal capital is a serious problem in Indian Country --- and this, of course, makes it difficult for residents to find shelter and provide for other basic necessities. Although median incomes are generally low in Tribal Areas, however, more residents of publicly assisted Indian housing are employed than is the case for other public housing residents.

• LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS: Among low-income AIAN households in Tribal Areas, one-third are either overcrowded or have facility deficiencies. This share is 19% in surrounding counties and 13% in other metropolitan and non-metropolitan households.



• POVERTY RATES: Poverty rates for Native Americans nationwide and in rural areas were the highest of any racial/ethnic group according to the U.S. Census. This rate for rural Native Americans was 37%, more than three times the rate for rural white persons. 47% of AIANs in Tribal Areas make less than $15,000 annually (Urban Institute, 1996).



• THE WORKING POOR: Although unemployment rates in Tribal Areas are generally high, those who currently inhabit Indian housing units are more likely to be wage earners than is the case for residents of other public housing. 71% of Mutual Help occupants in Tribal Areas are wage earners. In addition, the share of wage earners in the Indian Rental program is much higher than that for public housing.




Tribal Areas vary widely --- from the Kipnuk village in Alaska, where residents are still waiting for plumbing, and harsh weather conditions buckle floors and crack foundations, to the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska, where a new store provides new jobs, but per capita income is $4,908. The Navajo Nation, like many other reservation communities, has made great strides in housing its people --- median family income, however, remains $11,672 and housing needs still far exceed residents' ability to pay, as well as current assistance levels.



Although HUD housing assistance is currently provided to approximately 42% of low income families in Tribal Areas, 58% remain unserved, and needs for upkeep, maintenance, and rehabilitation --- as well as development of new homes --- persist. Significant progress has been made toward meeting housing goals, and even more successes are imminent now that NAHASDA allows programs to be tailored to meet local needs. Fulfilling the great promise of NAHASDA, however, requires funding.



In addition we are concerned with the environmental assessment process required by this law. Under NAHASDA, funds cannot be released until an Environmental Survey has been completed. This responsibility falls on the tribes and tribal housing organizations, because of the lack of funds and inadequate HUD staff. This will lead to detrimental delays in new housing construction. An unreasonable burden has been placed on the Indian nations by the insistence on compliance with federal laws without adequate funding. Either a waiver of applicable regulations or an amendment of relevant laws is needed if Congress is unwilling to fund HUD to complete its statutory duty. Failure to provide this relief would delay Indian housing projects across the nation.



Lead Poisoning of Indian Children



I wish to bring to the attention of the committee a problem that is of great concern to the Council.



The effects of exposure to lead-based paint on young children are well known and documented. -The cruelest result is mental retardation of young boys and girls, a condition that is especially unfortunate when it is preventable, as is the case with lead-based paint.



The Congress has recognized on several occasions the need to address the lead paint health hazard. Federal regulations require Indian tribes to have lead-based paint programs in place by August 31, 1998.(1) The objective is to ensure the inspection, assessment and remediation of lead-based paints in housing built prior to 1978 and public spaces, such as schools and day-care centers that might expose children to lead paint. If the tribes do not have programs in place by this date, the Environmental Protection Agency is required to impose, administer and enforce programs of their choosing. Worse yet, this would require resources that EPA does not have.



As of this date, no tribe has a program in place. In fact, only a handful of tribes at best are expected to have a program in place by this August. While considerable funding has been made available to States and non-Indian communities by EPA and other agencies, relatively little funds are available to Indian tribes to support their efforts - we estimate that no more than $8,000 to $10,000 is available for each tribe. Furthermore, because of the lack of awareness of the problem and of the federal requirements, few tribes have taken advantage of even the funding that is available.



Recognizing the problem, last fall NAIHC supported a study of the situation and worked to develop a program that would allow all tribes, working together with the support of NAIHC to pool resources, to achieve full compliance with the law. We all agree that we must eradicate lead paint from housing and other places where children may be put at risk. In order to accomplish this for more than 550 tribes we must also consider the cost of the current system - both for the children who could still be at risk if the program is not effective and the increased cost to the government to operate such a program tribe-by-tribe.



Although we believe that this initiative is of the utmost importance, NAIHC's current resources do not permit us to undertake a program to assist the tribes. However, funding sufficient to carry out the program exists within EPA's budget. All we ask is that the Committee help us work with the agencies to launch a program as soon as possible. We are prepared to provide the Committee with a full report on the situation and the program we would propose to resolve the problem.



In conclusion, Mr. Chairman and other members of the Committee, the promise of shelter and hope that the United States made to the Indian Nations must be fulfilled. In order to accomplish this, tribes must have the resources to house our families in decent, safe housing.



' Federal Register August 29, 1996 V 61 No. 169, pages 45777-45830 and 40 CFR part 745, Requirements for Lead-Based Paint Activities in Target Housing and Child-Occupied Facilities, Final Rule.