Why it Matters

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee convenes Wednesday with the federal government's obligations to Native American tribes squarely on the table. The Trump administration's proposed fiscal year 2027 budget calls for a 27 percent reduction to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and a 32 percent cut to the Bureau of Indian Education, building on a pattern that began with the fiscal year 2026 request, which proposed $617 million in BIA cuts and the elimination of the Indian Loan Guarantee Program. Congressional Democrats characterized those earlier cuts as "a retreat from federal trust and treaty obligations."

The budget scrutiny is only half the agenda. The committee will also vote on eight bills that would expand tribal land rights and transfer federal property to Native communities, some of which have already cleared the House.

Eight Bills, Four Tribes

The business meeting portion of the hearing takes up paired House and Senate bills affecting tribes in Massachusetts, Washington, California, and Alaska.

S.236 and its House companion H.R.681, which passed the House in March, would amend the Long-Term Leasing Act to allow the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to lease trust lands for up to 99 years. The committee has already held hearings on S.236, and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe described a prior committee advancement of the leasing bill as "a significant step forward" following testimony by Tribal Chairman Brian Weeden. The current cap on lease terms is a practical constraint on tribal economic development, and the 99-year authorization would align these tribes with leasing authority available to other federally recognized tribes.

S.1513, introduced by committee member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and H.R.2388, which passed the House in December, would take approximately 1,082 acres of federal land in Washington State into trust for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, adding it to the tribe's reservation. Gaming would be prohibited on the transferred land. Rep. Emily Randall, the House bill's sponsor, described House passage as "the first step to return land back to the Tribes by transferring ownership from the federal government to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be held in trust."

S.2735 and H.R.2302 would transfer approximately 265 acres in El Dorado County, California into trust for the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, also with a prohibition on gaming. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the tribe held a separate land trust signing ceremony in January 2026, signaling active momentum on California tribal land issues ahead of the committee vote.

Rounding out the legislative agenda, S.2098 and H.R.3620 would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to convey approximately 3.4 acres of federal property in Anchorage, Alaska to the Southcentral Foundation at no cost. The Foundation is an Alaska Native-owned health care organization serving more than 65,000 Alaska Native and American Indian people. The bill was introduced by committee Chair Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and its House companion passed in December.

Budget Hearing Follows

Immediately after the business meeting, the committee will hear testimony on the administration's fiscal year 2027 budget request for both the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service. The committee will first vote on bills that would expand tribal land holdings and health infrastructure, then turn to a budget that would significantly scale back the federal agencies responsible for supporting those same communities.

The fiscal year 2026 budget proposal had already drawn sharp criticism from tribal leaders and Democratic members. The fiscal year 2027 request, with its deeper proposed cuts to BIA, comes as the committee is actively advancing legislation for a functioning federal trust relationship with Native nations.

The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, May 20, at 628 Dirksen Senate Office Building. Murkowski chairs the committee, and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) serves as vice chair.

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