Biden-Harris Administration Bringing High-Speed Internet, Clean Drinking Water and Modern Infrastructure to Tribal Communities

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is making investments to provide clean drinking water, sanitary wastewater systems and affordable high-speed internet to people in Tribal communities. A portion of today’s funding will improve water infrastructure for the Yomba Shoshone Tribe in Nevada, which is part of USDA’s Rural Partners Network.

Secretary Vilsack made this announcement at the one of the nation’s largest Tribal economic development conferences, the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development’s Reservation Economic Summit (RES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The announcement comes on the heels of USDA’s ongoing progress in removing long-standing systemic barriers to accessing USDA’s programs by Tribal nations and ensuring that, where appropriate, Tribally owned enterprises and also Tribal trust lands are eligible for USDA programs. USDA has also taken steps to ensure Tribal resolutions of consent are obtained for many of its infrastructure programs, such as ReConnect, in the same manner that any permits and permissions are required.

Read the full article here.