October 7, 2021 9:50 a.m. 

Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden are part of a bi-partisan push to urge U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to establish an Office of Tribal Affairs within the Treasury Department.

A release said that office would help to provide enough permanent personnel to help improve the department’s tribal consultation process, strengthen the department’s relationship with tribal nations and provide more in-house expertise on matters affecting tribal nations.

The release said Treasury has long had a role in matters, including tax and finance issues, that have seriously affected the welfare and sovereignty of some tribal nations. Merkley and Wyden said the role has increased over time and has become extremely important during the COVID-19 pandemic, since Congress has charged Treasury with the crucial responsibility of disbursing billions of dollars in relief funds to tribal nations.

The letter to Yellen said, “The recent tribal consultations and interactions between Treasury and tribal nations underscore the need for sufficient, dedicated, in-house expertise at Treasury on tribal policy matters”. It said the establishment of such an office has support from Indian Country and would improve Treasury’s ability to fulfill its trust responsibilities to respect the nation-to-nation relationship between the federal government and tribal nations.

Wyden and Merkley are being joined by Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Alex Padilla of California and Steve Daines of Montana. The senators have requested a response by October 13th.