TRIBES EYE UPCOMING GAO STUDY AS LOBBYING TOOL FOR FUNDING BOOST

Indian tribes believe an upcoming Government Accountability Office (GAO) report examining the process that EPA uses to decide when tribes can be treated as states and take over authority for air and water programs could be a potent lobbying tool to pressure lawmakers to boost funding for tribes looking to take on such programs. Tribal and GAO sources agree that under-funding is one of the major issues being raised as GAO inspectors visit tribal authorities to ask them about the...