WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday said she would visit tribal communities over the next year as her department continues to expand its engagement with Native American tribes, which were hit disproportionately hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yellen told the second day of a White House Tribal Nations Summit that nearly 100% of a $20 billion COVID-19 relief fund earmarked for tribes had been disbursed, which she said was “quite fast”, but more aid was needed.
A new $1 trillion infrastructure bill signed into law on Monday and a $1.75 trillion social and climate spending bill still working its way through Congress would provide further crucial support to tribal governments and families, she said.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal)
