With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) using its UDAAP authority to issue a proposed rule on small-dollar (payday) lending, the topic of federal jurisdiction verses state and tribal sovereignty has entered into regulatory discussions in recent years.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced an improved Tribal Government-to-Government Consultation Policy and is seeking comments on its plan to establish a new Tribal Intergovernmental Advisory Committee (TIAC). Comments are due on or before July 23, 2016.
The purpose of the TIAC is to facilitate intergovernmental communication between HUD and tribal leaders on all HUD programs, make recommendations to HUD regarding current program regulations that may require revision, inform the development of HUD’s American Indian and Alaska Native housing priorities and encourage peer learning and capacity building among tribes and non-tribal entities.
HUD administers six programs that specifically are targeted to American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian individuals and families, and federally recognized tribal governments. This year alone, HUD is investing $718 million in hundreds of tribal communities to support place-based housing programs and a broad range of community development activities.
“We have been working with tribal leaders across the nation to improve affordable housing opportunities for families,” said Lourdes Castro Ramírez, HUD principal deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Public and Indian Housing, in a news release. “Today, we take an additional step to enhance our continuing partnership to support tribal self-determination and self-governance.”
HUD began revising its policy statement in 2010.
One of its fundamental principles, as listed within the Federal Register, is that “[t]he United States recognizes the right of Indian tribes to self-government and supports tribal sovereignty and self-determination.”
The CFPB also has a policy statement regarding consultations, but it does not address the creation of a separate entity within the bureau, nor does it mention tribal “sovereignty,” but states that one of its guiding principles is to recognize the “unique legal relationship between the U.S. government and tribes.”
The CFPB’s method of consultation, according to its policy statement, includes “engag[ing] in a number of activities seeking input from and meaningful dialogue with tribal governments” and “specially request[ing] comment from tribal governments and tribal members through the Federal Register notice soliciting comment on a particular policy.”