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A North Dakota legislative committee did not support a proposal Tuesday to guarantee that at least 5% of $500 million in federal rural health funding go to tribal communities, according to reporting from Jacob Orledge of the North Dakota Monitor. Representative Jayme Davis, a Democrat from Rollette and citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, proposed the set-aside responding to a resolution from chairs of the state’s five tribal nations. Davis says tribal communities “have the biggest disparities in North Dakota” and worries funding will go to organizations in larger communities that already have resources. However, Representative Jon Nelson says he hopes tribes will receive more than five percent without a set-aside, while Senator David Clemens says he doesn’t feel “it would be right to allocate a certain amount to a certain segment of our society.” Davis withdrew her motion and proposed tribal applications receive a five percent weighted increase instead, but the committee adjourned without voting.
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