Last night, the U.S. Senate voted to include an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA). They voted to include NAHASDA by a vote of 89-11. 

The amendment would reauthorize NAHASDA for seven years, and would provide greater local control over NAHASDA programs, streamline environmental reviews for tribal housing projects and incentivize private partnerships, among other provisions. NAHASDA’s previous authorization expired 10 years ago, so this passage is a key milestone in getting this important law reauthorized. 

The Senate also passed the NDAA after this vote. The House passed their version of the NDAA earlier this month. Members of Congress must now meet to negotiate a compromise so that the NDAA can pass both chambers.  

We urge you to contact your members of the House and Senate and ask them to support NAHASDA reauthorization being included in the final NDAA.

A full version of this amendment is available here.

You can view the statement by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs here.

If you have any questions please contact Caitrin Shuy, Director of Government Relations at NIHB at [email protected].

NAHASA Background:

The Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) created a block grant system and eliminated several programs in a reorganization of housing assistance provided to Native Americans through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) . This block grant program successfully allowed Tribal Nations to determine and address the specific housing needs in their communities.