New Bill Could Help Tribal ED

Tribal governments and American Indian entreprenuers may find it easier to raise capital for economic development if legislation introduced in Congress passes, South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson says.

Johnson said earlier this week that the Tribal Economic Enhancement Act he introduced combines tax relief, tax credits, bonding incentives and streamlined procedures for getting banks on reservations.

It will be interesting to see if this bill goes anywhere. Clearly, the tribes do need financial assistance for economic development. The question is whether the funds will be used to support the right development projects and whether enough money will be available to accomplish anything of scale.

Having spent three years working with tribes on sustainable economic development projects, I have an understanding of how hard it is to strengthen the economic base on and around reservations.

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