Sen. Thune introduces bill to fund tribal transportation infrastructure

WASHINGTON — Senator John Thune, introducing a bi-partisan bill in Washington to help funding for tribal transportation programs.

Sen. Thune introduced the bill with Arizona Democrat Krysten Sinema.

He says the bill would ensure that tribes in South Dakota get their fair share of federal money to maintain and improve their transportation infrastructure.

“What we’re trying to do is make sure that South Dakota tribes have access to more resources, more funding recognizing that one: they have a lot more roads to maintain, just because of the geography in our part of the world. And second, with all the bad weather we’ve had the last couple of years it’s become worse. As you’ve seen many of the roads across our reservations get washed out.”

Sens. Thune and Sinema say the bill is aimed at reducing red tape and a lack of transparency in how the government administers tribal transportation programs.