President’s FY 2026 Budget Proposes Deep Cuts to Indian Affairs Programs
- Skenandore Wilson LLP
- Jun 17
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 23
06/17/2025
The President’s FY 2026 Budget proposes substantial cuts to critical programs serving Tribal nations. These details emerged from “Budget in Brief” summaries released by the Department of the Interior, Health and Human Services, and other federal agencies.
Cuts to key programs include a 41% reduction in Contract Support Costs. This comes while the Administration is also proposing to “supercharge” Public Law 638 Contracting. Public Safety and Justice programs within Interior are set for a 15% cut. Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) construction could see an 80% reduction, impacting infrastructure for Tribal schools. The Indian Health Service (IHS) budget proposes an 87% reduction in funding for Sanitation Facilities Construction and does not include advance appropriations for IHS.
In addition, funding for Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPO) faces a 94% budget cut. THPO funding falls under the National Park Service. This dramatic cut comes while Interior is also proposing to expedite review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for energy projects.
On June 12, 2025, Secretary Burgum testified on the proposed budget before the House Natural Resources Committee. Secretary Burgum committed to combating the fentanyl crisis in Tribal communities and having a discussion with congressional members regarding the budget and staff cuts to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
We recommend that Tribes reach out to their Congressional Delegations to ensure that Congress protects funding levels for Indian programs in FY 2026.
Key Funding Changes Proposed for FY 2026
Proposed Program Total Eliminations for FY 2026:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife - State and Tribal Grants
Indian Loan Guarantee Program
Indian Land Consolidation Program
Tribal Climate Resilience Program
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program
Bureau of Indian Affairs:
Contract Support Costs (CSC) are funds provided to Tribes from the BIA to cover costs associated with program and service administration. CSC faces a significant 41% reduction - a decrease from $337 million in FY 2025 to $200.4 million in FY 2026.
Tribal Government programs include Aid to Tribal Governments, Self-Governance Compacts, and Road Maintenance and faces a 37% reduction - a decrease from $401.2 million in FY 2025 to $252.9 million in FY 2026.
Public Safety and Justice programs include law enforcement, Tribal justice support, and the Indian Police Academy. These programs face a 15% reduction - a decrease from $560.2 million in FY 2025 to $476 million in FY 2026.
Bureau of Indian Education:
Education Construction faces a drastic 80% reduction with requested funding of $48.1 million in FY 2026, down from $234.7 million in FY 2025.
Postsecondary Programs funding for FY 2026 is completely cut to $0, down from $55.8 million in FY 2025. These programs include funding for Haskell Indian Nations University, the Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute, and scholarship funds.
Forward funded Postsecondary Programs also sees a substantial cut, with an 83% reduction. The FY 2026 requested funding is $22.1 million, a decrease from the FY 2025 level of $127.4 million.
Indian Health Service:
Sanitation Facilities Construction faces a severe 87% reduction from $106.6 million in FY 2025 to $13.4 million in FY 2026. Sanitation Facilities construction provides funding for water supply, sewage disposal, and solid waste disposal facilities.
For Clinical Services, the FY 2026 budget includes a slight 1.7% increase of $81 million reaching a total of $4.5 billion. Clinical Services provides the primary funding for IHS services and includes funding for hospitals, health clinics, electronic health record systems, and more.
Direct Operations and Self-Governance funding remain unchanged for FY 2026 from FY 2025.
The President's proposed budget does not include Advanced Appropriations for FY 2026.
Visit our website at www.skenandorewilson.com/news for links to the full budget documents referenced in this article as well as other news on important topics impacting Indian Country. Please contact us if you need any other information on the President’s Proposed Budget or assistance in contacting your Congressional Delegation to protect funding for Tribal programs and services.
Skenandore Wilson LLP is a national majority Native and woman owned law firm dedicated to serving Tribes and Tribal entities.
