WINDOW ROCK—Today, the federal court ruled in favor of the Navajo Nation, ordering the federal Office of Head Start to allocate the original funding amount of $23 million dollars to Navajo Head Start. “We applaud the federal court for making sure the federal government provides proper notice, appeal and hearing rights are afforded before reducing any funding that impacts the cognitive development of our children,” President Begaye said. On Feb. 28, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied the Navajo Nation’s preliminary injunction. However, today the federal court set aside the federal Office of Head Start reduction and required full funding of the Navajo Head Start program.

WASHINGTON—On February 12, President Trump submitted his $4.4 trillion fiscal 2019 budget request to Congress. This budget did not take into account the higher caps on spending in a budget deal passed by Congress and signed by the president last week. President Trump will likely submit an addendum to his budget, which allocates this additional amount of spending. Last year, President Trump proposed significant cuts in his budget, however, Congress reinstated many of his proposed cuts. We expect the same this year since the budget resolution signed last week called for increases in the caps on spending.

WASHINGTON—In the interest of clear meaningful communication to address health-related issues affecting Native Americans, Vice President Jonathan Nez, tribal representatives and federal officials convened at the IHS Tribal Self-Governance Advisory Committee (TSGAC) meeting on Jan. 24. Vice President Nez advocated all employees of IHS be considered “essential personnel” as part of the agency’s strategic plan in the case of a federal government shutdown. On Friday, Jan. 19, the United States Congress failed to come to an agreement on spending, which led to the 19th government shutdown since 1976.