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Powers Principal Brian Gunn was quoted in Law360 discussing the Trump Administration’s proposed 2019 budget and how it could affect Indian Affairs programs.

The Trump administration’s 2019 budget proposes a multibillion-dollar boost for repairing Bureau of Indian Education schools with revenue from energy development on federal lands, but the budget also includes a cut of nearly $450 million overall for Indian Affairs programs.

Brian discusses how the cuts in the 2019 budget request are similar to those in the Trump administration’s 2018 budget request, but in some areas much more significant. He also talks about how the cuts are “across the board,” rather than to one singular area or program.

Brian also talks about the federal budget process, adding that the congressional appropriations committees rejected almost all of the cuts to Indian programs proposed last year. He said it seems likely the committees will do the same for 2019.

“History shows that budget requests often propose deep cuts for political messaging purposes with the full expectation that Congress will not go along with the cuts. I suspect that’s what is happening here,” Gunn said.

To read the full Law360 article, click here.

Brian Gunn

Brian Gunn is a principal in the Powers Indian Tribal Governments group and a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. He works on a wide variety of issues for tribal clients in the U.S. Congress and federal agencies.

He specializes in matters related to the federal budget and appropriations, natural resources, federal lands and federal land transfers, taxation, energy development, and Indian health. Brian was the lead lobbyist for the Indian Trust Asset Reform Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law in 2016.

For more information about tribal matters and the administration’s proposed budget, contact Powers Principal Brian Gunn at Brian.Gunn@powerslaw.com or 202-872-6747.

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