Gallego, Kelly Demand Phoenix Bureau of Indian Affairs Office Stay Open

Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) led a joint letter demanding the Phoenix Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Office remain open. They said, "The federal government is at serious risk of failing at its most basic obligations, including breaking long-held promises to tribes."

Earlier this past week, Acting General Services Administrator Stephen Ehikian announced that 2 million square feet of BIA office space would be closed as part of the Trump Administration's effort to improve government efficiency and maximize federal real estate.

"GSA is taking swift, common-sense action to solve the nation's toughest problems of reducing the federal deficit and increasing government efficiency. That's why we're exploring innovative approaches—including public-private partnerships, ground leases, sale-leasebacks, and interagency co-working agreements—to optimize our real property portfolio in support of the administration's executive order," GSA spokeswoman Mary Simms told AZPM News.

The BIA Phoenix office serves 53 tribes in the American West, including 20 Arizona-based tribes. Pascua Yaqui Vice Chairman Peter Yucupicio expressed concern, telling AZPM, "This is very, very sudden, in my opinion. Term to term, you deal with this, but this is the wrong way to deal with Indian tribes," adding that tribal leaders could have been consulted as part of the closure plan.

As a result, Sen. Gallego and Sen. Kelly said in their letter, "[The Phoenix office's] closure will severely limit access for all of these tribes to essential services ranging from economic development to child social services to water system improvements. This is part of a larger trend: 25 BIA offices, or 27% of all BIA locations across the country, are slated for closure."

Moreover, they wanted answers to several questions by March 21st, including how the decision was made, how it ensured BIA's continued ability to work with tribes, and whether the federal government's trust responsibility to tribes was taken into account when making this decision.

"We are very concerned that this office closure is the latest in a long string of arbitrary attacks on the fundamental functions of the federal government. The federal government is at serious risk of failing at its most basic obligations, including breaking long-held promises to tribes," the letter concluded.

Earlier in March, Gallego urged against the removal of Veterans Crisis Line staff from the Department of Veterans Affairs, saying, "This is a critical time to ensure the VCL has the operational environment to support its substantial call volume, support our veterans, and save lives."