“The Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm and have no other adequate remedy if Defendant continues to delay in disbursing the Title V funds,” states Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians v. Mnuchin. Pictured: Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage, in Southern California.
The U.S. Treasury’s report to Judge Amit Mehta on developments in the disbursement of CARES Act Title V funds to Tribal governments is due today. Treasury has also been directed to identify funds withheld from Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) pursuant to the court’s preliminary injunction order issued Monday, barring Secretary Treasury Steven Mnuchin from disseminating any COVID-19 relief funds designated for Tribal governments to ANCs.
The department has exceeded its 30-day timeline to distribute funds as mandated by Congress. Disagreements over whether ANCs meet the definition of “Indian Tribes” and thus merit inclusion in the $8 billion Tribal CARES set aside have factored into the delay.
Six new Tribes are stepping up to sue the Treasury for violating its “peremptory duty” to disburse funds within 30 days of the March 27, 2020, enactment of the CARES Act.
“Any further delay in funding will force Plaintiffs to curtail essential governmental services and furlough or lay off a substantial number of employees,” states the 10-page complaint, which goes on to say: “The Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm and have no other adequate remedy if Defendant continues to delay in disbursing the Title V funds.”
The plaintiffs in Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians v. Mnuchin include the Agua Caliente Band and Yurok Tribe in California, Ak-Chin Indian Community in Arizona, Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming, Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, and Snoqualmie Tribe in Washington.
