Tribal Communities

As the former Chair and a current member of the Subcommittee for Indian and Insular Affairs, Ruben is a passionate voice for Arizona’s tribes in Congress. 

He has worked tirelessly to improve access to quality healthcare for tribal communities. He wrote the Coverage for Urban Indian Health Providers Act to insure Urban Indian Organizations (UIOs), and the Urban Indian Health Facilities Improvement Act, to support their infrastructure – successfully securing votes to sign both bills into law. He was a leader in the push for advanced funding for Urban Indian Health Organizations and the Indian Health Service to protect Indian Country from future government shutdowns.

Ruben is committed to helping tribal communities protect themselves, including by addressing the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). He led a bipartisan effort to have the government’s top watchdog align federal, state, and tribal agencies to address MMIW cases and held the first congressional hearing on the crisis. He also works to improve tribal law enforcement through his bill, the BADGES in Native Communities Act, to increase coordination between federal, state, and tribal law enforcement.

Ruben knows that too many Native Americans in rural areas, including tribal lands, often lack access to vital resources – and he’s made progress to close that gap. Ruben’s PAVA Program Inclusion Act improves access to the ballot for Native Americans with disabilities living in the four corners region. He also successfully advocated for the inclusion of robust broadband deployment for Indian Country in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and he wants to do even more to expand broadband on tribal lands through his Bridging the Tribal Digital Divide Act.