# 119-s-4976: Native Children’s Commission Implementation Act of 2026 119-s-4976, Native Children’s Commission Implementation Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] (R-AK); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-26). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4976 - As of: 2026-08-26 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-s-4976 - Congress: 119 - Title: Native Children’s Commission Implementation Act of 2026 - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2026-07-14 - Sponsor: Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] (R-AK) - Cosponsors: 1 - Policy area: Native Americans - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-08-26 ## Summary **Empowers Tribal self-governance and local control over health, safety, nutrition, and housing programs.** This bill would create new Tribal pilots, advisory bodies, and funding streams aimed at improving Native child and maternal health, victim services, housing, and data sovereignty. - Tribal governments and communities: Would expand Tribal authority to run SNAP and school meal programs through Alaska and Lower-48 pilots, strengthen self-governance compacts, and fund large initiatives including a Tiwahe Initiative authorized at $100 million per year. - Families, children, and survivors: Would fund a 24/7 National Indian Domestic Violence Hotline, an Alaska Native Victim Services Fund authorized at $5 million per year, school meal pilots, Native language school grants, and programs to improve maternal and infant health data. - Research, workforce, and federal coordination: Would create a NIH Tribal Health Research Office and a NIH Tribal Advisory Committee each authorized at $2 million per year, plus HRSA, SAMHSA, and other Tribal advisory committees and perinatal workforce grants to boost culturally competent providers. *Would increase federal spending by authorizing recurring appropriations across many new programs, notably a $100 million annual Tiwahe Initiative and multiple other authorizations ranging roughly from $200,000 to $25 million per year.* ## Cosponsors (1) - Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI), 2026-07-14T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - Grants and studies for maternal and infant health: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would authorize Tribal Perinatal Workforce Demonstration Grants ($3 million per year for FY2027–2032) to recruit and train maternity and perinatal providers for Tribal communities. The CDC would make guidance to improve Native infant and maternal health data and must report to… - More childcare funding for Tribes: benefit, medium. If enacted, this would raise the Tribal set-aside under the Child Care and Development Block Grant from 2 percent to 5 percent. That means a bigger share of annual CCDBG money would be reserved for Tribes. The dollar change would depend on total CCDBG appropriations each year. Tribal child care pro… - More local control for school meals: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would create a Tribally Operated Meal Pilot with 10 grants to let Tribes or Tribal partners run federal child nutrition programs. Grants would be negotiated between $10,000 and $100,000 per year and recipients would be reimbursed 'as if' they were States. The bill would also ma… - More Tribal victim and shelter support: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would fund Tribal and Native Hawaiian domestic violence resource centers and create a national 24-hour hotline for American Indian and Alaska Native victims. It would authorize Tribal Domestic Violence Coalition grants and establish an Alaska Native Victim Services Fund to give… - New environmental health systems for IHS: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Indian Health Service would build a Comprehensive Environmental Health System within two years. The system would add environmental-exposure records to electronic health records, include clinical decision tools, bi-directional data sharing, geographic tracking, and set referral and f… - Tribal behavioral health funding options: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would reserve 5% of specified IHS mental health appropriations and 5% of substance use appropriations each year for direct grants to Tribes for community mental health and substance use services. It would also create a 5-year self-governance demonstration to let up to 15 Tribes… - Tribes could run SNAP pilots: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would create Tribal SNAP pilots in Alaska and the Lower 48 so Tribes can run SNAP for their service populations. The Secretary would start awards within 180 days and must approve or deny Tribal plans within 90 days. Participating Tribes would be reimbursed for 100% of administr… - Easier HUD rules for Tribal housing: benefit, medium. If enacted, this would exempt certain Tribal projects from Title VI and Title VIII rules when awards go to Tribes or tribally designated housing entities. Projects on reservation or trust land would need a certification showing consistency with an approved Indian housing plan. HUD could waive many… - More Tribal early childhood and language funds: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would expand the Tiwahe family-centered initiative and authorize $100 million per year starting in FY2027 to fund Tribal pilots and services. It would create and fund Native American Language (NALA) school grants with an annual authorization of $10 million and set a specific pe… - Tribal homelessness and housing help: benefit, medium. If enacted, HUD would set aside $25 million per year for a Tribal Continuum of Care Participation Grant Program, but only in years when subtitle C competitive appropriations exceed FY2026 levels. The bill also creates a Native Hawaiian Homeless Housing Assistance program using up to 0.2% of Title I… - Stronger Tribal control over workforce funds: benefit, medium. If enacted, this would strengthen Tribal control of the Section 477 initiative so Tribes can integrate certain federal job, training, and economic programs. The bill names the Federal agencies covered and limits integration to workforce, self-sufficiency, and economic purposes. Tribes could get par… - Clarify who counts as a Tribe: benefit, low. If enacted, the Act would use the definitions of 'Indian Tribe' and 'Tribal organization' from the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. This aligns which entities qualify for programs and funding under this bill. The change is effective upon enactment. - Study on missing Native children: benefit, low. If enacted, the Attorney General and Interior would consult with Tribes and complete a study on missing Native children and youth within one year. The study must cover juvenile justice, child welfare, abduction, trafficking, violence, and related cases and coordinate with the National Center for Mi… - New Tribal health advisory offices and committees: benefit, low. If enacted, NIH would create a Tribal Health Research Office and a Tribal Advisory Committee and authorize $2 million per year for committee activities. HRSA, SAMHSA, and HHS would each set up Tribal advisory committees or technical advisory bodies with authorizations around $200,000 per year. Thes… - More housing aid for Tribal students: mixed, low. If enacted, this would change McKinney-Vento transfers so the Bureau of Indian Education share could rise from 1 percent to 2 percent. Up to $250,000 of transferred money could fund nonprofit technical help for BIE and Tribal schools. Transferred funds could also be used for emergency student housi… ## Related bills - 119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025 - 119-s-2431: Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026 - 119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 - 119-s-306: Fire Ready Nation Act of 2025 - 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act - 119-s-4638: Promoting Strong Native Families and Children Act ## Sources - [119-s-4976 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4976) ## Related - [119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1541) - [119-s-2431: Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Ac…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2431) - [119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2120) - [119-s-306: Fire Ready Nation Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-306) - [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748) - [119-s-4638: Promoting Strong Native Families and Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4638) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4976 (as of 2026-08-26).