Hill berates Indian Education Bureau

U.S. Rep. French Hill has given his latest Golden Fleece Award to the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Education, alleging that it failed to fix problems at a New Mexico school despite receiving $7.5 million from the government to address the issues.

The Pine Hill Schools are on the Navajo Reservation in western New Mexico.

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., held a round-table meeting earlier this month to discuss problems with infrastructure at that school and others that serve American Indians.

Pointing to Pine Hill Schools, Udall said, “Unacceptable doesn’t even begin to describe the department’s lack of performance here.”

In a letter to Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Tony L. Dearman, Hill pointed to additional problems that had been detailed in a report by the Department of Interior’s office of inspector general.

“I am astounded at the lack of concern demonstrated by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE),” Hill wrote. “For over five years, the BIE shirked their responsibility to protect students from possible harm. They neglected these students by not using the money given to them to maintain the school’s damaged facilities, including the broken fire alarm and suppression systems. This kind of performance from the BIE is unacceptable and must be rectified immediately.”

The late U.S. Sen. William Proxmire, D-Wis., was the creator of the Golden Fleece Award, using it to highlight government spending that he considered wasteful.

After Hill’s election to Congress in 2014, he resurrected the award.