03.08.24

Yakama Nation to Launch New Fentanyl Task Force With Funding Secured by Cantwell

$1m grant will help tribal law enforcement curb the impact of fentanyl across the Yakama Nations’ 1.1 million acre reservation; Fentanyl task force one of 7 projects across Central WA to receive FY24 appropriations, totaling $15.04m

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that the Yakama Nation will receive $1.028 million to launch the Yakama Nation Drug and Fentanyl Task Force to help curb the impact of fentanyl across the Yakama Nation’s 1,130,000-acre reservation.

“In visits with tribal leaders all across the State of Washington over the past year, one thing became abundantly clear: Tribal law enforcement agencies need more boots on the ground to address the growing fentanyl crisis. This funding will help the Yakama Nation implement their new fentanyl task force – recruiting and training nine law enforcement officers to help keep fentanyl off their streets and keep the public safer,” Sen. Cantwell said.

The funds will be used for the wages, fringe, and special pay for nine certified patrol officers for one year. The Yakama Nation has begun to prepare for the implementation of this new taskforce by recruiting and paying regular employment costs for nine Yakama Nation Police Department personnel to attend the Bureau of Indian Affairs basic training to complete patrol officer certification by the end of the current fiscal year. The success of the task force will be evaluated based on the number of responses tracked by the Yakama Nation Police Department’s Law Incident Total of Reported Offenses, as well as the task force’s contribution to regional and federal law enforcement efforts to identify and seize illegal substances on the Yakama Reservation and the transport of illegal substances through the reservation for sale in Portland, Seattle, and Spokane.

Sen. Cantwell, who serves as a senior member on the Senate Committee of Indian Affairs, has been sounding the alarm on the impact of fentanyl on tribal communities and advocating for more federal resources to assist tribal law enforcement. Late last year, she held two committee hearings to hear testimony from Washington state tribal leaders and justice officials on the front lines of the crisis.

“The fentanyl crisis is a flood of poison entering Indian Country and communities, and it is not a crisis that our Tribes can face alone. We've heard [from] tribal leaders and their law enforcement agencies how they're chronically understaffed and under-resourced,” Sen. Cantwell said in a December hearing.

In July, Sen. Cantwell also introduced the Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act, which would help Tribes hire and retain tribal law enforcement officers by raising their retirement, pension, death, and injury benefits to be on par with those of federal law enforcement officers. More information on Sen. Cantwell’s ongoing work to combat the fentanyl crisis across Washington state and nationwide is available HERE.

The funding for the task force was championed by Sen. Cantwell in appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2024 – one of seven grants across Central Washington that Sen. Cantwell helped to secure. The other projects funded in the Central Washington region include:

  • $3.096 million to modernize the general aviation terminal at Pangborn Memorial Airport. U.S. Representatives Dan Newhouse (R, WA-04) and Kim Schrier (D, WA-08) also supported the request.
  • $2.75 million to expand Astria Toppenish Hospital’s inpatient unit for patients experiencing psychiatric crisis. Rep. Newhouse also supported the request.
  • $2.5 million to support funding for an access/bypass road from Washington SR 170 to industrial zones owned by the Port of Warden. Rep. Newhouse also supported the request.
  • $2.25 million to upgrade the Port of Mattawa wastewater system to increase capacity and improve the cleanliness of discharge water, allowing the discharge water to be used on crops while recycling the wine and food processing waste in an environmentally sustainable manner. Rep. Newhouse also supported the request.
  • $1.8 million to help the City of Leavenworth separate its wastewater and stormwater systems along Ski Hill Drive, helping to keep excessive stormwater out of the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
  • $1.616 million to HopeSource to help housing organization Housing for Veterans construct 12 affordable rental units for low-income senior veterans in Kittitas County. Rep. Schrier also supported the request.

Sen. Cantwell helped secure funding for 74 projects across the State of Washington totaling $138.53 million; the full list of projects is available HERE.