Oregon Rep Demands Feds Review Why Tribes Got 16x More Aid Than Everyone Else
Republican Oregon state Rep. Dwayne Yunker has formally asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review the state’s tribal-only Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. His request follows Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek’s decision to direct $1 million in emergency aid to federally recognized tribes in Oregon.
The funding came in response to the recent federal government shutdown and its impact on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Kotek allocated $1 million to nine Oregon tribes to support food assistance, alongside $5 million to the Oregon Food Bank network. In a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Yunker raised concerns about how taxpayer dollars were distributed.
“Oregonians deserve full transparency regarding the use of federal welfare dollars,” Yunker said. “When a million dollars in TANF funds is distributed rapidly and outside of normal processes, the public has the right to understand the basis for that decision and whether it complies with federal law.”
According to the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), about 757,000 Oregonians currently receive SNAP benefits, with roughly 8,600 tribal members using TANF funds. By Yunker’s calculations, the $1 million distributed to the tribes works out to around $117 per tribal member, while the $5 million allocated to the broader population amounts to less than $7 per resident.
Yunker’s letter also questioned whether the tribal-focused allocations comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, ancestry, or Native American affiliation. “The integrity of our safety-net programs depends on it,” he wrote, urging federal agencies to ensure Oregon’s SNAP and TANF programs are administered fairly and in accordance with federal law.
Gov. Kotek defended the emergency aid, stating it was necessary because the Trump Administration’s handling of SNAP benefits during the shutdown created “instability for families and communities that rely on this critical help to buy food.” ODHS was instructed to issue grant agreements to the nine tribal emergency managers and social services directors by Nov. 7.
Yunker’s letter further noted that ODHS confirmed the $1 million in tribal funding was not based on a per-capita or SNAP pro-rata formula, but rather processed through “nonstandard tribal agreements that bypassed typical consultation requirements.”
The Oregon case follows similar scrutiny in Minnesota, where state Department of Human Services employees alleged that Democratic Gov. Tim Walz ignored whistleblower claims regarding $1 billion in state social services funds being misused.
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