PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 686.
Congressional Research Service
Version 01 · Reported to Senate with amendment(s) · Nov 17, 2016
Dam Repairs and Improvements for Tribes Act of 2016 or the DRIFT Act of 2016
TITLE I--INDIAN DAM SAFETY DEFERRED MAINTENANCE FUNDS
Subtitle A--High-Hazard Fund
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
(Sec. 101) This bill establishes the High-Hazard Indian Dam Safety Deferred Maintenance Fund.
(Sec. 102) The Department of the Treasury must make deposits to this fund at least monthly until the fund is terminated at the end of FY2037.
Subtitle B--Low-Hazard Fund
(Sec. 111) This bill establishes the Low-Hazard Indian Dam Safety Deferred Maintenance Fund.
(Sec. 112) The Department of the Treasury must make deposits to this fund at least monthly until the fund is terminated at the end of FY2037.
TITLE II--REPAIR, REPLACEMENT, AND MAINTENANCE OF CERTAIN INDIAN DAMS
Subtitle A--Program Establishment
(Sec. 201) The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) must establish a program to address the deferred maintenance needs of Indian dams that create flood risks or other risks to safety, natural resources, or cultural resources and impede the management and efficiency of Indian dams.
(Sec. 202) To be eligible, a dam must be federally owned and included in the BIA's Safety of Dams program. The low hazard fund and high hazard fund must be used to pay for maintenance, repair, and replacement activities for dams classified under guidelines of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as low hazard and significant or high hazard, respectively.
(Sec. 203) The BIA must: (1) develop programmatic goals and prioritization criteria before expending funds; (2) prioritize dams that serve more than one tribe or highly populated Indian communities; (3) consult with landowners served by the dam before expending funds, except in emergencies; and (4) ensure that, each year, every dam in need of critical maintenance receives funding.
Subtitle B--Management
(Sec. 211) The Department of the Interior must establish in the BIA the Tribal Safety of Dams Committee to study the modernization of the Indian Dams Safety Act of 1994 and develop recommendations for legislation to improve that Act.
(Sec. 212) The BIA must: (1) request that Indian tribes report on dams on their land at least once every 180 days, and (2) report on each dam under BIA jurisdiction at least once each year.
(Sec. 213) The BIA must establish a flood plain management pilot program to provide, upon request, guidance to Indians tribes on best practices for the mitigation and prevention of floods. The program is funded through the funds for high- and low-hazard dams and is terminated four years after enactment of this bill.
(Sec. 214) This bill amends the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 to revise the tribal partnership program, including to permit the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide assistance for any activity relating to the feasibility, planning, design, or construction of a water resources development project.
(Sec. 215) This bill amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to extend to tribes the waiver of cost-sharing requirements for studies and projects.
People & committees
Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY] · R–WY
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 686.
Committee on Indian Affairs. Reported by Senator Barrasso with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 114-382.
Committee on Indian Affairs. Reported by Senator Barrasso with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 114-382.
Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-326.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1597-1598)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Jun 20, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.2717 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.2717 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.2717 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.2717 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.