WASHINGTON Weeks after Congress passed the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill, Native American tribes still arent getting badly needed aid because the federal agencies in charge of distributing emergency relief to tribal governments dont know how to work with them and arent listening to what they actually need, a key U.S. senator charged.

The Treasury Department, for one, is tasked with distributing $8 billion to tribal governments to help them stabilize economically amid the pandemic. But none of that aid has moved, as the agency, which doesnt otherwise interact with tribes, is bogged down in consultations with tribes in order to come up with a formula for distributing the funds. Treasury has a statutory deadline of April 24 to get all the money out the door.

Weve run into some serious problems, Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), the vice chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said in a recent interview. Treasury is not familiar with tribes. They dont know how to interact in the appropriate way with tribes and theyre just not getting the job done.

Meanwhile, the Small Business Administration has been overseeing $350 billion in emergency payroll relief to small businesses. But tribal businesses have been at a huge disadvantage all along because the SBA decided that some casinos the financial lifeblood of many tribal governments wouldnt be eligible for relief. Specifically, the agency relied on an existing regulation that prohibits small businesses from getting federal aid if they get one-third of their revenue from gaming activities.