Post by Okwes on Apr 6, 2008 12:49:04 GMT -5
CBC warns Reid on Cherokee funds
Posted: 04/03/08 05:13 PM [ET]
thehill.com/leading-the-news/cbc-warns-reid-on-cherokee-funds-200\
8-04-03.html
<http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/cbc-warns-reid-on-cherokee-funds-20\
08-04-03.html>
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have promised Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that they will try to block a Native American
housing assistance bill if the measure does not include language that
prevents the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma from receiving any of the
benefits.
The House included such a prohibition in its Indian housing assistance
bill passed in September. But the Senate version does not include
similar language.
"We are writing to advise you that members of the CBC will not
support, and will actively oppose, passage of a [Native American housing
assistance] bill that does not include this limitation," the CBC
stated in a letter sent to Reid on March 13.
The dispute between the CBC and the Cherokee Nation arose last year
after the tribe amended its constitution to exclude the Freedmen — a
group of freed slaves who have been members since the Civil-War era
– from tribal membership. Black lawmakers have charged the tribe is
ignoring the Treaty of 1886, an agreement the Cherokees signed with the
U.S. government that gave tribal citizenship to the Freedmen.
"We must send the unequivocal message to the Cherokee Nation of
Oklahoma that failure to provide full citizenship rights to the Cherokee
Freedmen will have severe consequences," CBC members wrote Reid.
Cherokee leaders argue that as a sovereign nation they have a right to
amend their own constitution.
Thirty-three of the 43 CBC members signed the letter to Reid. The Senate
leader has not responded to the letter as of yet, according to House
aides.
Members approved an amendment offered by Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) that
bars funds for the Cherokees when the House took up the housing
assistance bill in September. Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) also was
successful in adding language that delays the funding prohibition until
tribal courts render a decision on the fairness of the Cherokee's
efforts to exclude the Freedmen.
The Senate bill, which has now been reported out of the Indian Affairs
Committee, does not include language similar to Watt's provision.
Negotiations in the Senate are ongoing between Republicans and
Democrats, according to a Senate Democratic leadership aide.
Since the flare-up over the Freedmen last year, the Cherokees have
increasing come under pressure from CBC members. Rep. Diane Watson
(D-Calif.) introduced a bill that would prohibit the distribution of
federal funds to the tribe until it reverses its decision on the
Freedmen. Watt has been tapped to lead a taskforce on the issue for the
caucus.
In turn, the Cherokees have bulked up their lobbying presence here in
Washington. The tribe has hired the Podesta Group and McBee Strategic
Consulting to help sooth relations on Capitol Hill.
Congress has remained attentive to the issue, however. Before the Easter
recess, Watson, Watt, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), and Rep. Barney Frank
(D-Mass.) met with Carl Artman of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to
discuss the Cherokees. Staff aides are working on a final draft of a
letter to Artman that will be signed by the four lawmakers shortly,
according to a House aide.
Posted: 04/03/08 05:13 PM [ET]
thehill.com/leading-the-news/cbc-warns-reid-on-cherokee-funds-200\
8-04-03.html
<http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/cbc-warns-reid-on-cherokee-funds-20\
08-04-03.html>
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have promised Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that they will try to block a Native American
housing assistance bill if the measure does not include language that
prevents the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma from receiving any of the
benefits.
The House included such a prohibition in its Indian housing assistance
bill passed in September. But the Senate version does not include
similar language.
"We are writing to advise you that members of the CBC will not
support, and will actively oppose, passage of a [Native American housing
assistance] bill that does not include this limitation," the CBC
stated in a letter sent to Reid on March 13.
The dispute between the CBC and the Cherokee Nation arose last year
after the tribe amended its constitution to exclude the Freedmen — a
group of freed slaves who have been members since the Civil-War era
– from tribal membership. Black lawmakers have charged the tribe is
ignoring the Treaty of 1886, an agreement the Cherokees signed with the
U.S. government that gave tribal citizenship to the Freedmen.
"We must send the unequivocal message to the Cherokee Nation of
Oklahoma that failure to provide full citizenship rights to the Cherokee
Freedmen will have severe consequences," CBC members wrote Reid.
Cherokee leaders argue that as a sovereign nation they have a right to
amend their own constitution.
Thirty-three of the 43 CBC members signed the letter to Reid. The Senate
leader has not responded to the letter as of yet, according to House
aides.
Members approved an amendment offered by Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) that
bars funds for the Cherokees when the House took up the housing
assistance bill in September. Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) also was
successful in adding language that delays the funding prohibition until
tribal courts render a decision on the fairness of the Cherokee's
efforts to exclude the Freedmen.
The Senate bill, which has now been reported out of the Indian Affairs
Committee, does not include language similar to Watt's provision.
Negotiations in the Senate are ongoing between Republicans and
Democrats, according to a Senate Democratic leadership aide.
Since the flare-up over the Freedmen last year, the Cherokees have
increasing come under pressure from CBC members. Rep. Diane Watson
(D-Calif.) introduced a bill that would prohibit the distribution of
federal funds to the tribe until it reverses its decision on the
Freedmen. Watt has been tapped to lead a taskforce on the issue for the
caucus.
In turn, the Cherokees have bulked up their lobbying presence here in
Washington. The tribe has hired the Podesta Group and McBee Strategic
Consulting to help sooth relations on Capitol Hill.
Congress has remained attentive to the issue, however. Before the Easter
recess, Watson, Watt, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), and Rep. Barney Frank
(D-Mass.) met with Carl Artman of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to
discuss the Cherokees. Staff aides are working on a final draft of a
letter to Artman that will be signed by the four lawmakers shortly,
according to a House aide.