Post by blackcrowheart on Sept 23, 2006 15:03:49 GMT -5
McCain blasts administration for inaction on Indian case
By Billy House
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 18, 2006 12:00 AM
Sen. John McCain gave an earful Thursday to President Bush's nominee to be the assistant secretary of Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior, blasting as "incomprehensible" the administration's inaction on a proposed settlement to the 10-year-old Indian trust case.
The Arizona Republican, overseeing a hearing of his Senate Indian Affairs Committee, told the nominee, Carl Artman, that it's been five weeks since he and Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, the top Democrat on the committee, met with Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
McCain said he and Dorgan presented "what we believed to be a reasonable solution." advertisement
"Both the secretary and attorney general said they'd circulate that within the administration and get back to us," McCain told Artman.
At issue in the case is billions of dollars in land lease and mineral royalties owed by the government to Native American landowners in Arizona and across the nation because of government mismanagement over their trust accounts.
Lawyers for the lead plaintiff, Elouise Cobell, have alleged that Indian landowners are owed at least $100 billion in royalties tied to farming, grazing, mining, logging and other activities on tribal lands.
They have said they would consider the Arizona senator's compromise bill, which has been explained to them as offering $8 billion in settlement money.
However, McCain said on Thursday that, to date, "we've had no official response" from the administration, "and the window for action this year is closing fast."
McCain is expected to leave the committee's chairmanship at the end of this year, which concludes the two-year congressional session.
"Therefore, we've sent a letter to the secretary and the attorney general again asking for a final assessment and response," McCain said.
He asked Artman to take a message back to the administration, as well.
"It's incomprehensible that the administration not be able to come up with at least a response to what is the product of years of effort on the part of this committee and the interested parties," McCain said.
If left to linger unresolved in the courts, Dorgan warned, this trust case "will weigh over all the other issues and have profound impact on virtually everything else" that the Department of the Interior is trying to do with respect to Indian issues.
Told of McCain's comments, Interior Department spokesman Shane Wolfe said, "We continue to have excellent discussions with congressional staff and look forward to bringing the issue to closure with a mutually acceptable resolution."
In his testimony to the committee, Artman, a former chief counsel and member of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, said resolution of the case is critical, "whether it comes from Congress, the administration or the courts."
"The sooner this litigation ends, the sooner we improve our relationship with tribes, and the sooner we increase for Indians and Alaska Natives the benefits of that relationship," Artman said.
Peters hearing
A Senate confirmation hearing for Mary Peters, the Peoria resident who is Bush's nominee to be the nation's next Transportation secretary, has been set for Wednesday.
Peters, a former director of the Arizona Department of Transportation and a former federal highway administrator, is to appear before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation.
If the Senate confirms her nomination to the Cabinet-level post, she would succeed Norman Mineta, a Democrat who resigned in July. She would oversee a department of about 60,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $60 billion.
Reach the reporter at billy.house@arizonarepublic.com or at 1-202-906-8136.
By Billy House
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 18, 2006 12:00 AM
Sen. John McCain gave an earful Thursday to President Bush's nominee to be the assistant secretary of Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior, blasting as "incomprehensible" the administration's inaction on a proposed settlement to the 10-year-old Indian trust case.
The Arizona Republican, overseeing a hearing of his Senate Indian Affairs Committee, told the nominee, Carl Artman, that it's been five weeks since he and Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, the top Democrat on the committee, met with Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
McCain said he and Dorgan presented "what we believed to be a reasonable solution." advertisement
"Both the secretary and attorney general said they'd circulate that within the administration and get back to us," McCain told Artman.
At issue in the case is billions of dollars in land lease and mineral royalties owed by the government to Native American landowners in Arizona and across the nation because of government mismanagement over their trust accounts.
Lawyers for the lead plaintiff, Elouise Cobell, have alleged that Indian landowners are owed at least $100 billion in royalties tied to farming, grazing, mining, logging and other activities on tribal lands.
They have said they would consider the Arizona senator's compromise bill, which has been explained to them as offering $8 billion in settlement money.
However, McCain said on Thursday that, to date, "we've had no official response" from the administration, "and the window for action this year is closing fast."
McCain is expected to leave the committee's chairmanship at the end of this year, which concludes the two-year congressional session.
"Therefore, we've sent a letter to the secretary and the attorney general again asking for a final assessment and response," McCain said.
He asked Artman to take a message back to the administration, as well.
"It's incomprehensible that the administration not be able to come up with at least a response to what is the product of years of effort on the part of this committee and the interested parties," McCain said.
If left to linger unresolved in the courts, Dorgan warned, this trust case "will weigh over all the other issues and have profound impact on virtually everything else" that the Department of the Interior is trying to do with respect to Indian issues.
Told of McCain's comments, Interior Department spokesman Shane Wolfe said, "We continue to have excellent discussions with congressional staff and look forward to bringing the issue to closure with a mutually acceptable resolution."
In his testimony to the committee, Artman, a former chief counsel and member of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, said resolution of the case is critical, "whether it comes from Congress, the administration or the courts."
"The sooner this litigation ends, the sooner we improve our relationship with tribes, and the sooner we increase for Indians and Alaska Natives the benefits of that relationship," Artman said.
Peters hearing
A Senate confirmation hearing for Mary Peters, the Peoria resident who is Bush's nominee to be the nation's next Transportation secretary, has been set for Wednesday.
Peters, a former director of the Arizona Department of Transportation and a former federal highway administrator, is to appear before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation.
If the Senate confirms her nomination to the Cabinet-level post, she would succeed Norman Mineta, a Democrat who resigned in July. She would oversee a department of about 60,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $60 billion.
Reach the reporter at billy.house@arizonarepublic.com or at 1-202-906-8136.