by ROBERT GEHRKE
Associated Press Writer
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) – Members of a House panel vehemently opposed a proposal that would give Interior Secretary Gale Norton sweeping discretion to resolve claims arising out of a lawsuit alleging the government squandered billions of dollars owed American Indians.
Members of the House Resources Committee expressed frustration Wednesday at the lack of progress in the lawsuit that has dragged on for years, but described as unacceptable a proposal that would hand Norton wide discretionary powers.
“Alleged solutions which entail having the wolf guarding the hen house are not the answer,” said Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.V. “How long, how long will it take the Interior Department to quit with the gimmicks, with the sleight of hand.”
Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Calif., also opposed the proposal in the Interior Department spending bill, saying House appropriators inserted it without consulting with the Indian tribes or his committee, which has jurisdiction over Indian issues.
“If there is a legislative solution to the litigation, Pombo said, “it will be done in this committee and it will not be done in the appropriations committee.” Pombo said he would try to strip the proposal from the bill when it goes before the house, probably by next week.
It would not be the first time language limiting the scope of the Indian litigation has made its way into Interior Department spending bills. Earlier this year, Congress approved a provision limiting how much investigators appointed by the judge can be paid for their work.
The latest proposal would give Norton total discretion to decide how to conduct a congressionally mandated and court-ordered accounting of money that should have been paid to 350,000 American Indians for oil, gas, timber, grazing and other uses of their land.
“(It) is a most repressive measure designed to eviscerate the rights of Indian beneficiaries and steal from us the victories we have achieved through seven years of litigation,” said Eloise Cobell, a banker and member of the Blackfeet tribe who sued the government in 1996.
Associate Deputy Interior Secretary James Cason appealed to the panel for direction on how to account for the money. The Interior Department manages 11 million acres of land held in trust for the individual Indian landowners and 54 million acres held for tribes. Cason said the lands generate $862 million annually.
The lawsuit alleges that since 1887 money has been stolen, squandered or never collected costing the Indians billions of dollars. In 1999, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled the government had breached its trust responsibility and ordered the department to clean up its act and account for all the funds that should have been paid to the Indians.
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