Glacier Reporter, Montana
Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, released the following statement in response the Dec. 8 Resources’ Committee Hearing on the Indian Trust Reform Act of 2005.
Eloise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the so-called Cobell Indian trust fund dispute, testified at the hearing on the proposed legislation to provide a settlement of the accounting claims in the Cobell v. Norton lawsuit and improve the Department of Interior’s management of assets and accounts held in trust for Native Americans.
“The accounting problems uncovered in this case are unacceptable,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “A banker or an accountant would be held liable and suffer serious penalties for mismanaging a client’s funds the way the Interior Department mismanaged these trust funds.”
Rehberg, as a previous member of the Resources Committee, held a field hearing in Billings two years ago to resolve the Cobell Indian trust fund dispute.
“It’s understandable that those involved in the Cobell lawsuit don’t have any confidence in the federal government’s ability to manage their trust accounts,” Rehberg said. “It’s our job now to mend the broken trust, address the accounting problems, and provide a fair solution.”
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