Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) is blaming theIndian Health Service for forcing tribes into "financial disarray" while failing to keep track of its own spending.

Nelson said the IHS forced the Omaha Tribe to accept a $800,000 cut in funding for in the upcoming year. Yet theGovernment Accountability Office found that the agency has lost $15.8 million in property and wasted millions more on unused equipment.

"I cannot help but notice how an agency can so carelessly spend federal dollars with one hand while simultaneously forcing a tribe into financial disarray with the other," Nelson said in a letter.

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee is holding a hearing next Thursday, July 31, to address the GAO report.

Get the Story:
Press Release: OMAHA TRIBE FACES CUTS TO VITAL HEALTH SERVICES (Sen. Nelson 7/24)

Committee Notice:
OVERSIGHT HEARING on Indian Health Service Management: Lost Property, Wasteful Spending and Document Fabrication (July 31, 2008)

GAO Report:
IHS Mismanagement Led to Millions of Dollars in Lost or Stolen Property | Summary

Related Stories:
Senate sets hearing on IHS mismanagement (7/23)
GAO Report: IHS lost $15.8M in property (7/22)