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THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2002

American Indian trust fund beneficiaries on Tuesday welcomed the removal of provisions in a funding bill that would have limited an accounting of their assets.

Keith Harper, an attorney representing the beneficiaries in a class action, told the Associated Press that the House vote was a signal that the Department of Interior should admit it can't do an accounting due to limited records and other problems. A judge or a settlement could resolve the issue.

The Bush administration claims it can reconcile the accounts but can't provide a reliable estimate of the cost and the time.

Get the Story:
Roll Call: Rahall Indian Trust Fund Amendment (House 7/17)
American Indians Get Accounting Win (AP 7/17)
House rejects effort to limit Indian damages (The Farmington Daily-Times 7/18)
House Nears Vote on Spending For Natural Resources, the Arts (The Wall Street Journal 7/18)
Representatives vote down tribal gaming commission (The Las Vegas Review-Journal 7/18)
House Votes To Increase NEA's Budget By $10 Million (The Washington Post 7/18)
House Conservatives Budge on Arts Spending (The New York Times 7/18)
Username: indianz.com, Password: indianz.com

Relevant Documents:
Rahall Letter (7/15) | Hayworth-Kildee Letter (7/12) | 8th Court Monitor Report (7/11) | House Committee Report (7/9) | Senate Committee Report (6/27)

Relevant Bills:
H.R.5093 | S.2708

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust, Department of Interior - http://www.doi.gov/indiantrust
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Trust Reform, NCAI - http://www.ncai.org/main/pages/
issues/other_issues/trust_reform.asp

Related Stories:
Debate rages on Interior bill (7/17)
White House approved DOI spending bill (7/17)
Objections on trust fund ignored (7/16)
House to debate DOI funding bill (7/16)
IIM project affects little in trust (7/16)
House trust fund bill opposed (7/15)
Full accounting said not 'cost effective' (7/15)
Griles slammed for ignorance (7/12)
DOI denies involvement in House bill (7/12)
Court monitor releases new report (7/11)
ABC program to focus on Indian trust fund (7/11)
Tribes express doubts on trust reform (7/11)
Norton delivers accounting plan (7/5)
Cobell kicks off Indian Country tour (7/3)
Trust fund monitor defended (7/2)
Historical accounting plan delayed (7/2)
Norton's accounting funds limited (6/28)
Griles can't explain trust standards (6/27)