It's been nearly a year since the House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on a bill to recognize the Duwamish Tribe of Washington.

H.R.2678 was met with opposition from the Muckleshoot Tribe at the hearing. But other events in Washington, D.C., put the brakes on the bill, according to Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Washington).

"It's partly because everything was stopped by what went on with health care," McDermott told The West Seattle Herald. "Now whether it might happen in the next few months, I haven't lost all hope. But I think health care sucked all the air out of the Congress for about nine months and it was very hard to get anything moving, but we're still pushing.'

The House has moved on bills to recognize tribes in North Carolina and Virginia and to recognize a Native Hawaiian governing entity. But the bills that were considered at the July 15, 2009, hearing haven't gone anywhere.

Get the Story:
'Health care bill stalled Duwamish recognition,' says Congressman Jim McDermott (The West Seattle Herald 7/12)

Committee Hearing:
Full Committee Legislative Hearing On H.R. 2678, H.R. 1358, H.R. 3084, And H.R. 3120 (July 15, 2009)

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