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Trust fund report slams Bush administration
Months ago, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton
told Congress she welcomed the scrutiny of
a court monitor assigned to watch over her
efforts to fix the trust fund.
But with the latest report issued by Joseph
S. Kieffer III particularly critical of her
leadership, or lack thereof, she might want to take
her testimony back. In the report, Kieffer
hands the Bush administration what could
arguably be called his most severe criticism
of the government yet.
Because Norton has failed to resolve endemic
management problems, they have worsened,
said Kieffer. Despite her attempts to
take charge of reform, there is no one
moving it forward, he added.
Get the Story:
Norton blasted
on trust fund (10/17)
Interior
Solicitor on trust fund crash course (10/17)
In The Hoop:
Smallpox, Part II (10/17)
Interior spending bill passed
Questions aside about the government's
handling of the trust fund, Congress this week
approved $19.1 billion in spending
for the Department of Interior and related
agencies.
The bill sends more money to Indian
Country through both the Bureau of Indian
Affairs and the Indian Health Service.
Land and water settlements and education
construction make up the bulk of the new
additions.
As for the trust fund, Congress has
again repeated its warning on an historical
accounting the Interior has yet to provide
despite being charged by law to do so.
After spending more than $614 million on
reform with no clear results to show for it,
lawmakers are increasingly worried about
spending money with no success.
Get the Story:
Congress kills
Wyandotte casino project (10/15)
Interior bill
funds Native projects (10/15)
Interior
spending approved amid anthrax (10/18)
Interior bill
funds Cahuilla settlement (10/18)
Bighorn
memorial finally funded (10/19)
Interior bill
funds salmon efforts (10/19)
more stories
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of the top stories.
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