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Thursday, October 30, 2003

The following is the text of a statment Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Resources Committee, made during a mark-up session on the Department of Interior's budget bill. October 29, 2003.

I strongly urge a �no� vote on the Interior Appropriations conference report so the conferees will quickly remove a �poison pill� that was added to the legislation in blatant violation of House rules and protocol.

The offending provision is entitled �Office of Special Trustee for American Indians, Federal Trust Programs.� It is included in the conference report on H.R. 2691, a bill making appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related agencies for fiscal year 2004.

The legislative rider puts a one-year stay on a recent decision by Judge Lamberth in the Cobell v. Norton Indian trust fund lawsuit, a decision that basically went against the Department of the Interior.

This rider is in the Resources Committee�s jurisdiction. It was crafted, considered, and added to the conference report in secrecy, with no consultation, notice, or warning given to the Committee on Resources or to the Indians whose rights it affects. My staff was informed about it only when it was a done deal.

As I stated when the appropriators attempted to pass a similar rider in July, I can appreciate their concern with the escalating costs of the Cobell litigation and its effect on important Indian programs and services.

But using stealth to write legislation for us, and to write it badly, is an affront to this Committee. It�s intolerable.

In addition, it jeopardizes far more than just the jurisdiction of this committee and the rights of Indians to seek justice for the decades of mismanagement of their trust accounts by the Department of the Interior.

Right now, Southern California is ablaze in catastrophic wildfires. Thousands of brave firefighters are battling this minute to save innocent lives and property in my home state. Due to the vast nature of this firefighting effort, large sums of money are needed to replenish the depleted treasuries of the firefighting agencies involved � money that is provided in this very bill.

However, the Appropriations conferees have recklessly imperiled this critical funding by placing the controversial Indian poison pill rider on the bill � a rider that will force Members to vote the legislation down and send it back to conference.

At the very moment that the lives and property of tens of thousands of Californians are on the line, the actions of the Appropriations conferees in jeopardizing this funding with a controversial rider is absolutely unconscionable.

I further question the dubious timing of this rider because along with my colleagues on this Committee and on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, I�m building the framework for a legislated settlement to the lawsuit. Without a settlement, this litigation will drag on for years, costing the government billions of dollars for lawyer and accountants, and delaying justice for hundreds of thousands of Indians.

I am concerned that this rider undermines this very progress that is being made and the prospect of justice for the hundreds of thousands of Indians who have already been waiting for justice for far too many years.

Anyone who has paid attention to this litigation has noticed the polarization of the plaintiffs and the Department. They�ve also noticed a District Court that some believe is too aggressive in penalizing officials of the Department who were not historically responsible for creating the trust fund mess, but nonetheless have a duty to clean it up.

Given the extreme positions which are common in such litigation, the only way Congress can develop a settlement is to negotiate with both sides. This is a job for this Committee, which is vested with the authority to develop such legislation. The Appropriations Committee is not vested with such authority.

If we are to be successful in developing a bill, then our work must be done in good faith.

Thrusting a midnight rider on an appropriations bill without consulting with us or with Indian Country is not a show of good faith. It is a show of bad faith, and it makes this Committee�s job to resolve the case extremely difficult.

Moreover, the provision might be unconstitutional. It�s the same as prohibiting a property owner whose land was condemned by the government from seeking compensation.

Earlier this year a similar rider was dropped from the House version of the Interior bill. Following this action, there was an understanding that the Appropriations Committee would respect the Resources Committee�s prerogative to develop a legislative resolution to the Cobell litigation.

Legislation is being developed by this Committee to provide for a full, fair, and equitable settlement, but this Appropriations rider threatens to undermine our work. We have held two hearings. One was held in July, and one last Saturday in Billings, Montana. Another is scheduled next Monday on an Indian Reservation in Arizona, and more will be planned.

If we are to protect this committee�s jurisdiction, proceed with our work to develop a fair and equitable settlement, and end cynical, secretive maneuvers on a wildfire funding bill, then I expect Members of this Committee to vote �no� vote on the Interior Appropriations Conference Report.

The conference committee is not dissolved until the House passes the conference report. By voting �no�, the conferees can go back and remove the offending rider.

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