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MONDAY, JULY 22, 2002

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee on Thursday will hold a hearing on the Bush administration's historical accounting proposal.

The plan was released earlier this month after a year of development. Accounting for the funds of more than 500,000 American Indians will take at least 10 years and $2.4 billion, according to Department of Interior estimates.

Congress has never held a hearing specifically on the duty to account for the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust. The Senate has repeatedly discussed reconciliation of tribal trust funds, an undertaking the General Accounting Office earlier this year said was "impossible."

Expected witness include the GAO and Bert T. Edwards, the director of the Office of Historical Trust Accounting.

Relevant Documents:
OHTA Letter | OHTA Plan

Relevant Links:
Senate Indian Affairs Committee - http://indian.senate.gov
Office of Historical Trust Fund Accounting - http://www.doi.gov/ohta
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Trust Reform, NCAI - http://www.ncai.org/main/pages/
issues/other_issues/trust_reform.asp

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