Department of Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 - Conference Report

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004—CONFERENCE REPORT

Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, while I plan to vote for this bill because it funds a host of programs critical to our Nation and my home State of Washington, I rise today to voice my grave concerns over a provision that would prevent the Department of Interior from conducting a full accounting of Individual Indian Trust accounts.

On September 25, 2003, in the case of Cobell v. Norton, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered the Department of Interior to account for all individual Indian assets held in trust since 1887. This accounting is critical if our government is to meet its federal trust responsibility and reach an equitable settlement over the funds owed to over 300,000 American Indians.

My concerns over this funding limitation are threefold. First, it subverts both the legislative and committee process. Last week, Indian Affairs Committee Chairman CAMPBELL and Vice-Chairman INOUYE introduced legislation that provided a blueprint on how we can move forward on this issue. As a member of the Indian Affairs Committee, I feel strongly that the committee of jurisdiction should deal with this issue so that we can hear from the multiple stakeholders through the traditional hearing and legislative drafting process.

Secondly, by forestalling a court order, I am very concerned that this rider may violate the Constitution's separation of powers doctrine. With the insertion of this provision, Congress is interfering with the ability of a federal agency to comply with the ruling of a Federal judge. It could also be considered a takings, since Indian account holders are being denied redress to secure just compensation for the use of their property.

Finally, this provision will delay efforts to settle this lawsuit because it will remove any incentive the Interior Department might have to participate in good faith negotiations. I hope that its inclusion will at least spur the parties to try and reach a mutually acceptable settlement within the year that this rider will be in effect.

After a century of mismanaging Indian assets, it's time for our Nation to keep our promises. While I share the concerns of my colleagues over the potential expense of the accounting process, I believe that the cost further supports the need for a negotiated settlement. That is why I am committed to working with the all affected stakeholders as well as the chairman and vice-chairman of the Indian Affairs committee to resolve this matter once and for all.