[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 58 (Thursday, April 10, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5157-S5158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

   NOMINATION OF ROSS OWEN SWIMMER TO BE SPECIAL TRUSTEE, OFFICE OF 
                  SPECIAL TRUSTEE FOR AMERICAN INDIANS

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now 
proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 60, which the 
clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Ross Owen Swimmer, of 
Oklahoma, to be Special Trustee, Office of Special Trustee for American 
Indians, Department of the Interior.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, the Senate is about to vote on the 
nomination of Ross Swimmer for Special Trustee for American Indians.
  Trust reform is a critical issue for the Native American community 
nationwide, and the Special Trustee is the official responsible for 
directing the Department of the Interior's efforts to correct this 
longstanding problem and provide sound fiduciary services to trust 
beneficiaries. This nomination and vote will affect the prospects for 
success of this critical reform effort.
  I think it is extremely important for the full Senate to reflect on 
two central facts about the trust debate as they consider Mr. Swimmer's 
nomination. First, for generations, residents of Indian Country have 
been victimized by persistent mismanagement of trust assets by the 
Federal Government. Far too many families for far too long have been 
denied trust assets to which they are entitled because of this 
mismanagement. And this situation has adversely affected their quality 
of life.
  Second, frustration with the Federal Government's failure to come to 
grips with this problem has not only led to litigation (Cobell v. 
Norton), it has also solidified the tribes' determination to contribute 
to the development of a workable solution to the problem. Effective 
trust management reform will remain an elusive goal if the tribes are 
not full participants in this exercise.
  The tribes understand that the Special Trustee for American Indians 
must be their ally in the search for a solution, not an independent 
actor balancing other agendas. In the past months, leaders of South 
Dakota's nine tribes have expressed to me their concerns about the 
administration's desire to entrust Ross Swimmer with this influential 
role.
  The bottom line is that trust beneficiaries deserve a Special Trustee 
in whom they can have confidence to restore sound accounting principles 
and integrity to the Federal Government's management of trust assets. 
There is a critical need to elevate the Indian trust issue to higher 
levels within the administration. The current state of Indian trust 
management is a debacle and has come to be known as the ``Enron of 
Indian Country.'' We need an individual who is able to tackle this 
issue with the interested stakeholders. I agree with South Dakota 
tribal leaders and the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Association that 
Ross Swimmer is not the right man for this job.
  Ross Swimmer has had many responsibilities at the Department of the 
Interior. But, most significantly for this debate, over the past 
several years, he has been an integral part of the Department's 
disappointing effort to impose a trust management solution conceived by 
Federal bureaucrats without the full engagement and consent of Native 
American leadership. It is time to make sure that trust beneficiaries 
receive the assets to which they are entitled. We must not allow the 
bureaucracy to ``run out the clock'' in the hope that the courts will 
``save the day'' by absolving the Government of its trust 
responsibility.
  To provide some perspective, the 16 tribes of the Great Plains in 
South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska own 10 million acres of land 
held in trust by the U.S. Government. These lands represent over one-
third of the tribal trust assets. They have huge interests at stake in 
ensuring that the Special Trustee is committed to a fair resolution of 
the trust assets management controversy.
  I value and respect the judgment of South Dakota tribal people, their 
tribal leadership and the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Association on 
this important issue. Therefore, I cannot support Mr. Swimmer's 
nomination as Special Trustee for American Indians.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, today I want to speak on the nomination 
of my good friend Ross Swimmer to be Special Trustee for American 
Indians. Back in 1994 Congress passed the American Indian Trust Fund 
Management Reform Act, which created the position of Special Trustee 
for American Indians. This position was created to address years of 
trust fund mismanagement. Special Trustee is a very challenging 
responsibility not to mention a thankless job. The President could not 
have picked a better person for this job. Because of Ross's extensive 
background in Indian law, banking, and finance, I believe that Ross 
Swimmer can begin to resolve this issue.
  I have had the pleasure of knowing, respecting, and working with Ross 
for more than 22 years. He has served Indian country in both the public 
and private sectors where he has served in numerous leadership 
capacities. For 10 years, Ross was Principal Chief of the Cherokee 
Nation, the second largest Indian tribe in the United States. He served 
3 years as Assistant Secretary at the Department of Interior, where he 
managed a $1.5 billion budget; 15,000 employees, and the oversight and 
management of policy concerning Indian affairs.
  Ross was president of the First National Bank in Tahlequah and 
chairman of the First State Bank in Hulbert, OK. He was president of a 
multimillion-dollar manufacturing company, owned by the Cherokee 
Nation, which is involved in the aerospace, defense, and 
telecommunications industries. Ross's legal experience includes General 
Counsel to the Cherokee Nation, associate and partner in the Oklahoma 
City firm of Hanson, Fisher, Tumilty, Peterson and Tompkins. Because of 
Ross's background with Indian law, he established the Indian law 
division for the law firm of Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden and 
Nelson.
  Ross had the distinction of serving as cochairman of the Presidential 
Commission on Reservation Economies; chairman of the Energy Resources 
Tribes; and chairman of the White House Conference on Indian Education. 
He was also named Outstanding American Indian Leader in 1985 and was 
inducted into the Tulsa Historical Society's Hall of Fame.
  I am delighted to be here to recommend my friend Ross Swimmer, to be 
Special Trustee for American Indians. I have confidence in Ross that he 
will work with the Indian community toward resolving the issues 
surrounding the Indian trust. As you can see by Ross's career, he has 
the dedication, experience, and qualifications as well as the 
understanding of Indian law necessary to address this complex, 
monumental task.
  Mr. HATCH. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Ross Owen Swimmer, of Oklahoma, to be Special Trustee, Office of 
Special Trustee for American Indians?
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I announce that the Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Thomas) 
is necessarily absent.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Dorgan),

[[Page S5158]]

the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), and the Senator from 
Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman) are necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
North Dakota (Mr. Dorgan) would vote ``no''.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) would vote ``aye''.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 72, nays 24, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 133 Ex.]

                                YEAS--72

     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bond
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeWine
     Dole
     Domenici
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (FL)
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Kennedy
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Miller
     Murkowski
     Nickles
     Reed
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden

                                NAYS--24

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Cantwell
     Clinton
     Conrad
     Corzine
     Daschle
     Dayton
     Dodd
     Feinstein
     Harkin
     Johnson
     Lautenberg
     Levin
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Pryor
     Reid
     Sarbanes
     Stabenow

                             NOT VOTING--4

     Dorgan
     Kerry
     Lieberman
     Thomas
  The nomination was confirmed.

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