[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 112 (Friday, July 25, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1616]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




AMERICAN INDIAN TRUST FUND MANAGEMENT REFORM ACT AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2003

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                        HON. NICK J. RAHALL, II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 25, 2003

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join our colleague 
Congressman Mark Udall in introducing the ``American Indian Trust Fund 
Management Reform Act Amendments Act of 2003.'' This bill is a sound 
proposal for the reform of the management of assets and funds held in 
trust by the United States for individual Indians and federally 
recognized Indian tribes.
  For well over a century the Federal Government has been the trustee 
of funds generated from leases on Indian lands. For almost as long, the 
Federal Government has been charged with mismanaging these funds. To 
this day tribal and individual Indian account holders cannot be assured 
that the balances the Department of Interior claims are in their 
accounts are accurate.
  Much attention has been given to the Cobell v. Norton class action 
lawsuit which was filed in 1996 on behalf of some 300,000 individual 
Indian money account holders. But regardless of what happens in this 
case, the current management and administration of Indian trust lands 
and trust funds by the Department of the Interior (DOI) is inadequate 
and must be reformed.
  Enactment of this bill would elevate trust fund management within 
DOI, affirm trust standards, and ensure Indian tribes have a greater 
management role over their assets and funds. These are all elements 
needed for reform of the system as determined by the Task Force on 
Trust Fund Reform, the Intertribal Monitoring Association and the 
National Congress of American Indians.
  I commend Mr. Udall for introducing this important bill and thereby 
starting the trust fund reform discussion in the House of 
Representatives. I remain open to other legislative proposals and am 
committed to working with Indian country towards true reform and 
protection of Indian trust funds.

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