William R. Richardson: “By October 1 of this year we will have spent almost $20 million in 4 years on an attempt by the Bureau of Indian Affairs…”

“By October 1 of this year we will have spent almost $20 million in 4 years on an attempt by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to reconcile tribal trust fund accounts. These accounts are comprised mostly of earnings from tribal leases of oil and gas, agriculture, and grazing leases. The BIA is responsible for investing these funds and managing the accounts. For years these accounts have been mismanaged and the BIA can not even tell the account holders the balance of their accounts. As the legal trustee to these accounts, which total over $1 billion, this leaves the U.S. extremely vulnerable to liability charges. The BIA entered into a contract with the accounting firm of Arthur Anderson to conduct a reconciliation of tribal accounts and this Congress has supported that process. The preliminary reports are that they will be unable to reconcile most accounts as they have encountered numerous instances of lost documentation. Many of us on both sides of the aisle have been working on the problems of Indian trust funds for several years.”