Alan Simpson: “I would like to thank the full committee chairman, Mr. Bishop; the ranking member, Mr. Grijalva; the subcommittee…”

“I would like to thank the full committee chairman, Mr. Bishop; the ranking member, Mr. Grijalva; the subcommittee chairman, Mr. McClintock, and the ranking member, Ms. Tsongas, for considering this bill. The relationship between Native Americans and the United States Government is complicated, not well understood, and filled with inconsistencies. Today Indian Country faces a number of serious challenges, ranging from addressing abject poverty to trying to promote economic development in the face of inefficient bureaucracy. The Federal Government has a trust responsibility to meet its commitments to Indian Country. Yet in many cases, Federal agencies hinder, rather than help, tribes provide for their members. This is illustrated by the settlement of the Cobell litigation and the scores of tribal trust lawsuits over the past few years, which have cost taxpayers more than $5.5 billion. A number of tribes, including many in the Northwest, have been working to address some of the challenges that they face in managing tribal trust assets. Many tribes are capable of effectively and efficiently managing their own assets--and often are better equipped to do so than the agencies currently responsible for that management. Yet, in order to have a say in how these assets are managed, they must swim upstream against a muddled Federal bureaucracy. This is why I introduced H.R. 812, the Indian Trust Asset Reform Act.…”