"Just when I think the animosity between the parties in the lawsuit cannot possibly get any worse, the Federal government callously determines that the solution to its own negligence is to cut vital programs, further punishing Indians. Sadly, this nightmare continues for Indian Country," declared Rahall.

     For more than a century, the Federal government has been the trustee of funds for Indian tribes and individual Indians. Dozens of reports over the years have documented the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) inability to accurately account for trust fund money and manage the accounts on behalf of Indian Country.

     Filed in 1996, the Cobell lawsuit is an earnest effort to make DOI account for the payment of monies to several hundred thousand individual Indian beneficiaries. The judge in the case recently ruled that the Federal government must pay the plaintiff’s legal fees, deeming that the government and its attorneys have "demonstrated an unprecedented level of defiance".

     "It is an outrage that Indian Country is being made to bear the brunt of the Department of the Interior’s own failings. This violates our trust responsibility with our first citizens," declared Rahall.

     He continued, "Despite our best efforts to encourage the Republican leadership to update and expand the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, we are now entering the seventh year without reauthorization of this life-saving act. And again, the Administration proposes to cut funding for the construction of health care facilities. In addition, all funding for urban Indian health care has been totally eliminated, leaving some one million Native Americans with no access to local health care. Congress must live up to our promise and provide better health care for our first Americans."

     Released yesterday, the Fiscal Year 2007 budget proposal invests heavily in securing America’s borders, but does not provide any funding for Indian Country to protect its homelands, many of which are situated along the United States’ borders.

     And despite horrendous statistics and reports to the contrary, the Administration’s budget proposal neglects the glaring needs in Indian Country’s justice systems. Without regard to the Inspector General’s 2004 report "‘Neither Safe Nor Secure’: An Assessment of Indian Detention Facilities," the Administration chose to ignore atrocious conditions and eliminate all funding for tribal courts, prison construction, and substance abuse programs. Additionally, despite alarmingly high suicide and crime rates among tribal youth, the Administration has proposed to eliminate all $10 million of funding for Juvenile Justice programs.

     "While the Administration touts its accomplishments in making America more secure, once again, Indian Country is left disrespected and unprotected," charged Rahall.

     Further, the Administration is proposing to severely cut funds for the Morris K. Udall Foundation’s Native Nations Institute, which, since authorized, has seen over 1,700 tribal leaders representing 360 tribes attend its executive education courses.