Clinton's proposed budget increase for Indians not enough, tribal leaders say

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Clinton's proposal to increase spending on American Indian health care, law enforcement and education by $1.2 billion is not enough to meet the dire needs of reservation

Thursday, February 24th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Clinton's proposal to increase spending on American Indian health care, law enforcement and education by $1.2 billion is not enough to meet the dire needs of reservation communities, tribal leaders and their allies in Congress say.

Clinton's fiscal 2001 budget proposal would increase spending on programs for the country's 2.4 million Indians to $9.4 billion, more than 12 percent above the current year's budget. But Indian programs have been under funded for so long that even more spending is needed to bring them up to minimal standards, said tribal leaders meeting in Washington this week.

"It is only the first step to recognize the trust obligations and treaty responsibilities to Indian Nations," Susan Masten, president of the National Congress of American Indians, said during a meeting of the group Thursday. She said the proposal "does not begin to address the Third-World conditions on our reservations."

Tribes' Republican allies in Congress had suggested spending anadditional $3 billion on Indian programs next year and say they will seek more than Clinton's request. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., on Wednesday said he would welcome proposals for more Indian spending.

"A billion dollars is nothing to laugh at, it's pretty good," Domenici said during a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing. "But it may be that somebody might want to put more (money) in, especially in school construction."

Clinton's budget proposal includes $300 million for reservation school construction and renovation, more than double the $133 million to be spent this year. The money would pay for six new schools, mostly in Arizona and New Mexico, but would not erase an estimated $800 million backlog in vital repairs and construction for Indian schools.

The budget also calls for $140 million in new spending on Indian law enforcement, more than $60 million more for building and repairing reservation homes and nearly $230 million more for the Indian Health Service.

Clinton touted the proposals in his State of the Union address to Congress last month and plans to talk to reporters about it Friday, said Lynn Cutler, the top White House aide on Indian issues. She and other administration officials also acknowledged the budget would not meet all tribes' needs, but said larger increases might have trouble in the GOP-controlled Congress.

"It's still not enough to meet basic needs, but it's a good package to go around," White House adviser Mary Smith, a Cherokee, told the tribal leaders Thursday.

Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman Ben Nighthorse Campbell said Wednesday his panel planned to make changes to the president's Indian budget proposal on Tuesday.

The Colorado Republican, the only Indian in the Senate, also praised Clinton's proposal and said he hoped to gain even larger increases in Indian spending. Some Democrats say they also will push for more spending. Sen.Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., told tribal leaders Thursday he would "fight as hard as I can fight in Congress" for increased funding. "We ought not to be patient with bad schools, bad housing and bad health care," Dorgan said. "There's no excuse for that."