FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 1997
CONTACT: Christopher M. Changery
(202) 224-2251

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Senate Indian Affairs Committee today voted to send to the full Senate S. 459, a bill to reauthorize programs in the Administration for Native Americans. The bill was reported out unanimously, with an amendment providing a one-time capital infusion into a revolving loan fund for economic development in Hawaii.

Chairman Ben Nighthorse Campbell said the legislation is necessary for tribes to protect their environments, preserve their cultures and provide higher standards of living for their members.

"The goal of ANA has been to encourage Native communities to be economically self-sufficient and determine for themselves their own goals and the ways to achieve those goals," Campbell said. "ANA is not business as usual. It does not rely on the heavy hand of Washington bureaucracy to provide much-needed assistance."

S. 459, which would extend ANA programs until fiscal year 2000, was introduced last month by Campbell, Committee Vice-Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) and U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska).

Created by the Native American Programs Act of 1974, programs administered by ANA include:

• Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS), used by tribes to expand businesses and create jobs;



• Environmental grants used to develop regulations and address damage done by military activities on or near tribal lands; and



• Native Languages Preservation.