http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031113/ap_on_go_ot/indian_money_1Accounting of Money Temporarily Halted
By ROBERT GEHRKE, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - An accounting of money owed to hundreds of thousands of American Indians was put on hold Thursday as an appeals court considers whether recent action by Congress can overturn a federal judge's order.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued the stay so attorneys for the government and American Indians suing the Interior Department can file briefs on the effect of the congressional action.
In September, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered the Interior Department to conduct a thorough investigation into money that was supposed to be paid to Indians for oil, gas, timber and grazing activities on their land for more than a century. He said the accounting must be complete by 2007.
But Congress, at the urging of the White House, added language to an Interior Department spending bill that prevented an accounting from going forward until Congress defines the scope and methods to be used. <snip>