Absent Senators Put Indian Panel Chief on Warpath : Not Enough Chiefs Attend Panel Meeting on Indians

The chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, surveying the field and finding too few colleagues to call a meeting, threatened today to recommend the panel be disbanded.

“I’m not about to serve as chairman of a committee that is not functioning because staff can’t get the members to show up,” said Sen. Mark Andrews (R-N.D.). “Obviously, there is a lack of interest on the part of the members to show up.”

The committee was scheduled to consider several bills, including measures to settle Indian land claims on Cape Cod, Mass., and to regulate gambling on Indian reservations around the country. But the lack of a quorum prevented any action.

Andrews said he had fought previous efforts to abolish the Indian Affairs panel but would change his mind if he is unable to get a quorum for a meeting after Congress returns from a three-week summer recess Sept. 8.

Abolishing the committee would save taxpayers $350,000 a year in staff costs, Andrews said, adding that the work could be transferred to other committees. The House has no separate Indian Affairs Committee and assigns Indian bills to the Interior Committee.

Since senators serve on several committees, scheduling conflicts often prevent them from attending meetings of all the panels on which they are assigned. Finding a quorum is often difficult even for committees with more general jurisdiction, such as Agriculture or Foreign Relations.

But Andrews said the Indian Affairs Committee has been plagued by quorum problems.

Of the eight senators other than himself, Andrews said only Sens. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) and Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) let him know of their plans. Goldwater left a proxy vote with Andrews, and Gorton, who had to attend another committee meeting, arrived late. Sen. Frank H. Murkowski (R-Alaska) also attended the meeting.