GOP revives Abramoff-Chippewa issue

HELENA — National Republicans are going after a Democratic U.S. senator from Michigan for her part in getting federal money for the wealthy Saginaw Chippewa tribe — the same Jack Abramoff-sought money Republican Sen. Conrad Burns also helped secure.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee — the group tasked with getting Republicans elected to the U.S. Senate — has a computerized cartoon on its Web site (www.nrsc.org) that takes aim at Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat.

The Republican cartoon doesn’t mention either Burns or Abramoff.

Called “Thanks Debbie,’’ the cartoon targets a number of Stabenow’s actions while in office, including her request for just under $5 million to build a new school for the Saginaw Chippewa tribe, a wealthy Michigan American Indian tribe with a profitable casino.

The tribe eventually received $3 million.

The tribe was also a client of indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, at the time. It, other tribes, Abramoff and his associates donated nearly $150,000 to Burns’ campaign.

Burns has since returned or donated to charity his Abramoff-connected money and the tribe has returned the controversial $3 million federal grant.

The cartoon includes information about the tribe, including five paragraphs about the tribe’s wealth and its “embassy-like mansion in one of D.C.’s toniest neighborhoods.’’

“But despite their immense wealth, Stabenow has the gall to request federal funding for tribal projects,’’ the ad says.

The cartoon includes a Jan. 23, 2003, quote from the Congressional Record, the official log of Congress.

“Don’t you think the (Saginaw Chippewa) tribe should be given high consideration from the Department of Interior for this grant during the fiscal year 2003?’’ Stabenow is quoted as saying.

However, the Republican cartoon doesn’t include the next line, nor does it point out Stabenow was talking to Burns.

The next line, according to the Congressional Record, came from Burns:

“Yes, I agree with distinguished senator from Michigan,’’ Burns said, adding, “the subcommittee was pleased to learn that the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan is eligible, willing and capable of taking advantage of this innovative program during the fiscal year 2003 funding cycle.’’

According to the Congressional Record, Burns never questioned the appropriateness of a wealthy tribe getting federal money.

Money for the Saginaw Chippewa tribe was an early controversy in the unfolding story of Abramoff and Burns.

The tribe wanted money through a Department of Interior cost-sharing program that allowed tribes that had the means to pay for part of the cost of building new schools. Only tribes that had schools controlled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs could qualify.

Just two American Indian schools in Montana qualified for the program. Almost all American Indian schools in Montana are public schools controlled by local school boards, not the BIA.

Burns was — and is — chairman of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, the group that holds the purse strings to the Department of Interior.

His committee wrote the bill that set aside the money for the Saginaw Chippewa. However, agency officials determined the tribe was ineligible for the money because their school was not BIA-controlled.

Burns and his staff worked to overcome the agency’s objections, the Washington Post has reported.

Asked if Burns should be similarly faulted for also helping to secure money for a rich American Indian tribe, Brian Walton, a spokesman for the national Republican group, said Burns was taking Stabenow “at her word’’ when the Michigan Democrat requested the money.

“The chairman of the committee gets requests from a variety of areas,’’ he said. “He has to be able to count on the information that he is getting from the reps of that state.’’

Walton said that Democrats have gone after Burns for his role in getting the Saginaw Chippewa’s school money, but no one has pointed out that Democrat Stabenow also played a role. He said Stabenow did more than just request for the money; she pushed for it, too.

“It wasn’t a one-sided Republican issue with Abramoff,’’ Walton said. “At the end of the day, Democrats are using this specific request against Senator Burns and pretending that that Sen. Stabenow had no involvement at all.’’

Burns campaign spokesman Jason Klindt agreed.

“Conrad’s only involvement was fighting for an earmark that came out of his committee,’’ Klindt said. “It’s about time that someone made Debbie Stabenow own up to the fact that it was her request, she pushed for it, and suddenly she has a case of amnesia.’’

Matt McKenna, a spokesman for challenger Democrat Jon Tester, thought differently.

“This might be the most famous, but certainly not the only, example of Senator Burns delivering for Jack Abramoff and not for Montana,’’ he said. “This state needs a senator who will put Montana first, not Washington lobbyists.’’