Sen. Barbara Boxer wants tribe to answer questions

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer vowed to follow up on the findings of The Desert Sun's investigation into a Torres-Martinez tribal welfare program, saying Americans no longer “have the stomach for” potential waste or misuse of taxpayer funds.

“I take it very seriously,” the California Democrat said.

“We don't have any room in our county, in our state, in our country for any type of misuse, any kind of fraud, any kind of misspent funds. We can't have it.”

Boxer, who lives in Rancho Mirage, made her comments at a meeting with The Desert Sun's editorial board on Tuesday.

The Desert Sun earlier shared with Boxer's staff some preliminary findings of its investigation into the Torres-Martinez Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

Boxer said members of her staff then contacted Torres-Martinez tribal officials.

“The tribe is denying that there's been any problem,” she said.

Boxer added that she plans to write a letter to tribal officials asking them to answer specific questions raised by The Desert Sun's investigation.

The senator also expressed concern over the newspaper's finding that of 44 tribal programs nationwide, more than one-third had serious, negative audit findings in each of their past three audits.

“If this is a pattern, we certainly can't allow that to happen,” Boxer said.

The federal government in December announced it would pay $3.4 billion to American Indian tribes nationwide to settle a class-action lawsuit claiming the government cheated tribes out of oil, mineral and other royalties over more than a century.

“The tribes have had a very difficult time in the past — a lot of difficulty getting the funds they feel they deserve to have,” Boxer said. “Now there's been a settlement decree, and we're trying to put that into law, to make sure the tribes are being treated fairly.

“It would be very sad if the tribes lost the confidence of the public. (But) everybody has to play by the rules.”