Dorgan to become vice chairman of Senate’s Indian Affairs Committee

Associated Press

      BISMARCK, N.D. - Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said he will become vice chairman of the Senate's Indian Affairs Committee.

      Dorgan will succeed Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, in the position. Dorgan and North Dakota's other Democratic senator, Kent Conrad, are committee members. Dorgan has served on it for 12 years.

      "I've served in a lot of committees, but this is different. This is something important to me," Dorgan said Thursday. He spoke at a news conference at the United Tribes Technical College here.
North Dakota tribal leaders welcomed the news. The committee is "one of the few places in Congress that Indian people can go to, when they are up on (Capitol Hill) and need support," said Ken Davis, chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa tribe.

      Valentino White Sr., chairman of the Spirit Lake Sioux tribe, said Dorgan would help bring more federal money to the tribes for education and development.