With less than two weeks before Congress goes on recess for the summer, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee is busy this month with a slew of business meetings and hearings.

The committee will take up pending legislation at meetings today and next Wednesday. Sen Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado) is trying to pass several pro-tribal measure before he retires after 22 years of public service.

Most of the bills are non-controversial but some have drawn objections from the Bush administration. Others, including, S.1529, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act Amendments, are controversial and have been delayed by senators.

"Senator [Daniel] Inouye, my colleague and friend, and I are running out of time too as chairman and the ranking member on the committee," Campbell said last month after staff reported the latest legislative developments.

On tap for this month are hearings on issues close to the hearts of the two leaders. Next Wednesday, the committee will look at implementation of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978. Protecting sacred sites and Native religious rights has been a priority for both Campbell and Inouye, who began a series of oversight hearings on the subject two years ago.

Also ahead is hearing on July 21 for S. 519, the Native American Capital Formation and Economic Development Act. With the bill, Campbell hopes to spur financial investment in Indian Country.

Yet another hearing will focus on issues affecting Indian youth, something Campbell has promised in recent months. A date has not yet been set.

Including today, there are just 13 more legislative days before the House and Senate go on summer recess. The break occurs right before the Democratic National Convention in Boston from July 26-29.

The recess will last until the Republican National Convention in New York City from August 30-September 2. Lawmakers return after Labor Day but face a tight schedule due to the November presidential election. Only four weeks will remain before Congress closes its 108th session on October 1.

In that time, lawmakers have to approve the appropriations bills, most of which have been tied up in the Senate in a dispute over the spending policies of the government. Only the House has passed the Interior Department's budget, which restores money to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service that the Bush administration sought to remove.

Additionally, several big Indian bills are on the agenda before Congress winds up the session. Included are:

S.J.Res.37, a bill to apologize to Native peoples for "official depredations and ill-conceived policies" of the U.S;

S.1721, the American Indian Probate Reform Act;

S.556, the reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act;

S.1529, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act Amendments;

S.297, the Federal Acknowledgement Process Reform Act;

S.1696, the Department of Health and Human Services Tribal Self-Governance Amendments Act;

S.1715, the Department of Interior Tribal Self Governance Act;

S.2172, the Tribal Contract Support Cost Technical Amendments Act; and

S. 2436, a bill to reauthorize the Native American Programs Act of 1974.

With the exception of the IGRA amendments, tribes and tribal organizations have offered clear support for the bills. Most have been approved by the Indian Affairs committee except for the IGRA amendments and the health care reauthorization.

The Senate has passed the probate bill, meant to stem the fractionation of Indian lands, but the House has yet to act. The measure could be folded into an appropriations bill or other legislation.

Tribes support provisions in the IGRA bill to make it harder to justify revenue-sharing in gaming compacts. "Indian gaming is not a reason for state budget problems and should not be used as a way out," Ernie Stevens, chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association, said last month.

But NIGA has concerns about provisions to expand the authority to the National Indian Gaming Commission, the federal agency charged with regulating tribal casinos. Stevens, who spoke at the mid-year session of the at the National Congress of American Indians, said the language affecting Class III oversight is being dropped.

NIGA also wants to language to "fix" a U.S. Supreme Court decision that gives tribes little recourse to pursue gaming if the state refuses to negotiate an agreement.

More information on the Indian Affairs Committee schedule can be found at http://indian.senate.gov.