(Continued from page 19)

ment services that our tribal government provides our citizens," Steele said in written testimony.
• Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, who chairs the committee, said providing for tribal members is "truly critical to the self-determination of tribal governments."
• The IRS has been reviewing per capita payments that tribes make to members from trust money raised through tribal businesses.
• Athena Sanchey Yallup, executive secretary of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Nation in Washington State, said the IRS has been seeking to tax her nation's distribution of earnings from the timber on its land to each of its 10,400 tribal members for the first time in its history. The IRS' taxation of the trust payments is a "radical change in policy," she said.

• All of this comes as the Obama administration has won accolades from Native American tribes and Alaska natives for recognizing their sovereignty and requiring federal agencies to do a better job of explaining changes in policy or adoption of new policies. IRS officials said many of the concerns have been raised as the agency has been meeting with tribes to develop guidance on the exemptions.
• The IRS defended its work with tribes. Deputy Assistant Secretary Aaron

(Continued on page 21)