March 13,2007

Finance Chairman Hires Richard Litsey as Counsel and Senior Advisor on Indian Affairs

Washington, DC – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has hired Richard Litsey as Counsel and Senior Advisor on Indian Affairs for the Committee. Litsey will work on issues related to Social Security, Indian Health Care, Indian Tax, and Montana Tribes. Litsey has worked on many of these issues for the Committee for the past two years as an American Political Science Association Fellow.

“I’m honored to have someone as accomplished and as dedicated as Richard on my staff,” Baucus said. “From Indian health care to equity for tribal tax-exempt bonds, the Finance Committee can and should address a number of issues facing Native Americans in Montana and across the country. Richard’s expertise will help us to serve the tribes well.”

Prior to his work for the Committee, Litsey worked in Houston, Texas as Hearing Office Director for the Social Security Administration. There, he oversaw reviews of disability claims filed by Social Security claimants. Additionally, Litsey has worked as an attorney in the Customs and International Trade section of Baker & Hosteler, LLP. He served on the Board of Directors of the Houston Chapter of the American Indian Chamber of Commerce and the Houston Native American Resource Center. As an attorney for the Legal Services Corporation in Philadelphia, Mississippi, Litsey also represented members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians who were unable to afford legal representation. He has also served in the United States Customs Service in its border, seaport, airport operations, and Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures.

A native of Dickinson, Texas, Litsey is an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. He has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Oklahoma State University, a Juris Doctor degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, and a Master’s of Law in International Economic Law from the University of Houston. He is a member of the Mississippi Bar Association, Texas Bar Association, the Capitol Hill Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and the National Native American Bar Association.

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