Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, stumbled across a great disparity while seeking appropriations for the American Indian colleges. "It was appropriations time and I was frankly shocked to discover that a federally chartered college like Howard University, a school for African-American students, was getting $13,000 per student while the tribally controlled Indian colleges were getting only $1,700 per student."

Inouye made it his goal to close that gap.

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