LUMBERTON — Lumbee Tribal Council member Helen Locklear had one question for U.S. Sen. Richard Burr on Monday: Will the Lumbee Recognition Bill pass in the U.S. Senate?

Although optimistic that the Senate will eventually pass the bill, Burr is not sure that the passage will be soon or easily accomplished.

“Congress once and for all needs to determine this issue,” said the Republican senator, who along with Sen. Kay Hagan, a Democrat, supports Lumbee recognition. “It certainly is my intent to see that this is done.”

Burr discussed Lumbee tribal recognition during a stop at The Robesonian on Monday. Locklear met the senator as he was entering the building.

Although the recognition bill passed the U.S. House in June, its fate in the Senate is not certain.

“There is more opposition in the Senate than there was in the House,’’ Burr said. “Even with the House passing the bill, I don’t think opposition to Lumbee recognition has been lessened in the Senate.”

Supporters of Lumbee recognition say federal recognition is necessary to guarantee the tribe a bright future. Official recognition will bring to the tribe millions of federal tax dollars for housing, education, economic development and health.

Burr hopes to find a “vehicle” to move the bill through the Senate.

“This may have to be included as part of an appropriation or authorization bill,” he said. “This will take time. It is important to find the right vehicle.”

Burr also discussed the veterans outpatient clinic proposed for Robeson County. He was the ranking Republican on the Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee when it was first determined that an outpatient clinic should be located in the Lumberton area.

“It is better for Congress to stay out of the site selection process,” he said. “The VA is one federal agency that works well and is best suited for determining a clinic site that will provide the best access for the most veterans.”

The senator said that he does not know why the area being considered for the clinic was expanded earlier this year from just Lumberton to include Pembroke, but added that expansion of a site selection area is not unusual.

Burr said there are many factors that determine site selection. They can include a suitable building already on the site; proximity to a major thoroughfare; easy access for all area veterans; distance from medical facilities; and amount of traffic and crime.

“This is all about accessibility for veterans,” he said. “It is incumbent upon the VA to utilize taxpayers money to provide the easiest accessibility to services for the greatest mass of veterans in an area.”

Speaking about health care, Burr said that recent public outcry and protests exemplify that health care is a very personal issue for the American people.

“When it gets down to their level, discussions of health care forces the American people to say how it affects them individually. I’m not surprised at all that people are so passionate and their emotions are coming to the forefront,” he said. “I don’t think these recent protests have been orchestrated. You don’t get that level of passion from people when something is orchestrated.”

The senator expects both the House and Senate to soon act on some kind of health care program.

“We have for four and a half years gone through every scenario to fund health care,” Burr said. “What we have to determine is if what we propose is sustainable and does it bring down the cost of health care.”

On the state of the nation’s economy, Burr said simply, “We are out of money.”

“We borrow 46 cents of every dollar we spend,” he said. “Just the interest payment on what we borrow today is $5 trillion over the next 10 years.”

He added that the stimulus money that has been appropriated to expand the economy is not stimulating economic growth.

“Economic growth requires private capital,” he said. “I would like to see the stimulus money not yet spent be pulled back and be used for infrastructure, such as the construction of badly needed roads and bridges.”