WASHINGTON - A resolution to the 10-year-old, multibillion-dollar lawsuit by American Indians against the U.S. government has been delayed at least a month to allow more time to fine tune a settlement.

Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., and vice chairman Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., proposed legislation to settle the case last year, and they approached the Indian plaintiffs last month with an $8 billion offer. They had planned to complete the bill during a hearing Wednesday.

Instead, McCain said the hearing has been postponed at least until fall. His announcement followed his and Dorgan's meeting Tuesday with Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

McCain said both secretaries promised to work with Senate committee staff during the August recess "with the goal of producing legislation that all parties to the Cobell lawsuit can live with."

"The very first hearing we had on this issue last March, we made clear that all parties had to be committed to reaching a settlement," McCain said.

Dorgan said it is imperative that all sides agree to the settlement, or the case could drag on another decade.

Kempthorne said in a letter that he is committed to resolving the case.

"If we can define a legislative settlement consistent with our collective goals, I believe, together, we can determine what financial consideration and level of funding for improved beneficiary services would be provided to Indian Country," Kempthorne wrote.

The Indian plaintiffs, however, called the delay "business as usual" for the government.

"It is too bad that the Bush administration opposes fair settlement legislation and wants to litigate the case for another 10 years," the plaintiffs said in a statement. "Hopefully Sen. McCain will ignore the administration, mark up a fair settlement bill after recess and personally shepherd it through Congress."

Thousands of American Indians sued in 1996, accusing the government of mismanaging more than $100 billion in royalties from their lands dating back to 1887.

The lawsuit, known now as Cobell v. Kempthorne, has hamstrung the Interior and Justice departments since then, as the plaintiffs and the government have battled in court.