HONOLULU (AP) — Senators from Hawaii and Alaska have been elected the chairperson and vice chairperson of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Hawaii Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz will serve as chairperson. Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski will be vice chairperson. Both senators emphasized the panel’s bipartisan traditions in their first committee hearing in Washington. Schatz says the federal trust responsibility to American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians should be the guiding light for senators on the committee. Murkowski says in many states and regions, annual budgets have left native people behind in terms of education, healthcare, public safety and infrastructure.