[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3782 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3782

 To compensate certain Indian tribes for known errors in their tribal 
trust fund accounts, to establish a process for settling other disputes 
     regarding tribal trust fund accounts, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 30, 1998

 Mr. Miller of California (by request) introduced the following bill; 
            which was referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To compensate certain Indian tribes for known errors in their tribal 
trust fund accounts, to establish a process for settling other disputes 
     regarding tribal trust fund accounts, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Tribal Trust Fund Settlement Act of 
1998''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Purposes.
Sec. 4. Definitions.
Sec. 5. Resolution of known errors; netting and forgiveness; interest.
Sec. 6. Settlement of claims; settlement proposals.
Sec. 7. Tribal response to settlement proposals.
Sec. 8. Government-to-government negotiations.
Sec. 9. Litigation of claims.
Sec. 10. Trustee's duty to account in claims proceedings.
Sec. 11. Attorney fees.
Sec. 12. Statute of limitations.
Sec. 13. Claims settlements.
Sec. 14. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 15. Overdrafts and accounting discrepancies.
Sec. 16. Routine adjustments.
Sec. 17. Severability of provisions.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Department of the Interior has completed a 
        reconciliation of tribal trust fund accounts as required by the 
        American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 (25 
        U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) and has proposed a settlement process for 
        resolving claims arising therefrom.
            (2) To the extent the Federal Government owes tribes for 
        losses resulting from deficiencies in the management and 
        accounting of tribal trust funds, claims should be resolved and 
        paid promptly.
            (3) A process which relies initially on informal dispute 
        resolution mechanisms to settle such claims will provide relief 
        in a manner that is just to tribes, and more cost effective and 
        efficient than litigation.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to achieve a settlement of tribal trust fund claims 
        which is fair to both Indian tribes and the general public, 
        produces certainty and finality, and respects tribal 
        sovereignty;
            (2) to compensate tribes in a timely manner for any errors 
        that are currently known to have been made in the management 
        and accounting of tribal trust funds that resulted in losses to 
        tribal trust fund accounts;
            (3) to provide a means and incentives for settling other 
        claims through informal dispute resolution processes rather 
        than litigation; and
            (4) to preserve the opportunity for tribes to litigate such 
        clams in the event that informal dispute resolution mechanisms 
        fail to result in settlement, and to assure that such 
        litigation will proceed in an efficient, fair, and cost 
        effective manner for both tribes and the Federal Government.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) The term ``compound interest'' means interest paid at 
        the tribal benchmark rate, compounded on an annual basis.
            (2) The term ``covered claims'' means all claims against 
        the United States and any of its officers, agents, and 
        employees for the covered period which are or could be asserted 
        by a tribe for losses resulting from deficiencies in the 
        management and accounting of tribal trust funds.
            (3) The term ``covered period'' means July 1, 1972, through 
        September 30, 1992, or July 1, 1972, through the date of 
        settlement, as selected by each tribe pursuant to sections 6 or 
        7 of this Act.
            (4) The term ``deficiencies in the management and 
        accounting of tribal trust funds'' means all errors in the 
        management and accounting of tribal trust funds from the point 
        of their collection through disbursement, including, but not 
        limited to, collection of the appropriate amounts under lease, 
        permit or sale agreements or other contracts, proper recording 
        of transactions, timely collection of revenues, proper accrual 
        of interest, adequate yield on investments, undocumented roll 
        forward amounts, delays in the accrual of interest and proper 
        disbursements.
            (5) The term ``delays in accrual of interest'' means, for 
        the purposes of this Act only, the failure to credit interest--
                    (A) within 6 days after such time as the Secretary 
                collects funds that are to be deposited into a tribal 
                trust fund account; or
                    (B) beginning immediately upon deposit by the 
                Minerals Management Service of the Department of funds 
                to be credited to a tribal trust fund account.
            (6) The term ``Department'' means the Department of the 
        Interior.
            (7) The term ``individual Indian money accounts'' means the 
        account balances for funds held by the Secretary in trust on 
        behalf of an individual Indian or funds held by the Secretary 
        in trust on behalf of a tribe in the system maintained 
        primarily for individual Indian accounts.
            (8) The term ``judgment accounts'' means tribal trust fund 
        accounts held by the Secretary under the terms of the Indian 
        Tribal Judgment Funds Use or Distribution Act (25 U.S.C. 1401 
        et seq.) or an Act of Congress or court order providing for 
        secretarial management of funds paid to tribes in compensation 
        for and satisfaction of legal claims or judgments.
            (9) The term ``known errors'' means errors in the 
        management and accounting of tribal trust funds which the 
        Secretary identified in the Reconciliation Report or which the 
        Secretary determines to exist as of the date of adjustment 
        pursuant to section 5 of this Act. Such errors shall include 
overstatements and understatements in a tribe's account balance, 
regardless of amount, resulting from deficiencies in the management and 
accounting of tribal trust funds, as herein provided.
            (10) The term ``nonjudgment accounts'' are tribal trust 
        fund accounts which are not judgment accounts.
            (11) The term ``Office of Special Trustee'' means the 
        Office of Special Trustee for American Indians of the 
        Department, or its successor.
            (12) The term ``reconciliation report'' means the report 
        provided to each tribe by the Department dated December 31, 
        1995, and with respect to some tribes, supplemented by reports 
        dated April 23, 1996, July 15, 1997, and October 31, 1997, 
        reflecting the efforts of the Department to reconcile the 
        tribal trust fund accounts of each such tribe.
            (13) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Interior.
            (14) The term ``tribal benchmark rate'' means the average 
        annual yield on invested tribal trust funds as determined by 
        the Secretary.
            (15) The term ``Treasury rate'' means the interest rate 
        determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into 
        consideration current market yields on outstanding marketable 
        Treasury securities during the month preceding October 1, 1994, 
        with remaining terms to maturity comparable to the period 
        beginning on October 1, 1994, and ending on the date of payment 
        of a claim.
            (16) The term ``tribal trust fund accounts'' means the 
        account balances for funds held by the Secretary in trust on 
        behalf of a tribe or an Alaska native regional or village 
        corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska 
        Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601, et seq.) or on 
        behalf of such other tribe of Indians which does not meet the 
        definition of tribe under this Act but for whom Congress has 
        directed that an account for trust funds be created, but such 
        term does not include individual Indian money accounts.
            (17) The term ``tribe'' means any American Indian tribe, 
        band, nation, or other organized group or community, including 
        any Alaska native village, which is included on the list of 
        recognized tribes published by the Secretary pursuant to Public 
        Law 103-454 (108 Stat. 4792).
            (18) The term ``accounting discrepancies'' include--
                    (A) the variance between general ledger control 
                accounts and the aggregate of the balances in 
                individual Indian money accounts;
                    (B) balances in interest clearing accounts;
                    (C) balances in United States Treasury suspense 
                accounts; and
                    (D) variances between account balances pursuant to 
                United States Treasury records for accounts 14X5166, 
                14X5197, 14X8060, 14X8176, 14X8327, 14X8365, 14X8366, 
                14X8368, 14X8563, 14X6039, 14X6140, and 14X6703, and 
                account balances pursuant to general ledger accounts 
                for such accounts.
            (19) The term ``general ledger'' means the system used by 
        the Office of Trust Funds Management of the Department to 
        account for cash, investments, and account balances for tribal 
        trust fund accounts and individual Indian money accounts.
            (20) The term ``individual Indian money account pool'' 
        means the aggregate total of the pooled cash, investments, 
        receivables, and other assets held on behalf of the individual 
        Indian money accounts.
            (21) The term ``interest-clearing account'' means control 
        accounts in the individual Indian money accounts module of the 
        Integrated Resource Management System of the Office of Trust 
        Funds Management of the Department used to distribute interest 
        and investment income to individual Indian money accounts.
            (22) The term ``overdraft'' means an account that has a 
        negative balance in an individual Indian money account, but 
        excludes negative balances in interest clearing accounts.
            (23) The term ``United States Treasury suspense accounts'' 
        means the following accounts held by the United States 
        Treasury: 14F3875.21, 14F3878.21, 14F3879.21, and 14F3880.21.

SEC. 5. RESOLUTION OF KNOWN ERRORS; NETTING AND FORGIVENESS; INTEREST.

    (a) Authority To Compensate for Known Errors.--The Secretary shall 
adjust the balance of a tribal trust fund account to compensate for 
known errors pursuant to the requirements of this section.
    (b) Known Errors Netted.--In determining the amount of adjustments 
to the balances of tribal trust fund accounts under this section, the 
Secretary shall net known errors in the accounts of each tribe as 
follows:
            (1) With respect to a tribe's nonjudgment accounts, the 
        aggregate of all amounts overpaid to a tribe in all such 
        accounts shall be subtracted from the aggregate of all amounts 
that were underpaid in all such accounts. To the extent that the 
resulting net amount reflects an underpayment to the tribe in all 
nonjudgment accounts, the Secretary shall adjust the balances of any of 
the tribe's accounts, as the tribe in its sole discretion may direct, 
in an amount equal to the net amount of the underpayment, with interest 
as calculated pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. To the extent 
that the amount reflects an overpayment in all nonjudgment accounts of 
the tribe, any obligation that the tribe owning such accounts may have 
to reimburse the United States shall be forgiven.
            (2) With respect to a tribe's judgment accounts for which 
        the underlying statute or judicial decree does not direct that 
        a specified portion thereof be allocated for specified 
        purposes, all amounts overpaid to a tribe in each such account 
        shall be subtracted from amounts that were underpaid in each 
        such account. To the extent that the resulting net amount 
        reflects an underpayment to that account, the Secretary shall 
        adjust the balances of any of the subaccounts of such account, 
        as the tribe in its sole discretion may direct, in an amount 
        equal to the net amount of the underpayment, with interest as 
        calculated pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. To the 
        extent that the amount reflects an overpayment to that account, 
        any obligation that the tribe owning such account may have to 
        reimburse the United States shall be forgiven.
            (3) With respect to those judgment accounts for which the 
        underlying statute or judicial decree directs that a specific 
        portion thereof be allocated for specified purposes, all 
        amounts overpaid to a tribe with respect to each such purpose 
        shall, to the extent practicable, to subtracted from amounts 
        that were underpaid with respect to each such purpose. To the 
        extent that the resulting net amount reflects an underpayment 
        for each such purpose, the Secretary shall adjust the balance 
        of the subaccount for such purpose in such amount, with 
        interest calculated pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. 
        To the extent that the amount reflects an overpayment with 
        respect to each such purpose, any obligation that the tribe may 
        have to reimburse the United States shall be forgiven. Errors 
        in per capita payments shall be netted in the aggregate and the 
        Secretary shall allocate any net underpayment to any other 
        subaccount balances within the judgment account as directed by 
        the tribe.
    (c) Calculation of Interest.--Any account balance adjustments 
required by this section shall include interest from the date of the 
error to the date of the adjustment. For the period July 1, 1972, 
through September 30, 1994, interest shall be calculated at the tribal 
benchmark rate. For the period October 1, 1994, through the date of 
adjustment, the rate of interest shall be the average Treasury rate. 
Interest shall be compounded on an annual basis.
    (d) Effect of Acceptance of Claims.--A tribe's acceptance of 
compensation under this section shall be without prejudice to any 
claims the tribe may elect to settle under sections 6 and 7 of this Act 
or to raise under sections 8 and 9 of this Act. Any claims that a tribe 
may have with respect to the Secretary's determination of and payment 
for errors which the Department has determined to exist pursuant to 
this section shall first be raised in the government-to-government 
negotiations as required by section 8 of this Act.

SEC. 6. SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS; SETTLEMENT PROPOSALS.

    (a) Criteria and Deadline for Settlement Proposal Development.--
Within 180 days of the date of enactment, the Secretary shall develop 
and provide to each tribe 2 proposals for the comprehensive settlement 
of such tribe's covered claims. The first settlement proposal shall 
cover the period July 1, 1972 through September 30, 1992, and shall be 
based on information developed in the Reconciliation Report. The second 
settlement proposal shall cover the period July 1, 1972, through a date 
as close to the date of settlement as practicable. The second 
settlement proposal shall be based on information developed in the 
Reconciliation Report and such other credible data which the Secretary 
determines, in his sole discretion, exists on which to develop a good 
faith proposal. The settlement proposals shall be in writing and shall 
be sent to each tribe by registered mail, return receipt requested (or 
the equivalent thereof).
    (b) Factors Used in Settlement Proposal.--Each settlement proposal 
shall reflect the likelihood that the account balance of a tribe is 
understated as a result of deficiencies in the management and 
accounting of tribal trust funds, the resource savings to the United 
States in settling the covered clams without the costs associated with 
the government-to-government negotiations provided for in section 8 of 
this Act, and such other factors that the Secretary determines are 
appropriate in providing incentives to a tribe to accept a settlement 
proposal. Each such proposal shall assume application of the netting 
and forgiveness policies and rely on the rates of interest provided in 
section 5 of this Act. In determining the likelihood that an account 
balance is understated, the Secretary shall consider--
            (1) the dollar value of the unreconciled receipt, 
        disbursement, and transfer transactions in the tribe's 
        accounts;
            (2) the generic likelihood that a loss may have occurred 
        for each category of transaction in the tribe's accounts;
            (3) the actual rate of error for each category of 
        transactions for the tribe's accounts as determined by the 
        Secretary in the Reconciliation Report;
            (4) the level of activity in the tribe's accounts; and
            (5) such other factors as justice may require.
    (c) Notification of Election.--Each settlement proposal shall also 
contain notification of the tribe's opportunity to make the election in 
writing to the Secretary as provided in section 7(a) of this Act.
    (d) Tribal Meetings.--The Secretary shall offer to meet with each 
tribe, either individually or in groups, to explain the basis of the 
settlement proposals and to describe the options available to the 
tribe. The Secretary shall use his best efforts to complete such 
meetings within 90 days of the date the settlement proposals are 
initially made.
    (e) Secretarial Discretion.--The terms and conditions of the 
settlement proposals shall be in the sole discretion of the Secretary 
and they shall not be subject to judicial review.

SEC. 7. TRIBAL RESPONSE TO SETTLEMENT PROPOSALS.

    (a) Tribe Options.--Within 210 days of the date of the settlement 
proposals are initially sent, each tribe may, in writing to the 
Secretary--
            (1) accept the proposal to settle all of such tribe's 
        covered claims for the period July 1, 1972, through September 
        30, 1992;
            (2) accept the proposal to settle all of such tribe's 
        covered claims for the period July 1, 1972, through a date as 
        close to the date of settlement as practicable; or
            (3) reject both settlement proposals.
    (b) Effect of Acceptance.--Upon a tribe's acceptance of a 
settlement proposal, the settlement shall be deemed final, and the 
Secretary shall adjust such tribe's trust fund account balance in an 
amount that reflects the settlement. Any such settlement shall 
constitute the final, complete and conclusive resolution of all covered 
claims, and shall further constitute a full discharge and release of 
the United States and all of its officers, agents, and employees from 
liability with respect to all covered claims.
    (c) Acceptance Period; Notice of Expiration.--All settlement 
proposals shall be deemed to have been withdrawn 210 days after the 
date the settlement proposals are initially made. A tribe which fails 
within the 210-day period to either--
            (1) accept 1 of the 2 settlement proposals, or
            (2) reject both settlement proposals shall be deemed to 
        have rejected the settlement proposals.
At least 30, but no more than 60 days before the expiration of the 210-
day period, the Secretary shall notify in writing, by registered mail, 
return receipt requested (or the equivalent thereof), each tribe which 
has neither accepted nor rejected the settlement proposals, of the 
tribe's opportunity to make the election provided for by subsection (a) 
of this section.

SEC. 8. GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT NEGOTIATIONS.

    (a) Request for Negotiations.--(1) Each Tribe that rejects both 
settlement proposals by the Secretary under sections 6 and 7 of this 
Act or fails to respond to such proposals may request the Secretary to 
enter into government-to-government negotiations with the Tribe to 
settle the Tribe's covered claims. At the time the settlement proposals 
are withdrawn pursuant to section 7(c) of this Act, the Secretary shall 
advise each Tribe of its opportunity to request government-to-
government negotiations. Any such request shall be made in writing to 
the Secretary within 150 days of the date on which the Secretary's 
settlement proposals are withdrawn. A Tribe must make a timely request 
for, and participate in, government-to-government negotiations pursuant 
to this section before a claim may be filed under section 9 of this 
Act.
    (2) In the event the Secretary has not received a request from a 
Tribe pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection after 120 days of 
the date on which the Secretary's settlement proposals are withdrawn, 
the Secretary shall, within 5 days thereafter, send a notice by 
registered mail, return receipt request (or the equivalent thereof), 
advising the Tribe of the date on which such request is due, and that 
government-to-government negotiations pursuant to this section are a 
condition precedent to filing an action pursuant to section 9 of this 
Act.
    (b) Nature of Negotiations.--The Secretary shall enter into 
negotiations with any Tribe that makes a timely request under 
subsection (a) of this section. Such negotiations shall be nonbinding 
in nature and shall be facilitated by a mediator. The Tribe shall 
select a mediator from a list of 3 or more mediators designated by the 
Secretary from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The 
expenses and fees of the mediator shall be paid by the Secretary.
    (c) Procedures and Limitations.--Negotiations under this section 
shall be subject to the following procedures and limitations:
            (1) Negotiations under this section shall commence as soon 
        as practicable, as determined by the Secretary and the Tribe: 
        Provided, however, That the Secretary, in his discretion, may 
        delay the commencement of any such negotiation with a Tribe if 
        insufficient resources or personnel so require.
            (2) The Tribe and the Secretary may agree to undertake 
        limited additional research or analysis to facilitate a 
        negotiated settlement. The cost of such additional research or 
        analysis shall be paid by the Secretary.
            (3) The Tribe and the Secretary shall exchange any records 
        each may have with regard to transactions within the scope of 
        the covered claims which may be relevant to resolving such 
        claims and which have not already been provided in the 
        reconciliation report.
            (4) Neither the settlement offers of the Secretary made 
        pursuant to section 6 of this Act nor the netting and 
        forgiveness policies and rates of interest specified in section 
        5 of this Act shall be presumed to apply to, or be a starting 
        point for, a negotiated settlement under this section.
            (5) Negotiations under this section shall terminate 12 
        months after the date of the first meeting of the Tribe and the 
        Secretary unless the Tribe and the Secretary agree that there 
        is a reasonable likelihood that an extension of time for 
        further negotiation may result in a settlement. At any time 
        during the negotiations, the Tribe and the Secretary may 
        mutually agree to terminate the government-to-government 
        negotiations for purposes of subsection (a)(1) of this section 
        where such negotiations have been terminated by mutual 
        agreement of the Tribe and the Secretary.
    (d) Admissibility of Evidence.--The provisions of Rule 408 of the 
Federal Rules of Evidence shall be applicable to any settlement 
proposal made by the Secretary under section 6 of this Act and to the 
government-to-government negotiations under this section.
    (e) Settlement.--The Secretary shall adjust the trust fund accounts 
of a Tribe pursuant to any settlement reached in government-to-
government negotiations under this section. Any such settlement shall 
constitute the final, complete, and conclusive resolution of all 
covered claims, and shall further constitute a full discharge and 
release of the United States and all of its officers, agents, and 
employees from liability with respect to all covered claims.

SEC. 9. LITIGATION OF CLAIMS.

    (a) Jurisdiction.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
United States Court of Federal Claims shall have exclusive jurisdiction 
to adjudicate covered claims not otherwise settled pursuant to this Act 
for the period July 1, 1972, through September 30, 1992. The Court of 
Federal Claims shall have jurisdiction to adjudicate covered claims 
filed after November 12, 1997, only upon a showing that the Tribe 
participated in government-to-government negotiations pursuant to 
section 8 of this Act and has not reached a settlement of such claims. 
Any Tribe that fails to make a showing is barred from bringing any 
covered claims under this section or in any other forum.
    (b) Deadline for Filing Claims.--Any claims under this section 
shall be filed within 180 days after the termination, without a 
settlement, of government-to-government negotiations under section 8 of 
this Act. All covered claims not filed within the prescribed 180-day 
time period are thereafter barred.
    (c) Reconciliation Record.--Within 90 days of the filing of an 
action under this section, the Secretary shall file with the court a 
reconciliation record for the covered claims asserted. The 
reconciliation record shall include all account records, statements, 
reports, and lease, permit, or sale agreements or other contracts, all 
data and work papers associated with the Secretary by the Tribe, or 
produced by the Secretary, during the government-to-government 
negotiations under section 8 of this Act. The court shall not--
            (1) require either party to produce additional records in 
        its possession unless it can be demonstrated that such 
        documents were unreasonably withheld prior to or during the 
        government-to-government negotiations; or
            (2) allow either party to enter into evidence additional 
        records in its possession which should have been produced in 
        good faith prior to or during the government-to-government 
        negotiations.
    (d) Netting and Forgiving Policies Not Applicable.--The netting and 
forgiveness policies specified in section 5 of this Act shall not apply 
in the proceeding under this section solely by virtue of that section.
    (e) Calculation of Interest.--Simple interest shall be paid at a 
rate of 4 percent of any amounts determined to be owing by the court, 
payable from the date of loss.

SEC. 10. TRUSTEE'S DUTY TO ACCOUNT IN CLAIMS PROCEEDINGS.

    In any action brought by a tribe for covered claims under this Act:
            (1) Secretary's duty to account.--When the Secretary's duty 
        to account in aid of litigation is found to exist, the United 
        States shall be deemed to have met that obligation to account 
        for submitting the reconciliation record, and such statistical 
        analysis of the reconciliation record (as defined in section 
        9(c) of this Act) as the Court may require. The claimant may 
        then take its exceptions to the accounting submitted by the 
        United States.
            (2) Compensation award.--In the event the court concludes 
        that the tribe has demonstrated that the United States trust 
        fund management and accounting practices resulted in a loss to 
        the tribe, the court may award appropriate compensation subject 
        to the provisions of section 9 of this Act.

SEC. 11. ATTORNEY FEES.

    (a) Limitation on Fees.--No attorney or expert may charge, demand, 
receive, or collect for services rendered in connection with a claim 
under section 9 of this Act in an amount in excess of 20 percent of the 
total award a tribe receives for the first $1,000,000 of the award plus 
10 percent of any such award for amounts in excess of $1,000,000 of 
such award.
    (b) Fees and Expenses Under Equal Justice Act.--The payment of fees 
and expenses under section 2412 of title 28, United States Code, shall 
be available for claims filed under section 9 of this Act in accordance 
with the provisions of that Act, including the eligibility requirements 
of section 2412(d)(2)(B) of title 28, United States Code.

SEC. 12. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.

    Any covered claim for which the statute of limitations concerning 
losses to or mismanagement of trust funds was tolled by the proviso 
clauses under the heading ``Operation of Indian Programs'', Bureau of 
Indian Affairs of the following statutes: Public Law 101-512 (104 Stat. 
1930); Public Law 102-154 (105 Stat. 1004); Public Law 102-381 (106 
Stat. 1389); Public Law 103-138 (107 Stat. 1391); Public Law 103-332 
(108 Stat. 2511); and under the heading ``Federal Trust Programs'', 
Office of Special Trustee for American Indians of the following 
statutes: Public Law 104-134 (110 Stat. 1321-175); Public Law 104-208 
(110 Stat. 3009-197); and Public Law 105-83 (111 Stat. 1559) 
(hereinafter referred to as the ``statute of limitations proviso 
clauses'') shall be governed by the provisions of this Act. The statute 
of limitations proviso clauses shall not be interpreted by any court so 
as to revive a claim for which the statute of limitations had already 
run as of the time such clauses were enacted. Except as provided in 
this section, no other provision of this Act is intended to or shall be 
interpreted as altering the statute of limitations that otherwise 
applies to any claim arising from the Department's management and 
accounting of trust funds.

SEC. 13. CLAIMS SETTLEMENTS.

    As required by section 2414 of title 28, United States Code, any 
proposal by the Secretary to settle a covered claim pursuant to 
sections 5, 7, 8, and 9 of this Act, being a compromise settlement or 
judgment, shall be submitted to the Attorney General of the United 
States, or the designee of the Attorney General, for approval, as the 
Attorney General shall deem appropriate in the Attorney General's sole 
discretion.

SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Authority.--There are hereby authorized to be appropriated to 
the Secretary such funds as may be necessary to carry out the 
provisions of this Act, including funds that may be necessary to cover 
administrative expenses.
    (b) Limitation.--An amount not to exceed $7,200,000 is hereby 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for additional analysis 
pursuant to section 8(c)(2) of this Act through fiscal year 2006.

SEC. 15. OVERDRAFTS AND ACCOUNTING DISCREPANCIES.

    (a) Overdrafts.--(1) The Secretary is authorized to pay into the 
individual Indian money account pool, an amount not to exceed $400,000, 
that the Secretary determines in his sole discretion to be necessary to 
replenish any deficiencies in the pool resulting from any overdrafts 
made prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
    (2) A replenishment made by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (1) 
of this subsection for any deficiencies in the individual Indian money 
account pool shall not constitute a release of any claim or debt of the 
United States Government against the holder of the overdrafted account 
as defined in section 3701(b)(1) of title 31, United States Code.
    (3) Any overdrafts recovered subsequent to replenishment under 
paragraph (1) shall be deposited in the miscellaneous receipts of the 
Treasury.
    (4) An amount not to exceed $400,000 is hereby appropriated to the 
Secretary for replenishment of overdrafts pursuant to paragraph (1) of 
this subsection, from funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated 
and shall remain available until expended.
    (b) Accounting Discrepancies.--The Secretary is authorized to 
eliminate accounting discrepancies occurring prior to the date of 
enactment of this Act: Provided, however, That the Secretary has 
determined, in his sole discretion, that the cost of further research 
to determine the cause of any such accounting discrepancy is likely to 
exceed the cost of clearing such accounting discrepancy. Accounting 
discrepancies shall be eliminated in the following manner:
            (1) United States Treasury account balances for accounts 
        14X5166, 14X5197, 14X8060, 14X8176, 14X8327, 14X8365, 14X8366, 
        14X8368, 14X8563, 14X6039, 14X6140, and 14X6703 shall be 
        adjusted to be equal to the account balances pursuant to the 
        corresponding General Ledger accounts.
            (2) United States Treasury suspense accounts shall be 
        adjusted to zero.
            (3) Negative balances interest-clearing accounts shall be 
        adjusted to zero.
            (4) The General Ledger control account for the individual 
        Indian money accounts shall be adjusted to agree to the 
        aggregate balance of the individual Indian money accounts.
            (5) Amounts necessary to make the adjustments required by 
        this subsection are hereby appropriated to the Secretary from 
        funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated and shall 
        remain available until expended.

SEC. 16. ROUTINE ADJUSTMENTS.

    (a) Authority.--The Secretary may make routine administrative 
adjustments to tribal trust fund accounts and individual Indian money 
accounts, as provided under the loss policies of the Department, 
attributable to transactions occurring after the date of enactment of 
this Act.
    (b) Limitations.--The Secretary may use funds appropriated annually 
to the Office of Special Trustee to make adjustment payments pursuant 
to subsection (a) of this section. In any fiscal year, the Secretary 
shall not expend more than $50,000 of the funds appropriated to the 
Office of the Special Trustee for this purpose. Adjustments under this 
subsection shall not exceed $5,000 to a tribal trust account and $1,000 
to an individual Indian money account: Provided, however, That the 
Secretary may make adjustments in excess of these amounts if the total 
adjustments in a fiscal year do not exceed $50,000. To the extent that 
total adjustments in a fiscal year exceed $50,000, the Secretary may 
seek appropriations to fund such adjustments.
    (c) Additional Limitations.--Except as provided in subsection (b) 
of this section, funds appropriated annually to the Office of the 
Special Trustee shall not be available to pay final judgments, awards, 
compromise, settlements, and interest and costs specified in judgments 
that are otherwise payable under section 1304 of title 31, United 
States Code.

SEC. 17. SEVERABILITY OF PROVISIONS.

    If any provision of this Act, or the application of any provision 
of this Act to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the 
application of such provision to other persons or circumstances, and 
the remainder of this Act shall not be affected thereby.
                                 <all>