[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 237 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 237

   Expressing the sense of the Congress that a portion of the budget 
 surplus should be used to fulfill moral and legal responsibilities of 
  the United States by ensuring proper payment and management of all 
 federally held tribal trust fund accounts and individual Indian money 
                               accounts.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 18, 1999

 Mr. George Miller of California (for himself, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Kennedy 
of Rhode Island, Mr. Vento, Mr. Pastor, Mr. Inslee, Mr. Underwood, Mr. 
   Faleomavaega, Mr. McDermott, Mrs. Christensen, Ms. Eshoo, and Ms. 
   Waters) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
                 referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the Congress that a portion of the budget 
 surplus should be used to fulfill moral and legal responsibilities of 
  the United States by ensuring proper payment and management of all 
 federally held tribal trust fund accounts and individual Indian money 
                               accounts.

Whereas in 1820, the United States assumed the role of trustee for lands 
        belonging to Indian tribes and individual Indians, and the income earned 
        from such lands;
Whereas the Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, is 
        responsible for administering the United States' fiduciary 
        responsibility over Indian trust funds, which include approximately 
        1,500 tribal accounts worth approximately $2,600,000,000 and 
        approximately 390,000 individual Indian money accounts worth 
        approximately $453,000,000;
Whereas each year another $1,000,000,000 passes through these accounts;
Whereas the General Allotment Act of 1887 divided up much Indian land and 
        transferred tribal land to individual Indians; as this land is passed 
        down to heirs single allotments can include dozens of owners and the 
        Bureau of Indian Affairs must keep accounts for each owner regardless of 
        the balance of the owner's account;
Whereas trust fund accounts are comprised primarily of money received through 
        the sale or lease of trust lands, and include timber stumpage, oil and 
        gas royalties, and agriculture fees;
Whereas accounts containing judgment funds awarded to tribes are also maintained 
        by the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
Whereas the management of Indian trust funds affects almost every agency within 
        the Department of the Interior;
Whereas much has been written about improper management of funds in general 
        within the Bureau of Indian Affairs; since its inception as part of the 
        United States War Department in 1824;
Whereas over the years, numerous audits and reports on Indian trust funds have 
        been published by the Inspector General of the Department of the 
        Interior, the General Accounting Office, the Office of Management and 
        Budget, and congressional committees detailing mismanagement of funds;
Whereas in 1992 the House of Representative issued a report entitled ``Misplaced 
        Trust: The Bureau of Indian Affairs' Mismanaged of the Indian Trust 
        Fund'' which detailed management problems, including that the trust 
        funds had never been reconciled, that tribes and individual Indian money 
        account holders did not receive regular statement as to the activity in 
        the accounts, and that the bookkeeping practices for the accounts were 
        substandard;
Whereas the Bureau of Indian Affairs reports that it can not account for at 
        least $2,000,000,000 in trust funds and was therefore unable to ensure 
        that these funds were directed to the proper accounts as lost 
        documentation over the decades has left huge gaps in account paper 
        trails;
Whereas Congress passed the American Indian Trust Fund Management Act of 1994 
        (P.L. 103-412) which gave the Secretary of the Interior specific 
        requirements for management of trust funds and established a position of 
        Special Trustee of Indian Trust Funds within the Department of the 
        Interior;
Whereas on June 10, 1996, a class action suit was filed in United States 
        District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of the 
        approximately 390,000 individual Indian money account holders;
Whereas the historical and legal record demonstrates that the United States has 
        failed in its fiduciary responsibility to manage these accounts;
Whereas the Indian trust funds have been listed as one of the top Federal 
        financial liabilities; and
Whereas the Congressional Budget Office has projected a $3,000,000,000,000 
        budget surplus over the 10 years: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that a portion of the budget 
surplus should be used to fulfill the moral and legal responsibilities 
of the United States by ensuring proper payment and management of all 
federally held tribal trust fund accounts and individual Indian money 
accounts.
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