[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1393 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1393

  To provide grants to ensure full and fair participation in certain 
       decisionmaking processes at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 3, 2001

Mr. Dodd (for himself and Mr. Lieberman) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide grants to ensure full and fair participation in certain 
       decisionmaking processes at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

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

SECTION 1. GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--To the extent that amounts are appropriated and 
acceptable requests are submitted, the Secretary shall award grants to 
eligible local governments and eligible Indian groups to promote the 
participation of such governments and groups in the decisionmaking 
process related to the actions described in subsection (b), if the 
Secretary determines that the assistance provided under such a grant is 
necessary to protect the interests of the government or group and would 
otherwise promote the interests of just administration within the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs.
    (b) Actions for Which Grants May Be Available.--The Secretary may 
award grants under this section for participation assistance related to 
the following actions:
            (1) Acknowledgment.--An Indian group is seeking Federal 
        acknowledgment or recognition, or a terminated Indian tribe is 
        seeking to be restored to federally-recognized status.
            (2) Trust status.--A federally-recognized Indian tribe has 
        asserted trust status with respect to land within the 
        boundaries of an area over which a local government currently 
        exercises jurisdiction.
            (3) Trust land.--A federally-recognized Indian tribe has 
        filed a petition with the Secretary of the Interior requesting 
        that land within the boundaries of an area over which a local 
        government is currently exercising jurisdiction be taken into 
        trust.
            (4) Land claims.--An Indian group or a federally-recognized 
        Indian tribe is asserting a claim to land based upon a treaty 
        or a law specifically applicable to transfers of land or 
        natural resources from, by, or on behalf of any Indian, Indian 
        tribe, or group, or band of Indians (including the Acts 
        commonly known as the Trade and Intercourse Acts (1 Stat. 137; 
        2 Stat. 139; and 4 Stat. 729)).
            (5) Other actions.--Any other action or proposed action 
        relating to an Indian group or federally-recognized Indian 
        tribe if the Secretary determines that the action or proposed 
        action is likely to significantly affect the citizens 
        represented by a local government.
    (c) Amount of Grants.--Grants awarded under this section to a local 
government or eligible Indian group for any one action may not exceed 
$500,000 in any fiscal year.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Acknowledged indian tribe.--The term ``acknowledged 
        Indian tribe'' means any Indian tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or 
        other organized group or community which is recognized as 
        eligible for the special programs and services provided by the 
        United States to Indians because of their status as Indians.
            (2) Eligible indian group.--The term ``eligible Indian 
        group'' means a group that--
                    (A) is determined by the Secretary to be in need of 
                financial assistance to facilitate fair participation 
                in a pending action described in subsection (b);
                    (B) is an acknowledged Indian Tribe or has 
                petitioned the Secretary to be acknowledged as a Indian 
                Tribe; and
                    (C) petitions the Secretary for a grant under 
                subsection (a).
            (3) Eligible local government.--The term ``eligible local 
        government'' means a municipality or county that--
                    (A) is determined by the Secretary to be in need of 
                financial assistance to facilitate fair participation 
                in a pending action described in subsection (b); and
                    (B) petitions the Secretary for a grant under 
                subsection (a).
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
    (e) Effective Date.--Grants awarded under this section may only be 
applied to expenses incurred after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $8,000,000 for each fiscal year 
that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>