[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1457 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1457

To restore an opportunity for tribal economic development on terms that 
              are equal and fair, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 22, 2015

  Mr. Tester introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To restore an opportunity for tribal economic development on terms that 
              are equal and fair, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas 
Equal and Fair Opportunity Settlement Act''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY.

    (a) Findings and Declarations.--Congress finds and declares that--
            (1) it is the policy of the United States to promote tribal 
        self-determination and economic self-sufficiency and to support 
        the resolution of disputes over historical claims;
            (2) Sam Houston, as a leader in the Texas Revolution and 
        the President of the Republic of Texas--
                    (A) established friendly relations with Indian 
                tribes;
                    (B) expressed his personal appreciation for the 
                assistance of the tribes during the fight for Texas 
                independence; and
                    (C) endeavored to protect the land and rights of 
                the tribes;
            (3) the United States, pursuant to Federal law and in 
        accordance with several Federal court decisions, has affirmed 
        the rights of tribes, including the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of 
        Texas (referred to in this Act as the ``Tribe''), to free and 
        undisturbed use and occupancy of the aboriginal lands of the 
        tribes, including the right to compensation when those rights 
        are violated;
            (4) the land of the Tribe in southeastern Texas has been 
        subject to illegal trespass and use, depriving the Tribe of 
        critical economic development opportunities, including valuable 
        timber production and oil and gas leasing;
            (5) in June 2000, the United States Court of Federal Claims 
        ruled that--
                    (A) the United States violated its fiduciary 
                obligations to the Tribe by knowingly failing to 
                protect 2,850,000 acres of the aboriginal lands of the 
                Tribe in southeastern Texas;
                    (B) that failure would have constituted a claim 
                eligible to be heard by the Indian Claims Commission 
                established by the first section of the Act of August 
                13, 1946 (60 Stat. 1049, chapter 959) (commonly known 
                as the ``Indian Claims Commission Act'') (and 
                terminated by section 23 of that Act (70 Stat. 624, 
                chapter 679)); and
                    (C) as described in House Resolution 69 (98th 
                Congress) (November 1, 1983), it was the sense of the 
                House of Representatives that the Federal Government 
                should pay full monetary compensation to the Tribe for 
                the loss of the 2,850,000 acres of aboriginal lands 
                illegally occupied by non-Indian settlers after 1845;
            (6) in October 2002, the United States Court of Federal 
        Claims adopted $270,600,000 as the jointly stipulated amount of 
        economic damages to be recovered by the Tribe from the United 
        States;
            (7) while the Tribe is asserting outstanding claims 
        regarding the aboriginal lands of the Tribe, the Tribe has 
        decided to forego, relinquish, waive, and otherwise extinguish 
        any such claims, on the condition that Congress shall amend the 
        1987 Restoration Act of the Tribe, enacted as Public Law 100-89 
        (25 U.S.C. 1300g et seq.), in accordance with this Act;
            (8) Congress desires to empower the Tribe to govern its own 
        economic future and appreciates the willingness of the Tribe to 
        forego the land claims described in paragraph (7) in exchange 
        for improved economic self-sufficiency;
            (9) this Act represents a good faith effort on the part of 
        Congress to compensate the Tribe for the loss of the aboriginal 
        lands of the Tribe by providing the Tribe with an economic 
        development opportunity under the same terms and conditions as 
        other federally recognized Indian tribes, in exchange for the 
        agreement of the Tribe to relinquish the land claims described 
        in paragraph (7); and
            (10) in the absence of Congressional action, those land 
        claims will be pursued through the courts, a process that in 
        all likelihood will consume many years and thereby promote 
        hostility and uncertainty in the State of Texas, to the 
        ultimate detriment of the Tribe, the members of the Tribe, and 
        all other citizens of the State of Texas.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to recognize and compensate the Tribe for the loss of 
        the aboriginal lands of the Tribe and the resulting loss of any 
        economically productive use of those lands for decades;
            (2) to restore an economic development opportunity to the 
        Tribe on terms that are equal and fair;
            (3) to resolve claims by the Tribe regarding the loss of 
        the aboriginal lands of the Tribe; and
            (4) to insulate the Federal Government and taxpayers from 
        potentially greater and ongoing liability from those claims.

SEC. 3. RESTORATION ACT AMENDMENT.

    For the purpose of restoring an economic development opportunity on 
terms that are equal and fair, section 207 of Public Law 100-89 (25 
U.S.C. 737) is repealed.

SEC. 4. DISMISSAL OF LAND CLAIMS.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the United States and the Tribe shall execute and file in each 
applicable court a motion for dismissal of any pending claim arising 
out of or relating to the aboriginal lands, or an interest in the 
aboriginal lands, of the Tribe.

SEC. 5. EXTINGUISHMENT OF CLAIMS.

    (a) Extinguishment.--Any claim (including any claim for damages for 
trespass or for use and occupancy) by, or on behalf of, the Tribe, or 
any predecessor in interest or any of the members of the Tribe, against 
the United States, the State of Texas, or any landowner, that is based 
on any interest in or right involving any land or natural resources, 
shall be regarded as extinguished.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section--
            (1) affects or limits the personal claim of an individual 
        Indian (except for a Federal common law fraud claim) that is 
        pursued under any law of general applicability that protects 
        non-Indians as well as Indians; or
            (2) alters the status of land held in trust by the United 
        States on behalf of the Tribe.
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