[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 113 (Wednesday, August 4, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10263-S10265]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RELIEF OF GLOBAL EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, KERR-McGEE 
               CORPORATION, AND KERR-McGEE CHEMICAL, LLC

  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I ask the Chair lay before the Senate a 
message from the House of Representatives on the bill (S. 606) of the 
relief of Global Exploration and Development Corporation, Kerr-McGee 
Corporation, and Kerr-McGee Chemical, LLC (successor to Kerr-McGee 
Chemical Corporation), and for other purposes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the House of Representatives.

       Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 606) entitled 
     ``An Act for the relief of Global Exploration and Development 
     Corporation, Kerr-McGee Corporation, and Kerr-McGee Chemical, 
     LLC (successor to Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation), and for 
     other purposes'', do pass with the following amendment:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

[[Page S10264]]

     SECTION 1. SATISFACTION OF CLAIMS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES.

       (a) Payment of Claims.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
     pay, out of money not otherwise appropriated--
       (1) to the Global Exploration and Development Corporation, 
     a Florida corporation incorporated in Delaware, $9,500,000;
       (2) to Kerr-McGee Corporation, an Oklahoma corporation 
     incorporated in Delaware, $10,000,000; and
       (3) to Kerr-McGee Chemical, LLC, a limited liability 
     company organized under the laws of Delaware, $0.
       (b) Condition of Payment.--
       (1) Global exploration and development corporation.--The 
     payment authorized by subsection (a)(1) is in settlement and 
     compromise of all claims of Global Exploration and 
     Development Corporation, as described in the recommendations 
     of the United States Court of Federal Claims set forth in 36 
     Fed. Cl. 776.
       (2) Kerr-mcgee corporation and kerr-mcgee chemical, llc.--
     The payment authorized by subsections (a)(2) and (a)(3) are 
     in settlement and compromise of all claims of Kerr-McGee 
     Corporation and Kerr-McGee Chemical, LLC, as described in the 
     recommendations of the United States Court of Federal Claims 
     set forth in 36 Fed. Cl. 776.
       (c) Limitation on Fees.--Not more than 15 percent of the 
     sums authorized to be paid by subsection (a) shall be paid to 
     or received by any agent or attorney for services rendered in 
     connection with the recovery of such sums. Any person 
     violating this subsection shall be fined not more than 
     $1,000.

     SEC. 2. CRIMINAL PROHIBITION ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF CERTAIN 
                   INFORMATION RELATING TO EXPLOSIVES, DESTRUCTIVE 
                   DEVICES, AND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.

       (a) Unlawful Conduct.--Section 842 of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(p) Distribution of Information Relating to Explosives, 
     Destructive Devices, and Weapons of Mass Destruction.--
       ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
       ``(A) the term `destructive device' has the same meaning as 
     in section 921(a)(4);
       ``(B) the term `explosive' has the same meaning as in 
     section 844(j); and
       ``(C) the term `weapon of mass destruction' has the same 
     meaning as in section 2332a(c)(2).
       ``(2) Prohibition.--It shall be unlawful for any person--
       ``(A) to teach or demonstrate the making or use of an 
     explosive, a destructive device, or a weapon of mass 
     destruction, or to distribute by any means information 
     pertaining to, in whole or in part, the manufacture or use of 
     an explosive, destructive device, or weapon of mass 
     destruction, with the intent that the teaching, 
     demonstration, or information be used for, or in furtherance 
     of, an activity that constitutes a Federal crime of violence; 
     or
       ``(B) to teach or demonstrate to any person the making or 
     use of an explosive, a destructive device, or a weapon of 
     mass destruction, or to distribute to any person, by any 
     means, information pertaining to, in whole or in part, the 
     manufacture or use of an explosive, destructive device, or 
     weapon of mass destruction, knowing that such person intends 
     to use the teaching, demonstration, or information for, or in 
     furtherance of, an activity that constitutes a Federal crime 
     of violence.''.
       (b) Penalties.--Section 844 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking ``person who violates any of subsections'' 
     and inserting the following: ``person who--
       ``(1) violates any of subsections'';
       (B) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; 
     and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) violates subsection (p)(2) of section 842, shall be 
     fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or 
     both.''; and
       (2) in subsection (j), by inserting ``and section 842(p)'' 
     after ``this section''.

     SEC. 3. SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS OF MENOMINEE INDIAN TRIBE OF 
                   WISCONSIN.

       (a) Payment.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall pay to 
     the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, out of any funds in 
     the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, 
     $32,052,547 for damages sustained by the Menominee Indian 
     Tribe of Wisconsin by reason of--
       (1) the enactment and implementation of the Act entitled 
     ``An Act to provide for a per capita distribution of 
     Menominee tribal funds and authorize the withdrawal of the 
     Menominee Tribe from Federal jurisdiction'', approved June 
     17, 1954 (68 Stat. 250 et seq., chapter 303); and
       (2) the mismanagement by the United States of assets of the 
     Menominee Indian Tribe held in trust by the United States 
     before April 30, 1961, the effective date of termination of 
     Federal supervision of the Menominee Indian Tribe of 
     Wisconsin.
       (b) Effect of Payment.--Payment of the amount referred to 
     in subsection (a) shall be in full satisfaction of any claims 
     that the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin may have against 
     the United States with respect to the damages referred to in 
     that subsection.
       (c) Requirements for Payment.--The payment to the Menominee 
     Indian Tribe of Wisconsin under subsection (a) shall--
       (1) have the status of a judgment of the United States 
     Court of Federal Claims for the purposes of the Indian Tribal 
     Judgment Funds Use or Distribution Act (25 U.S.C. 1401 et 
     seq.); and
       (2) be made in accordance with the requirements of that Act 
     on the condition that, of the amounts remaining after payment 
     of attorney fees and litigation expenses--
       (A) at least 30 percent shall be distributed on a per 
     capita basis; and
       (B) the balance shall be set aside and programmed to serve 
     tribal needs, including funding for--
       (i) educational, economic development, and health care 
     programs; and
       (ii) such other programs as the circumstances of the 
     Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin may justify.
       (d) Limitation on Fees.--Not more than 15 percent of the 
     sums authorized to be paid by subsection (a) shall be paid to 
     or received by any agent or attorney for services rendered in 
     connection with the recovery of such sums. Any person 
     violating this subsection shall be fined not more than 
     $1,000.

  Mr. COCHRAN. I ask unanimous consent the Senate concur in the 
amendment of the House.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate today approved 
legislation that gives a Congressional ``stamp of approval'' to a 
settlement that the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin has long 
awaited. In my opinion, in the opinion of the U.S. Court of Claims that 
approved this settlement last year, and in the opinion of Wisconsin 
leaders like Governor Tommy Thompson and former Congressman Melvin 
Laird, this is a settlement that is long overdue.
  As part of S. 606, the Menominee Tribal Fairness Act is the final 
step in a ``Legislative Reference'' that settles a 45-year-old case 
between the Tribe and the Federal Government once and for all. In the 
1950s, the Bureau of Indian Affairs mismanaged the Tribe's assets such 
as their forests and mills, leaving them ill-prepared to be self-
sufficient. However, in the 1960s, Congress terminated the Tribe's 
federal trust status, and the Tribe plunged into years of service 
impoverishment and community turmoil.
  Then in the 1970s, the Government recognized its mistake in these 
actions and restored the Menominee Tribe's federal trust status. 
Clearly, though, the decades of damage could threaten the Tribe for 
generations to come, so the Tribe went to court seeking compensation 
for the devastation it had endured.
  After winning at trial court, this case was dismissed on technical 
grounds at the appellate court in 1984. The Tribe then came to Congress 
for help, and we passed a ``Legislative Reference'' asking the Courts 
to decide the merits of this case and determine what, if any, 
compensation was due. Before this case again headed to trial, the 
Department of Justice settled with the Tribe, agreeing to a sum of 
$32,052,547. The U.S. Court of Claims endorsed this settlement last 
summer. Now, as the final step in this process, Congress has approved 
the payment of this settlement--and from the Treasury Department's 
already existing ``judgment fund,'' not through a new appropriation--to 
finally resolve this case after 45 years.
  This decades-old case is a perfect example of how the ``Legislative 
Reference'' procedure should be used: the court examines claims against 
the United States based on negligence or fault, or based on less than 
fair and honorable dealings, regardless of ``technical'' defenses that 
the United States may otherwise assert, especially the statute of 
limitations.
  In other words, this procedure is to be used for precisely the types 
of circumstances surrounding the Menominee Tribe. The tribe and its 
members suffered grievous economic loss through legislative termination 
of its rights and from BIA mismanagement of its resources. Indeed, the 
Federal governments' actions brought the Menominee Tribe to the brink 
of economic, social, and cultural disaster. Although the Tribe was 
restored to Federal recognition and tribal status by action of the 
Congress, the Tribe and its members have yet to be compensated for the 
damages they suffered. But thanks to the Senate's actions today, that 
will change.
  I thank my colleagues for supporting this vitally important 
``Legislative Reference'' that will bring closure, once and for all, to 
a settlement that is long overdue. I especially want to thank our House 
sponsor, Mark Green, as well as Congressman Sensenbrenner, Congressman 
McCollum, and Senator Nickles, for all their hard work.

[[Page S10265]]



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