[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 71 (Tuesday, June 4, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4960-S4961]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SPOKANE TRIBE OF INDIANS OF THE SPOKANE RESERVATION GRAND COULEE DAM 
                 EQUITABLE COMPENSATION SETTLEMENT ACT

  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, on Thursday, May 23, 2002, I, along with 
my distinguished colleagues Senator Murray from Washington State and 
Senator Inouye from Hawaii, introduced the Spokane Tribe of Indians of 
the Spokane Reservation Grand Coulee Dam Equitable Compensation Act. In 
1994, Congress passed legislation providing the Confederated Tribes of 
the Colville Reservation with a settlement for the losses the tribe 
incurred from the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam. The legislation 
we are introducing today will provide a proportional settlement for 
similar losses experienced by the Spokane Tribe.
  The Grand Coulee Dam is an integral part of the Northwest's power 
scheme. As the largest concrete dam in the world and the world's third 
largest producer of electricity, the Grand Coulee Dam enables the 
Bonneville Power Administration, BPA, to fulfill its legal obligation 
of providing the Northwest with an ``adequate, efficient, economical 
and reliable power supply.'' My state and all of BPA's customers 
greatly benefit from the Grand Coulee Dam.
  Since the beginning of the project in the early 1930s, Federal 
officials acknowledged that the tribes affected by the construction of 
the dam were entitled to compensation for their losses. The Spokane 
Tribe is now asking Congress to follow through on that promise.

[[Page S4961]]

  The Colville Tribe already receives an annual payment in perpetuity 
of approximately $15 million, plus the one-time payment of $53 million. 
The Spokane Tribe lost an area that is 39.4 percent the size of the 
Colville loss, and although the Spokane Tribe did not settle at the 
time of the Colvilles in 1994, the Administration and Congress have 
continued to echo the belief held since the 1930s: that the Spokane 
Tribe, which was affected by the construction of Grand Coulee along 
with the Colvilles, is deserving of equitable compensation.
  During the Colville Settlement hearing in 1994, Senators Murray, 
Inouye, McCain, and Bradley stated repeatedly that, while the United 
States was not settling with the Spokane Tribe at that time, the United 
States had the obligation to provide equitable compensation to Spokane 
Tribe. Just like the Colville Tribe, the Spokane Tribe's lands, fishing 
economy and culture were significantly impacted.
  We are here today because the Spokane Tribe and the Bonneville Power 
Administration have been unable to reach a settlement that is mutually 
agreeable to both parties during its negotiations thus far.
  I believe that that the United States has a moral obligation to 
settle with the Spokane Tribe just as it settled with the Colville 
Tribe. I am eager to see a fair settlement go forward. I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, on May 23, 2002, I was pleased to 
introduce with Senators Cantwell and Inouye, ``The Spokane Tribe of 
Indians of the Spokane Reservation Grand Coulee Dam Equitable 
Compensation Act.'' This bill will provide compensation to the Spokane 
Tribe for its contribution to the production of hydropower by the Grand 
Coulee Dam. This legislation, S. 2567, is very similar to S. 1525, 
which Senator Inouye and I introduced in the first session of the 106th 
Congress.
  The Grand Coulee Dam is the largest concrete dam in the world, the 
largest electricity producer in the United States, and the third 
largest electricity producer in the world. It provides electricity and 
water to one of the world's largest irrigation projects, the one 
million acre Columbia Basin Project. The Grand Coulee is the backbone 
of the Northwest's Federal power grid and agricultural economy. The Dam 
has provided and continues to provide tremendous economic benefits to 
the region.
  But for the native peoples of this region, the construction of the 
Grand Coulee Dam came at a very high price. To the Spokane Tribe, the 
Dam meant an end to a way of life. The dam flooded the Tribe's 
reservation on two sides. The Spokane River changed from a free flowing 
waterway that supported plentiful salmon runs to barren slack water 
that now erodes the southern lands of the reservation. The benefits 
that accrued to the nation and the Northwest were made possible by 
uncompensated injury to the Native Americans of the Columbia and 
Spokane Rivers.
  In 1994, Congress enacted settlement legislation to compensate the 
neighboring Confederated Colville Tribes. That legislation provided a 
onetime payment of $53 million for past damages and approximately $15 
million annually from the proceeds from the sale of hydropower by the 
Bonneville Power Administration, (BPA).
  The Spokane Tribe settlement legislation would provide a settlement 
proportional to that provided to the Colville Tribes, which was based 
on the percentage of lands appropriated from the respective tribes for 
the dam. This translates into 39.4 percent of the past and future 
compensation awarded the Colville Tribes. S. 2567 would provide a one-
time payment of approximately $21 million from the General Treasury as 
compensation for past damages. The bill would provide from BPA about 
$10 million to the Tribe to account for payments the Colvilles have 
received since 1995. In addition, the legislation would direct BPA to 
allocate approximately $6 million annually to the Spokanes.
  Since the 1970s, Congress and Federal agencies have indicated that 
both the Colville and Spokane Tribes should be compensated. Since 1994, 
when an agreement was reached to compensate the Colville Tribes, 
Congress and Federal agencies have expressed interest in providing fair 
compensation to the Spokane Tribe, too. This legislation will provide 
for a long overdue settlement for the Spokane Tribe. I hope my 
colleagues will support this bill. I also hope the Senate Indian 
Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on S. 2567 at the Chairman's 
earliest convenience.

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