[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 154 (Tuesday, November 30, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8294-S8295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CLAIMS RESOLUTION ACT OF 2010
Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise today regarding the Claims
Resolution Act of 2010. It is a rare day in the Congress that we have
an opportunity like this to end, once and for all, decades-old
injustices and water related claims against the government so that we
can move forward together. I am proud that the House of Representatives
passed the Claims Resolution Act, which passed the Senate by unanimous
consent on Friday, November 19.
The Claims Resolution Act of 2010 includes the Cobell settlement,
which settles claims resulting from mismanagement of trust accounts of
close to 300,000 American Indians.
It includes the Pigford settlement, which settles discrimination
claims by black farmers against the USDA.
It settles water related claims of tribes in Arizona, New Mexico, and
Montana.
The bill is fully offset.
Each settlement in this package has its own history--each compelling
in its own regard--that has brought us to this day of resolution. I
want to focus in particular on the Cobell settlement and the Crow Water
Compact, which are both so important to Montana.
Tribal members comprise over 6 percent of Montana'spopulation.
American Indians live in every county in Montana, and our State has
several counties where more than half of the population is comprised of
tribal members. Nine percent of Montana's land base is located within
the boundaries of our State's seven Indian Reservations.
The Cobell settlement resolves the class-action lawsuit brought by
Native American representatives and lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell, a
member of the Blackfeet Tribe in northwestern Montana, against the U.S.
Government. This case dealt with the mismanagement of Indian trust
assets by the U.S. Government.
In 1887 the Federal Government allotted tribal lands to individual
Indians in parcels between 40 and 160 acres. The Department of Interior
was supposed to hold these parcels in trust for a period of 25 years
and then turn them over to the individual Indians. The Department of
Interior has held these allotments in trust until the present day.
During the 123 years since 1887, these lands have become highly
fractionated as successive generations of Indian owners bequeathed the
land to their children.
Today the Department of the Interior holds about 56 million acres of
land in trust for individual Indians. These 56 million acres generate
approximately $357 million annually in coal sales, timber sales, oil
and gas leases, and grazing leases. This $357 million is supposed to be
dispersed to the over 230,000 Indians who have an interest in various
parcels.
In the Cobell case, the plaintiffs sought a historical accounting of
what individuals were owed and the Department of Interior contended
that it could not provide such an accounting.
This case has been going on for 14 years, leaving the plaintiffs
without resolution of their claims and diverting attention and
resources away from other projects in Indian Country. On December 8,
2009, Secretary Salazar and the plaintiffs agreed to a $3.4 billion
settlement. It is a testament to both sides in this litigation that a
fair agreement has been reached.
The Claims Resolution Act of 2010 provides the funding needed to
implement this settlement. I am proud of the diligence and focus with
which Eloise Cobell pursued justice in this case. I am proud that she
is a Montanan, proud of the result, and proud of the Congress for doing
the right thing.
I am just as proud of the action we took with regard to the Crow
Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010. The Crow Tribe has a membership of
approximately 12,000 people. About 7,900 reside on the Crow Indian
Reservation in Montana. It is the largest of Montana's seven
reservations, comprising approximately 2.3 million acres. The current
reservation was established by the Treaty of Fort Laramie with the
United States dated May 7, 1868. At the time of its establishment, the
reservation comprised nearly 5.9 million acres in both Wyoming and
Montana. However, over time the reservation was reduced by nearly 3.6
million acres. The last cession of Crow land, in 1904, included what
came to be known as the Ceded Strip, 1 million acres on the north side
of the reservation.
There are a number of large streams that flow through the Crow Indian
Reservation, including the Bighorn River and its tributaries, one of
which is the Little Bighorn River. Another significant stream on the
western portion of the Crow Indian Reservation is Pryor Creek and its
tributaries.
[[Page S8295]]
The Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010 ratifies the Crow-
Montana Water Rights Compact, which was adopted by the Montana State
Legislature in 1999. It establishes tribal water rights and settles
claims against the government. The bill provides for funding that will
be used to more fully develop tribal water resources. This water
compact was endorsed by the administration--one of the first to receive
this level of consensus and support.
I commend the tribe and the administration, particularly Chairman
Cedric Black Eagle and the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation,
Mike Connor, and their respective teams for their hard work on this. I
also want to thank the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Chairman Dorgan
and Ranking Member Barasso, for their work reaching consensus. Finally,
I want to thank my colleague from Montana, Senator Jon Tester, who has
worked so hard to push this through the Senate.
This was truly a bi-partisan effort with cooperation here in the
Senate from Senator Bingaman, Senator Kyl, Senator Dorgan, and Senator
Grassley, all of whom worked together and compromised so that we could
come together today and do the right thing.
With the House passage of this bill, we are settling decades-old
injustices and claims against the government. We are bringing our
Nation closer together. I am proud to stand here today, having been a
part of making this happen, and I look forward to the day that we see
President Obama's signature on this bill.
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