[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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