[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 148 (Thursday, September 29, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





       SAN LUIS REY INDIAN WATER RIGHTS SETTLEMENT ACT AMENDMENT

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                               speech of

                           HON. DUNCAN HUNTER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 22, 2016

  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1296, a bill to amend the San Luis Rey 
Indian Water Rights Settlement Act to clarify certain settlement terms, 
approves and ratifies a settlement agreement entered into among the 
United States; five Bands of Mission Indians in northern San Diego 
County; the City of Escondido, California; and the Vista Irrigation 
District. The settlement agreement was contemplated by the 1988 San 
Luis Rey Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, in which Congress, seeking 
to end decades of litigation, created a $30 million trust fund to be 
provided to the Bands with interest upon execution of a settlement. 
That amount was appropriated for the trust fund in 1989.
   The parties' settlement agreement requires ratification and approval 
by Congress in order to be effective, hence the introduction of H.R. 
1296. After the House Natural Resources Committee reported H.R. 1296, 
the Congressional Budget Office concluded that the bill would increase 
net direct federal spending by $18 million over the 2017 through 2026 
period. After further discussions, the bill was amended in a way that 
CBO concluded would eliminate the $18 million spending effect. 
Specifically, the amended H.R. 1296 provides that the money in the 
trust fund--rather than becoming fully available to the Bands 
immediately upon the settlement taking effect as the 1988 Act 
provided--would be made available at the rate of $3.7 million per year, 
with the Bands having the option to withdraw less than that amount. The 
House passed H.R. 1296 with this amendment on September 22, 2016.
   The only change regarding the trust fund that H.R. 1296 as amended 
makes to the 1988 Act is to change the rate at which the money in the 
trust fund is made available to the Bands. The full amount of the fund 
that Congress appropriated in 1989, including the interest that has 
been and will continue to be earned on that money, is unchanged. And 
crucially, the agreement to limit the annual allocations to no more 
than $3.7 million does not affect the Bands' right to eventually 
receive all of the money in the trust fund once the settlement takes 
effect.

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