[Senate Report 107-214]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 507
107th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 107-214
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PROVIDING EQUITABLE COMPENSATION TO THE YANKTON SIOUX TRIBE OF SOUTH
DAKOTA AND THE SANTEE SIOUX TRIBE OF NEBRASKA FOR THE LOSS OF VALUE OF
CERTAIN LANDS
_______
July 22, 2002.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Inouye, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 434]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill (S. 434) providing equitable compensation to the Yankton
Sioux Tribe of South Dakota and the Santee Sioux Tribe of
Nebraska for the loss of value of certain lands, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with
amendment(s) and recommends that the bill (as amended) do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 434, the Yankton Sioux Tribe and Santee
Sioux Tribe Equitable Compensation Act, is to provide
additional compensation to the Yankton and Santee Sioux Tribes
for the acquisition by the United States of 2,851.40 acres of
the Yankton Sioux Reservation for Fort Randall Dam and
Reservoir and 593.10 acres of the Santee Sioux Reservation for
Gavins Point Dam and Reservoir on the Missouri River.
BACKGROUND
Pursuant to the Treaty of April 19, 1858 (11 Stat. 743) a
430,405-acre reservation was established for the Yankton Sioux
Indian Tribe along the east bank of the Missouri River in
Charles Mix County, South Dakota. Approximately 40,000 acres of
the reservation is currently in tribal or individual Indian
trust status. In 1866, President Andrew Johnson signed an
Executive Order setting aside four townships in northeastern
Nebraska near the mouth of the Niobrara River as a permanent
home for remnants of six Santee Sioux bands driven out of
Minnesota following the so-called ``Sioux Uprising of 1862''.
Although subsequent Executive Orders adjusted the boundaries
and expanded the size of the reservation to 165,195 acres, only
about 7,000 acres of that area remain in tribal or individual
trust status.
Under the Flood Control Act of 1944 (33 U.S.C. 701 et
seq.), the Congress authorized construction of five massive dam
projects on the Missouri River as part of the Pick-Sloan
program, the primary purpose of which was to provide flood
control downstream, as well as improved navigation, hydro-power
generation, improved water supplies, and enhanced recreation.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which constructed and
operates the dams, estimates that the projects' overall annual
contribution to the national economy averages $1.9 billion.
However, for the Yankton and Santee Sioux Tribes and other
tribes along the Missouri, the human and economic costs of the
projects have far outweighed any benefits received, since the
lands affected by Pick-Sloan were, by and large, Indian lands,
and entire tribal communities and their economies were
destroyed.
Fort Randall Dam and Reservoir project, an integral part of
the Pick-Sloan program, initially flooded 2,851 acres of
Yankton Sioux tribal land and forced the relocation and
resettlement of at least 20 families from the traditional and
self-sustaining community of White Swan, one of four major
settlement areas on the reservation. Unlike communities on
other reservation that were relocated to higher ground to make
way for Pick-Sloan projects, the White Swan community was
completely dissolved and its residents were dispersed.\1\
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\1\ ``Historical Analysis of the Impact of Missouri River Pick-
Sloan Sam Projects on the Yankton and Santee Sioux Indian Tribes'' by
Michael Lawson, Ph.D., April, 1999.
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In 1952, the U.S. District Court awarded the Yankton Sioux
$121,210, or about $42 an acre, for the appraised value of the
flooded land in condemnation proceedings in which neither the
Tribe nor its affected members were represented by private
counsel. Significantly, the appraised value of the lands on the
Yankton Reservation was less than half of the value that
wasestablished for comparable lands on four other Sioux reservations
appraised in 1951. In 1954, the Congress appropriated $106,500 for
severance damages for Yankton Sioux tribal members, but by August,
1956, when these funds were distributed to some, but not all, affected
tribal families, nine years had passed since their land had been
condemned and six years had passed since their families had been forced
to move.
The Gavins Point Dam and Reservoir Project, also an
integral part of the Pick-Sloan program, inundated 593 acres of
Santee Sioux tribal and individual trust land near the main
settlement area of the Indian village of Santee in Knox County,
Nebraska. This lost acreage, comprising about 8.5 percent of
the reservation and considered among the best agricultural land
on the Santee Sioux Reservation, included 380 acres of
pastureland and 200 acres of cropland that was part of a tribal
farm.
On or about January, 1958, the U.S. District Court awarded
the Santee Sioux $52,000, or $87.67 an acre, for the appraised
value of the inundated lands pursuant to a 1955 agreement
between the Tribe and the Corps of Engineers. Records as to the
actual distribution of these funds are not available. As was
the case with the payment to the Yankton Sioux Tribe, the
payment to the Santee Sioux Tribe, made years after the taking
of their land, did not account for the inflation in property
values between the time of the taking and the time of
settlement. Significantly, within months of the award, the U.S.
District Court in South Dakota ruled that the Army lacked
congressional authorization to condemn tribal land for its
Pick-Sloan projects.
In 1984, a joint Federal-Tribal study found that the
compensation that was provided by the United States to tribes
impacted by the Pick-Sloan projects greatly undervalued their
losses. To provide more just compensation, in 1992 the Congress
enacted legislation that established a trust fund of
$149,200,000 for the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort
Berthold Reservation related to the loss of 176,000 acres to
the Garrison Dam project, and a trust fund of $90,600,000 for
the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe related to the loss of 56,000
acres to the Oahe Dam project.\2\ In 1996, the Congress
established a $27,500,000 Recovery Fund for the Crow Creek
Sioux Tribe and a $39,900,000 Recovery Fund for the Lower Brule
Sioux Tribe related to the loss of 15,693 and 22,296 acres of
land, respectively, to the Fort Randall and Big Bend Dam
projects.\3\ In 2000, the Congress established a Recovery Fund
of $290,723,000 for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South
Dakota, which lost approximately 104,000 acres to the Oahe Dam
project.\4\
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\2\ P.L. 102-575, title XXXV, 106 Stat. 4731 (Oct. 30, 1992).
\3\ P.L. 104-223, 110 Stat. 3026 (Oct. 1, 1996), and P.L. 105-132,
111 Stat. 2563 (Dec. 2, 1997).
\4\ P.L. 106-511, 114 Stat. 2365 (Nov. 13, 2000).
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The Fort Berthold, Cheyenne River, Standing Rock, Crow
Creek, and Lower Brule Tribes all received initial settlements
from Congress between 1947 and 1962 that included payment for
direct property damages, severance damages (including the cost
of relocation and reestablishment of affected tribal members),
and rehabilitation for the entire reservation. In providing
funds for rehabilitation, Congress recognize that the tribes as
a whole and not just the tribal members within the taking areas
were affected negatively by the loss of the fertile bottomland
environment and reservation infrastructure. Accordingly, the
five settlements provided compensation for severance damages
and rehabilitation that averaged four and a half times more
than was paid for direct damages.
In 1960, a Bureau of Indian Affairs comparative study of
the experience of six reservations impacted by Pick-Sloan dams
found that the average total payment per family within the
taking area at Yankton was $5,605, whereas the payment averaged
$16,680 on the other five reservations (Fort Berthold, Standing
Rock, Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, and Lower Brule). Although
the Yankton Sioux Tribe and the Santee Sioux Tribes received
settlements for the appraised value of their property in
condemnation proceedings and an amount for severance damages,
neither tribe received any payments for direct property damages
nor any funds for rehabilitation, even though a large number of
tribal members residing outside the taking area on both tribes'
reservations were also impacted by the dam projects.
The Committee recognizes that any attempt to measure the
tangible and intangible values associated with the loss of
tribal life and tradition along a free flowing river in
monetary terms is necessarily subjective. Nevertheless, in view
of the losses experienced by the Yankton Sioux Tribe and the
Santee Sioux Tribe as a result of Pick-Sloan dams and
reservoirs, and the precedents for providing additional
compensation for other Missouri River tribes similarly
affected, the Committee finds that it is appropriate to provide
additional equitable compensation for the Yankton and Santee
Sioux Tribes as would be provided by S. 434.
The amount to be deposited into the Yankton Sioux Tribe
Development Trust Fund is based on the per-acre amount of
compensation provided to the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe in 1997
for inundated land ($1,763 per acre) multiplied by 2,851.4 (the
number of acres of land flooded by the Fort Randall project),
which equals $5,027,018, multiplied by 458 percent (the average
of the sum paid by Congress for severance damages and
rehabilitation over and above the sums paid for property
damages in five initial tribal settlements between 1948 and
1962), for a total of $23,023,743.
The amount to be deposited into the Santee Sioux Tribe
Development Trust Fund is calculated by taking the number of
acres of land flooded by the Gavins Point project (593.1) and
multiplying it by the per-acre amount of compensation provided
to the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe in 1997 for inundated land
($1,763), which equals $1,045,635. This amount, multiplied by
458 percent (the average of sum paid by Congress for severance
damages and rehabilitation over and above sums paid for
property damages in five initial tribal settlements between
1948 and 1962), equals $4,789,010.
S. 434 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS
S. 434 would establish the Yankton Sioux Tribe Development
Trust fund and the Santee Sioux Tribe Development Trust Fund in
the U.S. Treasury. On the first day of the 11th fiscal year
after the date of enactment, $23,023,743, together with
interest accrued from the date of enactment, would be deposited
into the Yankton Sioux Tribe Development Trust Fund, and
$4,789,010, together with interest accrued from the date of
enactment, would be deposited into the Santee Sioux Tribe
Development Trust Fund. The Secretary of the Treasury would
beauthorized and directed to invest these funds in interest-bearing
obligations of the United States or in obligations guaranteed as to
both principal and interest by the United States.
Once both funds have been capitalized, the Secretary of the
Treasury would be authorized to transfer any accrued interest
into separate accounts for transfer to the Secretary of the
Interior, without fiscal year limitation on the availability of
such funds. In turn, the Secretary of the Interior would be
authorized to make payments to the Tribes for use in carrying
out projects and programs that would implement tribal plans for
socio-economic recovery and cultural preservation.
The tribal councils, in consultation with the Secretary of
the Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
are to prepare the plans, which must set forth a combination of
economic development, infrastructure development, educational,
health, recreation and social welfare objectives. Each council
must permit tribal members to review and comment on the initial
plan, as well as on any proposed revisions to it. Activities
carried out under these plans would be subject to existing
requirements of the Office of Management and Budget for annual
audits, and audit determinations would be required to be
published together with tribal council proceedings. Per capita
payments from the Funds are prohibited.
Payments from the trust funds to either Tribe could not be
used as a basis for reducing or denying any service or program
to which the Tribe or a tribal member is otherwise entitled,
for subjecting the Tribe or a tribal member to any Federal or
State income tax; or for affecting Pick-Sloan Missouri River
power rates. Finally, once the tribal trust funds have been
fully capitalized, S. 434 would extinguish all Yankton and
Santee Sioux tribal claims against the United States for losses
related to the construction of Fort Randall and Gavins Point
dams and reservoirs.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
On May 27, 1999, during the 106th Congress, Senator Daschle
of South Dakota and Senator Kerrey of Nebraska introduced S.
1148 as the Yankton Sioux Tribe and Santee Sioux Tribe of
Nebraska Development Trust Fund Act, which was referred to the
Committee on Indian Affairs. Senator Johnson of South Dakota
and Senator Hagel of Nebraska were added as cosponsors. The
Committee held a hearing on S. 1148 on May 17, 2000. The
Department of the Interior witness expressed the
Administration's support for the bill if it were amended to
address concerns regarding the manner in which the proposed
trust funds would be funded, per capita payments, and waiver of
claims. Both Tribes testified in strong support of the
legislation.
On June 21, 2000, the Committee on Indian Affairs
considered and adopted an amendment-in-the-nature-of-a-
substitute to S. 1148 on behalf of the bill's sponsors. The
substitute included changes that (1) provide for capitalizing
the trust funds from the General Fund of the Treasury, with
interest, on the first day after the 11th year after the date
of enactment; (2) prohibit per capita payments from the trust
funds; (3) extinguish all tribal claims for losses related to
construction of the two dams once the tribal trust funds have
been fully capitalized; (4) require the tribes to consult with
the Secretaries of Interior and Health and Human Services in
preparing plans to use the trust funds; and, (5) include plan
activities under existing requirements of the Office of
Management and Budget for annual audits of such activities and
require audit determinations to be published with tribal
council proceedings. These changes addressed the concerns
expressed by the Department of the Interior in its testimony
and were acceptable to the Tribes. However, S. 1148 was not
enacted into law.
S. 434 was introduced on March 1, 2001, by Senator Thomas
A. Daschle, for himself, Senator Tim Johnson, and Senator Chuck
Hagel, and was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
Senator E. Benjamin Nelson was subsequently added as a
cosponsor. S. 434 is similar to S. 1148, but differs from it in
that no compensation is provided for certain items included in
the earlier bill (the use value of land on the reservation of
the Yankton Sioux Tribe lost to erosion since 1953, and the
loss value of Niobrara Island, located in the vicinity of the
Santee Sioux Tribe Indian Reservation) and the amount of
compensation to each Tribe is reduced accordingly. On March 21,
2002, the Committee on Indian Affairs, by voice vote, ordered
the bill favorably reported to the Senate, with the
recommendation that the Senate do pass S. 434 as reported. The
Committee has made certain technical amendments to the bill.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTE
The Committee on Indian Affairs, in an open business
session on March 21, 2002, approved S. 434 by voice vote and
ordered the bill reported favorably to the Senate.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1--Short title
This section cities the short title of S. 434 as the
``Yankton Sioux Tribe and Santee Sioux Tribe Equitable
Compensation Act''.
Section 2--Findings
This section sets forth ten Congressional findings:
The first finding is that by enacting the Flood Control Act
of 1944, Congress approved the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin
program to promote the general economic development of the
United States, to provide for irrigation above Sioux City,
Iowa, to protect urban and rural areas from devastating floods
of the Missouri River, and for other purposes.
The second findings is that the water impounded for the
Fort Randall and Gavins Point projects of the Pick-Sloan
program inundated the fertile, wooded bottom lands along the
Missouri River that constituted the most productive
agricultural and pastoral lands of, and the homeland of, the
members of the Yankton Sioux Tribe and the Santee Sioux Tribe.
The third findings is that the Fort Randall project,
including the Fort Randall Dam and Reservoir, overlies the
western boundary of the Yankton Sioux Indian Reservation.
The fourth finding is that the Gavins Point project,
including the Gavins Point Dam and Reservoir, overlies the
eastern boundary of the Santee Sioux Tribe Indian Reservation.
The fifth finding is that although the Fort Randall and
Gavins Point projects are majorcomponents of the Pick-Sloan
program, and contribute to the economy of the United States by
generating a substantial quantity of hydropower and impounding a
substantial amount of water, the reservations of the Yankton Sioux
Tribe and the Santee Sioux Tribe remain undeveloped.
The sixth finding is that the United States Army Corps of
Engineers took the Indian lands used for the Fort Randall and
Gavins Point projects by condemnation proceedings.
The seventh finding is that the Federal Government did not
give the Yankton Sioux Tribe and the Santee Sioux Tribe an
opportunity to receive compensation for direct damages from the
Pick-Sloan program, even though the Federal Government gave
five Indian tribes on reservations upstream from the Yankton
Sioux Tribe and Santee Sioux Tribe such an opportunity.
The eighth finding is that the Yankton Sioux Tribe and the
Santee Sioux Tribe did not receive just compensation for the
taking through condemnation of their productive agricultural
lands referred to in the sixth finding.
The ninth finding is that the settlement agreement that the
United States entered into with the Yankton Sioux Tribe and the
Santee Sioux Tribe to provide compensation for the taking by
condemnation referred to in the sixth finding did not take into
account the increase in property values over the years between
the date of taking and the date of settlement.
The tenth finding states that in addition to the financial
compensation provided under the settlement agreements referred
to in the ninth finding, (A) the Yankton Sioux Tribe should
receive $23,023,743 for the loss value of 2,851.40 acres of
land taken for the Fort Randall Dam and Reservoir, and (B) the
Santee Sioux Tribe should receive $4,789,010 for the loss value
of 593.1 acres of land near the Santee village.
Section 3--Definitions
This section provides definitions for the terms ``Indian
Tribe''; ``Santee Sioux Tribe''; and ``Yankton Sioux Tribe''.
Section 4--Yankton Sioux Tribe Development Trust Fund
Subsection (a) provides for the establishment in the United
States Treasury of a fund to be known as the ``Yankton Sioux
Tribe Development Trust Fund'' (``Fund'') that shall consist of
any amounts deposited into it pursuant to this Act.
Subsection (b) provides that on the first day of the 11th
fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall, from the General Fund
of the Treasury, deposit into the Fund established under
subsection (a) $23,023,743, together with an additional amount
that equals the amount of interest that would have accrued on
this amount if it had been invested in interest-bearing
obligations of the United States, or in obligations guaranteed
as to both principal and interest by the United States, on the
first day of the fiscal year that begins after the date of
enactment of this Act and compounded annually thereafter.
Subsection (c) requires the Secretary of the Treasury to
invest that portion of the Fund that in his judgment is not
required to meet current withdrawals. Such investments may be
made only in interest-bearing obligations of the United States
or in obligations guaranteed as to both principal and interest
by the United States. The Secretary of the Treasury shall
deposit interest resulting from such investments into the Fund.
Subsection (d)(1) provides that, beginning on the first day
of the 11th fiscal year after the date of enactment of this
Act, and on the first day of each fiscal year thereafter, the
Secretary of the Treasury shall withdraw the aggregate amount
of interest deposited into the Fund for that fiscal year and
transfer that amount to the Secretary of the Interior for use,
without fiscal year limitation, in accordance with paragraph
(d)(2).
Subsection (d)(2) provides that the Secretary of the
Interior shall use the amounts transferred under subsection
(d)(1) only for the purpose of making payments to the Yankton
Sioux Tribe as such payments are requested by the Tribe by
tribal resolution, but only after the Tribe has adopted a
tribal plan under section 6; funds so transferred may be
expended only to carry out projects and programs under the
tribal plan.
Subsection (e) bars the Secretary of the Treasury from
transferring or withdrawing any amount deposited under
subsection (b) of this section except as provided in
subsections (c) and (d)(1) of this section.
Section 5--Santee Sioux Tribe Development Trust Fund
Subsection (a) provides for the establishment in the United
States Treasury of a fund to be known as the ``Santee Sioux
Tribe Development Trust Fund'' (``Fund'') that shall consist of
any amounts deposited into it pursuant to this Act.
Subsection (b) provides that on the first day of the 11th
fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall, from the General Fund
of the Treasury, deposit into the Fund established under
subsection (a) $4,789,010, together with an amount of interest
that equals the amount of interest that would have accrued on
this amount if such amount had been invested in interest-
bearing obligations of the United States, or in obligations
guaranteed as to both principal and interest by the United
States, on the first day of the first fiscal year that begins
after the date of enactment of this Act and compounded annually
thereafter.
Subsection (c) requires the Secretary of the Treasury to
invest that portion of the Fund that in his judgment is not
required to meet current withdrawals. Such investments may be
made only in interest-bearing obligations of the United States
or in obligations guaranteed as to both principal and interest
by the United States. The Secretary of the Treasury shall
deposit interest resulting from such investments into the Fund.
Subsection (d)(1) provides that, beginning on the first day
of the 11th fiscal year after the date of enactment of this
Act, and on the first day of each fiscal year thereafter, the
Secretary of the Treasury shall withdraw the aggregate amount
of interest deposited into the Fund for the fiscal year and
transfer that amount of the Secretary of the Interior for use,
without fiscal year limitation, in accordance with subsection
(d)(2).
Subsection (d)(2) provides that the Secretary of the
Interior shall use the amounts deposited under subsection
(d)(1) only for the purpose of making payments to the Santee
Sioux Tribe as such payments are requested by the Tribe by
tribal resolution, but only after the Tribe has adopted a
tribal plan under section 6, and provides that funds so
transferred may be expended only to carry our projects and
programs under the tribal plan.
Subsection (e) bars the Secretary of the Treasury from
transferring or withdrawing any amount deposited into the Fund
under subsection (b) of this section except as provided in
subsections (c) and (d)(1) of this section.
Section 6--Tribal plans
Subsection (a) provides that, not later than 24 months
after the date of enactment of this Act, the tribal councils of
the Yankton Sioux and Santee Sioux Tribes shall each prepare a
plan (tribal plan) for the use of the payments made to each
tribe under sections 4(d) or 5(d) of this Act.
Subsection (b) requires that each tribal plan shall provide
for the manner in which the tribe shall expend payments made to
the tribe under section 4(d) or 5(d) to promote (1) economic
development, (2) infrastructure development, (3) educational
health, recreational, and social welfare objectives of the
tribe and its members, or (4) any combination of such
activities.
Subsection (c)(1) provides that the tribal councils of the
Yankton Sioux and Santee Sioux Tribes shall make copies of
their respective plans available to their members for review
and comment before the tribal plan becomes final, in accordance
with procedures established by the tribal council.
Subsection (c)(2) provides that each tribal council may, on
an annual basis, revise and update its tribal plan. In revising
the tribal plan, the tribal council shall provide the members
of the tribe opportunity to review and comment on any proposed
revision.
Subsection (c)(3) requires each tribal council to consult
with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health
and Human Services in preparing its tribal plan and any
revisions to update the plan.
Subsection (c)(4)(A) provides that the activities of the
tribes in carrying out their respective tribal plans shall be
audited as part of the annual single-agency audit that the
tribes are required to prepare pursuant to the Office of
Management and Budget Circular A-133.
Subsection (c)(4)(B) requires the auditors to determine
whether funds received by each tribe for the period covered by
the audits were expended to carry out the respective tribal
plans in a manner consistent with this section, and to include
such determinations in the written findings of the audits.
Subsection (c)(5)(C) requires that a copy of the written
findings of the audits shall be inserted in the published
minutes of each tribal council's proceedings for the session at
which the audit is presented to each council.
Subsection (d) prohibits any portion of any payment made
under this Act from being distributed to any member of the
Yankton Sioux Tribe or the Santee Sioux Tribe on a per capita
basis.
Section 7--Eligibility of tribe for certain programs and services
Subsection (a) declares that no payment made to the Yankton
Sioux Tribe or the Santee Sioux Tribe pursuant to this Act
shall result in the reduction or denial of any service or
program to which, pursuant to Federal law, the Yankton Sioux
Tribe or Santee Sioux Tribe is otherwise entitled because of
the status of the tribe as a Federally-recognized Indian tribe,
or any individual who is a member of either tribe because of
that individual's status as a tribal member.
Subsection (b) provides that no payment made pursuant to
this Act shall be subject to any Federal or State income tax.
Subsection (c) provides that no payment made pursuant to
this Act shall affect Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin power
rates.
Section 8--Statutory construction
This section provides that nothing in this Act may be
construed as diminishing or affecting any water rights of an
Indian tribe, except as specifically provided in another
provision of this Act, any treaty right that is in effect on
the date of enactment of this Act, or any authority of the
Secretary of the Interior or the head of any other Federal
agency under a law in effect on the date of enactment of this
Act.
Section 9--Authorization of appropriations
This section authorizes to be appropriated such sums as are
necessary to carry out this Act, including such sums as may be
necessary for the administration of the Yankton Sioux Tribe
Development Trust Fund under section 4 and the Santee Sioux
Tribe Development Trust Fund under section 5.
Section 10--Extinguishment of claims
This section provides that all monetary claims that the
Yankton Sioux Tribe or the Santee Sioux Tribe has or may have
against the United States for loss of value or use of land
related to lands described in section 2(a)(10) resulting from
the Fort Randall and Gavins Point projects of the Pick-Sloan
Missouri River Basin program shall be extinguished upon the
deposit of funds under sections 4(b) and 5(b) of this Act.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The cost estimate for S. 434, as provided by the
Congressional Budget Office, is set forth below.
S. 434--Yankton Sioux Tribe and Santee Sioux Tribe Equitable
Compensation Act
Summary: S. 434 would compensate the Yankton Sioux Tribe
and the Santee Sioux Tribe for the taking of certain tribal
lands by the Federal Government. CBO estimates that enacting
this bill would have no significant impact on the Federal
budget over the 2002-2012 period. Enacting S. 434 would
increase direct spending by an estimated $49 million, but pay-
as-you-go procedures would not apply because the spending would
not occur until fiscal year 2013.
S. 434 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
Tribal governments might incur some costs as a result of the
bill's enactment, but those costs would be voluntary.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: CBO estimates
that enacting S. 434 would result in direct spending of $49
million in 2013, but would have no significant impact on the
Federal budget before then. For this estimate, CBO assumes that
S. 434 will be enacted by the end of fiscal year 2002.
S. 434 would provide compensation to the two tribes for the
taking of 3,445 acres of land by the Federal Government for
various water projects. The bill would establish the Yankton
Sioux Tribe Development Trust Fund and the Santee Sioux Tribe
Development Trust Fund and would direct the Secretary of the
Treasury to deposit a total of $28 million into interest-
bearing accounts to benefit the tribes on the first day of the
11th fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment. An
additional deposit equal to the amount of interest that the
fund would have earned if the fund had been capitalized and
invested in 2003 would be made at the same time. CBO estimates
that this additional payment would be $21 million, for total
deposit of $49 million in 2013. Once the Secretary pays these
amounts, any monetary claims the tribes may have against the
United States regarding the affected lands would be
extinguished. Starting in 2013, the bill would allow the tribes
to spend amounts equivalent to the annual interest earned on
the fund pursuant to a tribal spending plan.
Payments to certain trust funds that are held and managed
in a fiduciary capacity by the Federal Government on behalf of
Indian tribes are treated as payments to a nonfederal entity.
As a result, CBO expects that the entire amount deposited to
the fund in 2013 would be recorded as budget authority and
outlays in that year. Because the trust funds would be
nonbudgetary, the subsequent use of such funds by the tribe
would not affect Federal outlays.
Pay-as-you-go considerations: The Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act sets up pay-as-you-go procedures
for legislation affecting direct spending or receipts. For the
purposes of enforcing pay-as-you-go procedures, only the
effects through 2006 are counted. CBO estimates that enacting
S. 434 would not affect direct spending or receipts in any of
those years.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 434
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA, but it would impose some conditions on the
affected tribes for receipt of Federal funds. The bill would
require the tribes to prepare and adopt plans for using
payments from the trust fund and to obtain audits of their
expenditures. The tribes would receive significant benefits
from enactment of this legislation.
Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Lanette J. Walker;
impact on State, local, and tribal governments: Marjorie
Miller; impact on the private sector: Cecil McPherson.
Estimated approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
No executive communications have been received in the 107th
Congress. The views of the Administration on S. 1148 were set
forth in the Committee's report on that bill, Report 106-367
(August 25, 2000).
REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT
Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the
Senate requires that each report accompanying a bill evaluate
the regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that the
regulatory and paperwork impact of S. 434 will be minimal.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee finds that the
enactment of S. 434 will not result in any changes in existing
law.