[House Report 117-617]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress    }                                    {        Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                    {       117-617

======================================================================



 
                 KLAMATH TRIBE JUDGMENT FUND REPEAL ACT

                                _______
                                

 December 12, 2022.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Grijalva, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 314]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (S. 314) to repeal the Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund 
Act, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of S. 314 is to repeal the Klamath Tribe 
Judgment Fund Act.

                 Background and Need for Legislation\1\

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    \1\See generally S. Rep. No. 117-11 (2021), https://
www.congress.gov/117/crpt/srpt11/CRPT-117srpt1.pdf.
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    Similar to many tribal governments, the Klamath Tribes were 
terminated by Congress in the 1950s, in this case through the 
Klamath Termination Act of 1954. In addition to termination, 
the legislation established procedures for selling over 850,000 
acres of reservation land belonging to members of the Klamath 
Tribes. In the termination process, Tribes were required to 
submit to the Secretary of the Interior a ``final'' roll of 
tribal members within six months of enactment. The Tribes 
complied, and on August 13, 1954, tribal leadership submitted a 
list of 2,133 members.\2\
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    \2\22 Fed. Reg. 9303 (November 21, 1957).
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    At the time of passage, the Klamath Tribes had pending 
lawsuits before the now-defunct Indian Claims Commission (ICC) 
seeking compensation for the mismanagement or misappropriation 
of tribal assets, primarily timber and ranch lands. These 
claims were not extinguished by the Termination Act and were 
not paid to the Klamath Tribes until each one was authorized 
and appropriated by Congress. Congress determined that it would 
be most efficient to adopt a judgment distribution fund that 
would allow distribution to Klamath tribal members following 
specific requirements. On October 1, 1965, Congress passed the 
Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Act, which directed the Secretary 
of the Interior to make per-capita distributions to all living 
individuals listed on the 1954 ``final'' roll. According to the 
Termination Act, the share of any deceased enrollee would be 
paid to their heirs and legatees.
    In August 1986, the Klamath Tribes' federal trust 
relationship with the United States was restored with the 
passage of the Klamath Indian Tribe Restoration Act. However, 
the Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Act did not account for this 
restoration, which reinitiated the enrollment of tribal members 
born after the compilation of the 1954 ``final'' roll.
    Unfortunately, the Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Act's 
limitation on the distribution of funds to persons on the 
``final'' roll or to their heirs or legatees continues to 
result in adverse consequences for the Klamath Tribes. Many of 
the individuals to whom shares passed were not Klamath tribal 
members or of Native American descent. Today, the Klamath 
Tribes cannot determine how tribal funds can be allocated to 
members or other tribal priorities. To remedy this oversight, 
S. 314 repeals the Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Act and restores 
the Klamath Tribes' ability to exercise its sovereign authority 
and discretion over its tribal judgment funds.

                            Committee Action

    S. 314 was introduced on February 12, 2021, by Senator Jeff 
Merkley (D-OR). The bill was referred to the Senate Committee 
on Indian Affairs. On March 10, 2021, the Committee considered 
the bill en bloc with other legislation and ordered the bill 
reported favorably without amendment by voice vote. On April 
14, 2021, the Committee reported the bill favorably without 
amendment to the full Senate. On May 26, 2021, the Senate 
passed the bill without amendment by unanimous consent.
    The House received the engrossed bill and referred it 
solely to the Committee on Natural Resources. Within the 
Committee, the bill was referred to the Subcommittee for 
Indigenous Peoples of the United States. On April 27, 2022, the 
Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On December 8, 2022, 
the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments 
were offered, and the bill was adopted and ordered favorably 
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

                                Hearings

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the 
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure: 
hearing by the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the 
United States held on April 27, 2022.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

      Compliance with House Rule XIII and Congressional Budget Act

    1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. 
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, as well as clause 3(d) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee adopts the following 
estimate for the bill from the Director of the Congressional 
Budget Office:

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    S. 314 would repeal the Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Act, 
which authorizes the Department of the Interior (DOI) to 
establish and maintain a fund to make payments to Klamath Tribe 
members to satisfy any judgments obtained by the tribe. The 
bill also would require any amounts remaining in the fund upon 
its closure to be disbursed to the Klamath Tribe.
    Payments to certain tribal 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. Thus, the balances remaining in the Klamath Tribe 
Judgment Fund were previously recorded as federal budget 
authority and outlays at the time those funds were deposited 
into the fund. Accordingly, any subsequent disbursement of 
those funds would have no effect on the federal budget.
    According to information provided by DOI, about $660,000 
remains in the fund. That money is slated to be paid to almost 
200 members of the Klamath Tribe or to their next of kin, none 
of whom DOI has been able to locate. Assuming that S. 314 is 
enacted early in calendar year 2021, CBO estimates that those 
funds would be disbursed directly to the government of the 
Klamath Tribe during fiscal year 2021.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The 
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director 
of Budget Analysis.
    The Committee adopts as its own any finalized additional 
materials of the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
regarding the bill, should such materials be made available 
before House passage of the bill.
    2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goals and 
objectives of this bill are to repeal the Klamath Tribe 
Judgment Fund Act.

                           Earmark Statement

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                 Unfunded Mandates Reform Act Statement

    According to CBO, this bill contains no unfunded mandates 
as defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

                           Existing Programs

    This bill does not establish or reauthorize a program of 
the federal government known to be duplicative of another 
program.

               Preemption of State, Local, or Tribal Law

    Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or 
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's 
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the 
U.S. Constitution.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets and 
existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

                  THE KLAMATH TRIBE JUDGEMENT FUND ACT

                          (Public Law 89-224)

AN ACT To provide for the disposition of judgment funds of the Klamath 
  and Modoc Tribes and Yahooskin Band of Snake Indians, and for other 
                                purposes

  [That the Secretary of the Interior is authorized and 
directed to distribute in accordance with the provisions of 
this Act the funds appropriated in satisfaction of a judgment 
obtained by the Klamath and Modoc Tribes and Yahooskin Band of 
Snake Indians, hereinafter called the Klamath Tribe for the 
purposes of the administration of this Act, from the Indian 
Claims Commission against the United States in docket numbered 
100, end all other funds heretofore or hereafter deposited in 
the United States Treasury to the credit of the Klamath Tribe 
or any of its constituent parts or groups, except the funds 
heretofore or hereafter set aside for the purpose of paying the 
usual and necessary expenses of prosecuting claims against the 
United States.
  [Sec. 2. (a) A distribution shall be made of the funds 
resulting from docket numbered 100, including interest, after 
deducting litigation expenses and estimated costs of 
distribution to all persons whose names appear on the final 
roll of the Klamath Tribe, which roll was closed and made final 
as of August 13, 1954 (68 Stat. 718). Except as provided in 
subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) of this section, a share or 
portion of a share payable to a living adult shall be paid 
directly to such adult; (b) a share payable to a deceased 
enrollee shall be paid to his heirs or legatees upon the filing 
of proof of death and inheritance satisfactory to the Secretary 
of the Interior, whose findings and determinations upon such 
proof shall be final and conclusive: Provided, That amounts 
payable to deceased heirs amounting to $5 or less shall not be 
paid, and such amounts shall remain in the United States 
Treasury to the credit of the Klamath Tribe; (c) a share 
payable to an adult under legal disability shall be paid to his 
legal representative; (d) a share payable to a person 
previously found to be in need of assistance under the 
provisions of section 15 of the Act of August 13, 1954, may be 
paid directly to the individual or, if the Secretary deems it 
in the best interest of the individual, it may be added to the 
trust now in force on behalf of said individual, with 
concurrence of the trustee; and (e) a share or portion of a 
share payable to a person under age of majority as determined 
by the laws of the State of residence shall be pad to a parent, 
legal guardian, or trustee of such minor.
  [Sec. 3.  Within sixty days of the date of approval of this 
Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall commence to pay the 
share due to each living person whose name appears on the final 
roll of August 13,1954. As to members who have died since 
promulgation of the ha1 roll of August 13, 1954, the Secretary 
shall mail a notice of distribution of funds and a form for 
presentation of a claim thereunder to all known heirs or 
legatees of such deceased enrollees. All such claims shall be 
filed with the area director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
Portland, Oregon, within two years following the date of 
approval of this Act. From and after that date, all claims and 
the right to file claims for any distribution from the judgment 
in docket numbered 100 shall be forever barred.
  [Sec. 4.  Funds remaining in the United States Treasury to 
the credit of the said Klamath Tribe, or any of its constituent 
parts or groups, after the distribution of funds resulting from 
Indian Claims Commission docket numbered 100 as provided by 
sections 2 and 3 of this Act, together with any other funds 
which may be deposited in the United States Treasury, including 
without limitation funds accruing from other judgments against 
the United States (after payment of expenses, including 
attorney fees, payments for rights-of-way, trespass damages, or 
other revenues, together with any interest accrued thereon, 
shall, after deduction of the estimated cost of distribution, 
be distributed from time to time as determined by the Secretary 
to the members of the Klamath Tribe or to the members of any of 
its constituent parts or groups in the same manner as provided 
in sections 2 and 3 of this Act.
  [Sec. 5.  After all claims of the Klamath Tribe or any of its 
constituent parts or groups against the United States have been 
finally determined, appropriated, and distributed, as provided 
in sections 2, 3, and 4 of this Act; and after all litigation 
expenses (including attorney fees) and costs of distributions 
have been paid, any funds remaining in the United States 
Treasury to the credit of the Klamath Tribe or any of its 
constituent parts or groups which, in the discretion of the 
Secretary of the Interior are insufficient to justify a further 
distribution, shall be deposited in the miscellaneous receipts 
of the Treasury of the United States.
  [Sec. 6.  The costs of distribution may be aid out of the 
deductions authorized by sections 2 and 4 of this Act. Any 
unused portion of such amounts shall remain in the United 
States Treasury to the credit of the Klamath Tribe.
  [Sec. 7.  None of the funds distributed pursuant to this Act 
shall be subject to Federal or State income tax.
  [Sec. 8.  The Secretary is authorized to prescribe rules and 
regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act.]

        Supplemental, Minority, Additional, or Dissenting Views

    None.

                                  [all]