Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Repeal Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 314) to repeal the Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Act.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 314, the Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Repeal Act, introduced by Senator Merkley of Oregon. Our colleague, Representative Schrader of Oregon, has the House companion to this legislation.

This bill will provide long-awaited relief to the Klamath Tribes by restoring the Tribe's self-governance over the management of its own judgment funds.

Like many tribes, the Klamath Tribes were terminated by Congress in the 1950s--in their case, through passage of the Klamath Termination Act. In addition to termination, the legislation established procedures for the sale of reservation land belonging to Tribal members.

At the time, the Tribe was required to submit to the Secretary of the Interior a final roll call of Tribal members. The final roll call was eventually used to settle the Tribe's ongoing Indian Claims Commission suits under the Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Act.

Fortunately, in 1986, the Klamath Tribes' Federal trust relationship with the United States was restored. However, the judgment fund did not account for this restoration and limited the ability of the Tribe to settle any outlying claims.

Today, the Klamath Tribes have no ability to determine how Tribal funds can be allocated to Tribal members or other Tribal priorities. This goes against Tribal sovereignty and is a violation of the authorities upheld by Federal recognition.

S. 314 will right this wrong by repealing the outdated Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Act and restoring the Tribe's ability to exercise its sovereign authority over its own Tribal judgment funds.

I thank Senator Merkley and Representative Schrader for introducing this important piece of legislation and supporting the Tribe in its lengthy quest for a remedy.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), the chair of the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Grijalva and Ranking Member Obernolte, as well as Majority Leader Hoyer and others, for working to bring this and several other commonsense bills serving Indian Country to the floor today.

Though I think most folks are already in the holiday cheer, it was just a couple of weeks ago, in November, that we celebrated Native American Heritage Month.

Last November, we were able to consider a number of bipartisan Tribal bills under suspension of the rules in recognition of this commemorative month and in honor of Tribal communities across this country.

We must not only recognize and commemorate Native Americans, but we must act in Congress to reaffirm Tribal sovereignty, Tribal self- determination, and our own trust responsibilities to the Tribes.

So, even though we are a couple of weeks off this time, I am thrilled that we could again dedicate House floor time to Tribal nations and communities. It is my hope that we can continue this tradition in the 118th Congress and beyond.

I stand here today in support of S. 314, the Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Repeal Act. As Chair Grijalva noted, and Representative Obernolte seconded, we considered this bill in our committee in order to right a historical wrong.

We heard directly from the Klamath Tribes' chairman about what this bill means to him and his people, and the importance of enacting it to finally truly acknowledge their self-determination and Tribal sovereignty.

Upon enactment of this bill, we will finally provide control of the Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund to the Tribe in recognition of its important role.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 314. This bill would repeal the Klamath Judgment Fund Act and direct the Secretary of the Interior to disburse to the Klamath Tribes the balance of any funds that were set aside for legal fees, administration, and per capita trust accounts.

The legislation will bring to a close the final distribution of judgments the Klamath Tribes received through the Indian Claims Commission for a wide variety of historical claims. These judgment funds were distributed primarily to individual Tribe members and their heirs because, at the time, Congress had rescinded Federal recognition of the Klamath Tribes before the judgments were finalized. The Klamath Tribes regained Federal recognition in 1986.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, this bill affects approximately $600,000 remaining in the Klamath Judgment Fund for approximately 200 Tribal members or their next of kin that the Department of the Interior says it cannot locate.

The Klamath Tribes has requested that these remaining funds be transferred to the Tribe so that they may distribute the remaining funds to the Tribal elders still living, who were parties to the judgments.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc: Calendar No. 21, S. 144; Calendar No. 40, S. 325; Calendar No. 52, S. 559.

I ask unanimous consent that the bills be considered read a third time en bloc.

I know of no further debate on the bills.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc: Calendar No. 38, S. 108; Calendar No. 39, S. 314; Calendar No. 41, S. 548; Calendar No. 42, S. 549; and Calendar No. 43, S. 550.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bills be considered read a third time and passed en bloc and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc with no intervening action or debate.

The bills were ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and were read the third time, en bloc.

The bills (S. 108, S. 314, S. 548, S. 549, and S. 550) were passed en bloc, as follows: