I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4462

To provide for administrative procedures to extend Federal recognition to

certain Indian groups, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 19, 1994

Mr. RICHARDSON (for himself and Mr. THOMAS of Wyoming) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To provide for administrative procedures to extend Federal

recognition to certain Indian groups, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Indian Federal Rec5 ognition Administrative Procedures Act of 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this Act are—

8 (1) to establish an administrative procedure to

9 extend Federal recognition to certain Indian groups;
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1 (2) to extend to Indian groups the protection,

2 services, and benefits available from the Federal

3 Government pursuant to the Federal trust respon4 sibility;

5 (3) to provide clear and consistent standards of

6 administrative review of recognition petitions for In7 dian groups; and

8 (4) to expedite the administrative review proc9 ess by providing definitive timelines for review and

10 adequate resources to process recognition petitions.

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

12 For purposes of this Act:

13 (1) The term ‘‘aboriginal group’’ means any In14 dian entity whose members inhabited or whose range

15 extended into any part of the area now constituting

16 the United States of America, Canada, or the Unit17 ed States of Mexico prior to the first sustained con18 tact of such members with Euro-Americans.

19 (2) The term ‘‘autonomous’’, in the context of

20 decisionmaking, means having its own tribal council,

21 internal process, or other organizational mechanism

22 which the Indian group has used as its own means

23 of making decisions independent of the control of

24 any other Indian tribe, and in using such term for

25 purposes of this Act, such term must be understood
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1 in the context of the culture and social organization

2 of that Indian group.

3 (3) The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the Bureau of

4 Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior.

5 (4) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Com6 mission on Indian Recognition established under sec7 tion 4.

8 (5) The term ‘‘community’’ means any people

9 living within such a reasonable proximity as to allow

10 group interaction and maintenance of tribal rela11 tions.

12 (6) The term ‘‘continuous’’ means, with respect

13 to any Indian group, extending from generation to

14 generation throughout the Indian group’s history es15 sentially without interruption.

16 (7) The term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart17 ment of the Interior.

18 (8) The term ‘‘historical’’ means dating back to

19 the earliest documented contact between—

20 (A) the aboriginal group from which the

21 petitioners descended; and

22 (B) citizens or officials of the United

23 States, colonial or territorial governments, or

24 citizens and officials of foreign governments.
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1 (9) The term ‘‘Indian group’’ means any Indian

2 entity that—

3 (A) is located within any of the States of

4 the United States; and

5 (B) is not recognized by the Secretary to

6 be an Indian tribe.

7 (10) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ means any Indian

8 entity that—

9 (A) is located within any of the States of

10 the United States; and

11 (B) is recognized by the Secretary to be an

12 Indian tribe.

13 (11) The term ‘‘Indian’’ means any individual

14 who is a descendant of an aboriginal group.

15 (12) The term ‘‘member of an Indian group’’

16 means an individual who—

17 (A) is recognized by an Indian group as

18 meeting its membership criteria;

19 (B) consents to being listed as a member

20 of that group; and

21 (C) is not a member of any Indian tribe.

22 (13) The term ‘‘member of an Indian tribe’’

23 means an individual who—

24 (A) meets the membership requirements of

25 the Indian tribe, as set forth in its governing
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1 document or recognized collectively by those

2 persons comprising the governing body of the

3 Indian tribe; and

4 (B) has continuously maintained tribal re5 lations with the tribe or is listed on the tribal

6 rolls of that Indian tribe as a member if such

7 rolls are maintained.

8 (14) The term ‘‘petition’’ means a petition sub9 mitted to the Commission under section 5 or trans10 ferred to the Commission under section 5 of this

11 Act.

12 (15) The term ‘‘petitioner’’ means any entity

13 which has submitted, or submits, a petition to the

14 Secretary requesting recognition that the entity is an

15 Indian tribe.

16 (16) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

17 of the Interior.

18 (17) The term ‘‘treaty’’ means any treaty—

19 (A) negotiated and ratified by the United

20 States with, or on behalf of, any Indian group;

21 (B) made by any sovereign with, or on be22 half of, any Indian group from which the

23 United States acquired territory by purchase,

24 conquest, or cession; or
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1 (C) negotiated by the United States with,

2 or on behalf of, any Indian group in California,

3 whether or not the treaty was subsequently

4 ratified.

5 SEC. 4. COMMISSION ON INDIAN RECOGNITION.

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, as an

7 independent commission, the Commission on Indian Rec8 ognition.

9 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—(1)(A) The Commission shall

10 consist of three members appointed by the President, by

11 and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

12 (B) In making appointments to the Commission, the

13 President shall give careful consideration to—

14 (i) recommendations received from Indian

15 tribes; and

16 (ii) individuals who have a background in In17 dian law or policy, anthropology, genealogy, or his18 tory.

19 (2) No more than two members of the Commission

20 may be members of the same political party.

21 (3) Each member of the Commission shall be ap22 pointed for a term of four years.

23 (4) Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect

24 its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner in which

25 the original appointment was made. Any member ap-
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1 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration

2 of the term for which the member’s predecessor was ap3 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that

4 term. A member may serve after the expiration of that

5 member’s term until a successor has taken office.

6 (5)(A) Each member of the Commission not other7 wise employed by the United States Government shall re8 ceive compensation at a rate equal to the daily equivalent

9 of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of

10 the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5,

11 United States Code, for each day, including traveltime,

12 such member is engaged in the actual performance of du13 ties authorized by the Commission.

14 (B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), a mem15 ber of the Commission who is otherwise an officer or em16 ployee of the United States Government shall serve on the

17 Commission without additional compensation, but such

18 service shall be without interruption or loss of civil service

19 status or privilege.

20 (C) All members of the Commission shall be reim21 bursed for travel and per diem in lieu of subsistence ex22 penses during the performance of duties of the Commis23 sion while away from home or their regular place of busi24 ness, in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 of

25 title 5, United States Code.
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1 (6) At the time appointments are made under para2 graph (1), the President shall designate one of such ap3 pointees as Chairman of the Commission.

4 (c) MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES.—(1) The Commis5 sion shall hold its first meeting no later than 30 days after

6 the date on which all members of the Commission have

7 been appointed and confirmed by the Senate.

8 (2) Two members of the Commission shall constitute

9 a quorum for the transaction of business.

10 (3) The Commission may adopt such rules (consistent

11 with the provisions of this Act) as may be necessary to

12 establish its procedures and to govern the manner of its

13 operations, organization, and personnel.

14 (4) The principal office of the Commission shall be

15 in the District of Columbia.

16 (d) DUTIES.—The Commission shall carry out the

17 duties assigned to the Commission by this Act, and shall

18 meet the requirements imposed on the Commission by this

19 Act.

20 (e) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES.—(1) Subject to such

21 rules and regulations as may be adopted by the Commis22 sion, the Chairman of the Commission is authorized to—

23 (A) appoint, terminate, and fix the compensa24 tion (without regard to the provisions of title 5,

25 United States Code, governing appointments in the
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1 competitive service, and without regard to the provi2 sions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53

3 of such title, or of any other provision of law, relat4 ing to the number, classification, and General

5 Schedule rates) of an Executive Director of the

6 Commission and of such other personnel as the

7 Chairman deems advisable to assist in the perform8 ance of the duties of the Commission, at a rate not

9 to exceed a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the

10 annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the

11 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5,

12 United States Code; and

13 (B) procure, as authorized by section 3109(b)

14 of title 5, United States Code, temporary and inter15 mittent services to the same extent as is authorized

16 by law for agencies in the executive branch, but at

17 rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

18 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Execu19 tive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.

20 (2) The Commission is authorized to—

21 (A) hold such hearings and sit and act at such

22 times;

23 (B) take such testimony;

24 (C) have such printing and binding done;
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1 (D) enter into such contracts and other ar2 rangements, subject to the availability of funds;

3 (E) make such expenditures; and

4 (F) take such other actions,

5 as the Commission may deem advisable. Any member of

6 the Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to

7 witnesses appearing before the Commission.

8 (3)(A) The Commission is authorized to secure di9 rectly from any officer, department, agency, establish10 ment, or instrumentality of the Federal Government such

11 information as the Commission may require for the pur12 pose of this Act, and each such officer, department, agen13 cy, establishment, or instrumentality is authorized and di14 rected to furnish, to the extent permitted by law, such in15 formation, suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to

16 the Commission, upon request made by the Chairman of

17 the Commission.

18 (B) Upon the request of the Chairman of the Com19 mission, the head of any Federal department, agency, or

20 instrumentality is authorized to make any of the facilities

21 and services of such department, agency, or instrumental22 ity available to the Commission and detail any of the per23 sonnel of such department, agency, or instrumentality to

24 the Commission, on a nonreimbursable basis, to assist the

25 Commission in carrying out its duties under this section.
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1 (C) The Commission may use the United States mails

2 in the same manner and under the same conditions as

3 other departments and agencies of the United States.

4 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The pro5 visions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act shall not

6 apply to the Commission.

7 SEC. 5. PETITIONS FOR RECOGNITION.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Any Indian group may submit

9 to the Commission a petition requesting that the Commis10 sion recognize that the Indian group is an Indian tribe.

11 (2) The provisions of this Act do not apply to the

12 following groups or entities, which shall not be eligible for

13 recognition under this Act—

14 (A) Indian tribes, organized bands, pueblos,

15 communities, and Alaska Native entities which are

16 recognized by the Secretary as of the date of enact17 ment of this Act as eligible to receive services from

18 the Bureau;

19 (B) splinter groups, political factions, commu20 nities, or groups of any character which separate

21 from the main body of an Indian tribe that, at the

22 time of such separation, is recognized as being an

23 Indian tribe by the Secretary, unless it can be clear24 ly established that the group, faction, or community
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1 has functioned throughout history until the date of

2 such petition as an autonomous Indian tribal entity;

3 (C) groups, or successors in interest of groups,

4 that prior to the date of enactment of this Act, have

5 petitioned for and been denied or refused recognition

6 as an Indian tribe under regulations prescribed by

7 the Secretary; and

8 (D) any Indian group whose relationship with

9 the Federal Government was expressly terminated

10 by an Act of Congress.

11 (3) No later than 30 days after the date on which

12 all of the members of the Commission have been appointed

13 and confirmed by the Senate, the Secretary shall transfer

14 to the Commission all petitions pending before the Depart15 ment that request the Secretary, or the Federal Govern16 ment, to recognize or acknowledge an Indian group as an

17 Indian tribe. On the date of such transfer, the Secretary

18 and the Department shall cease to have any authority to

19 recognize or acknowledge, on behalf of the Federal Gov20 ernment, any Indian group as an Indian tribe. Petitions

21 transferred to the Commission under this paragraph shall,

22 for purposes of this Act, be considered as having been sub23 mitted to the Commission as of the date of such transfer.

24 (b) PETITION FORM AND CONTENT.—Except as pro25 vided in subsection (c), any petition submitted under sub-
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1 section (a) by an Indian group shall be in a form which

2 clearly indicates that it is a petition requesting the Com3 mission to recognize that the Indian group is an Indian

4 tribe and shall contain each of the following:

5 (1) A statement of facts establishing that the

6 petitioner has been identified from historical times

7 until the present, on a substantially continuous

8 basis, as an Indian entity, except that a petitioner

9 shall not be considered as having failed to satisfy

10 any requirement of this subsection merely because of

11 fluctuations of tribal activity during various years.

12 Evidence which can be offered to demonstrate In13 dian identity of the petitioner on a substantially con14 tinuous basis shall include one or more of the follow15 ing:

16 (A) Repeated identification of the peti17 tioner as an Indian entity by Federal authori18 ties.

19 (B) Longstanding relationships of the peti20 tioner with State governments based on identi21 fication of the petitioner as an Indian entity.

22 (C) Repeated dealings of the petitioner

23 with a county, parish, or other local government

24 in a relationship based on the Indian identity of

25 the petitioner.
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1 (D) Repeated identification of the peti2 tioner as an Indian entity by records in private

3 or public archives courthouses, churches, or

4 schools.

5 (E) Repeated identification of the peti6 tioner as an Indian entity by anthropologists,

7 historians, or other scholars.

8 (F) Repeated identification of the peti9 tioner as an Indian entity in newspapers, books,

10 or similar media.

11 (G) Repeated identification of the peti12 tioner as an Indian entity by, and dealings of

13 the petitioner as an Indian entity with, Indian

14 tribes, aboriginal groups or recognized national

15 Indian organizations.

16 (2) Evidence that—

17 (A) a substantial portion of the member18 ship of the petitioner lives in an Indian commu19 nity which is distinct from other populations in

20 the area; and

21 (B) members of the petitioner are descend22 ants of an Indian group or groups which his23 torically inhabited a specific area.

24 (3) A statement of facts which establishes that

25 the petitioner has maintained tribal political influ-
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1 ence or other authority over its members as an au2 tonomous entity from historical times until the

3 present.

4 (4) A copy of the present governing document

5 of the petitioner describing in the full membership

6 criteria of the petitioner and the procedures through

7 which the petitioner currently governs its affairs and

8 members.

9 (5) A list of all current members of the peti10 tioner and their current addresses and a copy of

11 each available former list of members based on the

12 petitioner’s own defined criteria. The membership

13 must consist of individuals who have established

14 descendancy from an Indian group which existed

15 historically or from historical Indian groups which

16 combined and functioned as a single autonomous en17 tity. Evidence of tribal membership required by the

18 Commission includes (but is not limited to)—

19 (A) descendancy rolls prepared by the Sec20 retary for the petitioner for purposes of distrib21 uting claims money, providing allotments, or

22 other purposes;

23 (B) State, Federal, or other official records

24 or evidence identifying present members of the

25 petitioner, or ancestors of present members of
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1 the petitioner, as being an Indian descendant

2 and a member of the petitioner;

3 (C) church, school, and other similar en4 rollment records indicating membership in the

5 petitioner;

6 (D) affidavits of recognition by tribal el7 ders, leaders, or the tribal governing body as

8 being an Indian descendant of the Indian group

9 and a member of the petitioner; and

10 (E) other records or evidence identifying

11 the person as a member of the petitioner.

12 (c) A petition from an Indian group which can dem13 onstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that it was

14 or is the successor in interest to—

15 (1) a party to a treaty or treaties with the Fed16 eral Government; or

17 (2) a group acknowledged by any agency of the

18 Federal Government as eligible to participate in the

19 Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461

20 et. seq.),

21 shall be required to establish the criteria set forth in sub22 section (b)(1) only from the date of the treaty or acknowl23 edgement of eligibility to the present.
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1 SEC. 6. NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF PETITION.

2 (a) PETITIONER.—Within 30 days after a petition is

3 submitted or transferred to the Commission under section

4 5(a), the Commission shall send an acknowledgement of

5 receipt in writing to the petitioner and shall have pub6 lished in the Federal Register a notice of such receipt, in7 cluding the name, location, and mailing address of the pe8 titioner and such other information that will identify the

9 entity who submitted the petition and the date the petition

10 was received by the Commission. The notice shall also in11 dicate where a copy of the petition may be examined.

12 (b) OTHERS.—The Commission shall also notify, in

13 writing, the Governor and attorney general of, and each

14 recognized Indian tribe within, any State in which a peti15 tioner resides.

16 (c) PUBLICATION; OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPORTING

17 OR OPPOSING SUBMISSIONS.—The Commission shall pub18 lish the notice of receipt of the petition in a major news19 paper of general circulation in the town or city nearest

20 the location of the petitioner. The notice shall include, in

21 addition to the information described in subsection (a), no22 tice of opportunity for other parties to submit factual or

23 legal arguments in support of or in opposition to, the peti24 tion. Such submissions shall be provided to the petitioner

25 upon receipt by the Commission. The petitioner shall be

26 provided an opportunity to respond to such submissions
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1 prior to a determination on the petition by the Commis2 sion.

3 SEC. 7. PROCESSING THE PETITION.

4 (a) REVIEW.—(1) Upon receipt of a petition, the

5 Commission shall conduct a review to determine whether

6 the petitioner is entitled to be recognized as an Indian

7 tribe.

8 (2) The review conducted under paragraph (1) shall

9 include consideration of the petition, supporting evidence,

10 and the factual statements contained in the petition.

11 (3) The Commission may also initiate other research

12 for any purpose relative to analyzing the petition and ob13 taining additional information about the petitioner’s sta14 tus and may consider any evidence which may be submit15 ted by other parties.

16 (b) NOTICE OF DEFICIENCIES.—Prior to actual con17 sideration of the petition and by no later than the date

18 that is 12 months after the date on which the petition

19 is submitted or transferred to the Commission, the Com20 mission shall notify the petitioner of any obvious defi21 ciencies, or significant omissions, that are apparent upon

22 an initial review of the petition and provide the petitioner

23 with an opportunity to withdraw the petition for further

24 work or to submit additional information or a clarification.
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1 (c) CONSIDERATION.—(1) Except as otherwise pro2 vided in this subsection, petitions shall be considered on

3 a first come, first served basis, determined by the date

4 of the original filing of the petition with the Commission,

5 or the Department if the petition is one transferred to the

6 Commission pursuant to section 5(a). The Commission

7 shall establish a priority register including those petitions

8 pending before the Department on the date of enactment

9 of this Act.

10 (2) Petitions that are submitted to the Commission

11 by Indian groups that as set forth in subsection 5(c)

12 shall—

13 (A) receive priority consideration over petitions

14 submitted by any other Indian groups, and

15 (B) be considered on an expedited basis.

16 (d) NOTICE OF ACTIVE CONSIDERATION.—The Com17 mission shall provide notice of the date on which the peti18 tion comes under active consideration to the petitioner and

19 other parties submitting comments on the petition.

20 (e) WITHDRAWAL AND RESUBMITTAL.—A petitioner

21 may, at its option and upon written request, withdraw its

22 petition prior to publication in the Federal Register by the

23 Commission of proposed findings under section 8(a) and

24 may, if it so desires, resubmit a new petition. A petitioner

25 shall not lose its priority date by withdrawing and resub-
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1 mitting its petitions, but the time periods provided in sec2 tion 8(a) shall begin to run upon active consideration of

3 the resubmitted petition.

4 SEC. 8. PROPOSED FINDINGS AND DETERMINATION.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Within one year after notify6 ing the petitioner under section 7(d) that active consider7 ation of the petition has begun, the Commission shall

8 make a proposed finding on the petition and shall publish

9 the proposed finding in the Federal Register.

10 (2) The Commission may delay making proposed

11 findings on a petition under paragraph (1) for 180 days

12 upon a showing of good cause by the petitioner.

13 (3) In addition to the proposed findings, the Commis14 sion shall prepare a report on each petition which summa15 rizes the evidence for the proposed findings. Copies of such

16 report shall be available to the petitioner and to other par17 ties upon request.

18 (4) Upon publication of the proposed findings under

19 paragraph (1), any individual or organization wishing to

20 challenge the proposed findings shall have a response pe21 riod of 120 days to present factual or legal arguments and

22 evidence upon which the proposed findings are based.

23 (b) DETERMINATION OF RECOGNITION.—(1) After

24 consideration of any written arguments and evidence sub25 mitted to rebut the proposed findings made under sub-
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1 section (a)(1), the Commission shall make a determination

2 of whether the petitioner is recognized by the Federal Gov3 ernment to be an Indian tribe. Except as otherwise pro4 vided by this Act, the determination shall be considered

5 to be a determination on such recognition by the Federal

6 Government, and shall also be treated as a determination

7 on such recognition by the Secretary, for all purposes of

8 law.

9 (2) By no later than the date that is 60 days after

10 the close of the 120 day response period described in sub11 section (a)(4), the Commission shall—

12 (A) make a determination of whether the peti13 tioner is a federally recognized Indian tribe;

14 (B) publish a summary of the determination in

15 the Federal Register; and

16 (C) deliver a copy of the determination and

17 summary to the petitioner.

18 (3) Any determination made under paragraph (1)

19 shall become effective on the date that is 60 days after

20 the date on which the summary of the determination is

21 published under paragraph (2).

22 (c) RECOGNITION CRITERIA.—In making the pro23 posed findings and determination under this section with

24 respect to any petition, the Commission shall recognize the

25 petitioner as an Indian tribe if the petition meets all the
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1 requirements of section 5(b). The Commission shall not

2 make such findings or determination of recognition of the

3 petitioner if such requirements have not been met by the

4 petitioner.

5 (d) NOTIFICATION OF OTHER OPTIONS.—If the

6 Commission determines under subsection (b)(1) that the

7 petitioner should not be recognized by the Federal Govern8 ment to be an Indian tribe, the Commission shall analyze

9 and forward to the petitioner other options, if any, under

10 which application for services and other benefits of the

11 Bureau may be made.

12 (e) SITUATIONS NOT AFFECTED BY DETERMINA13 TION.—A determination by the Commission that an In14 dian group is recognized by the Federal Government as

15 an Indian tribe shall not have the effect of—

16 (1) depriving or diminishing the right of any

17 other Indian tribe to govern its reservation as such

18 reservation existed prior to the recognition of such

19 Indian group;

20 (2) depriving or diminishing any property right

21 held in trust or recognized by the United States for

22 such other Indian tribe prior to the recognition of

23 such Indian group; or

24 (3) depriving or diminishing any previously or

25 independently existing claim by a petitioner to any
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1 such property right held in trust by the United

2 States for such other Indian tribe prior to the rec3 ognition of such Indian group.

4 SEC. 9. APPEALS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—By no later than 60 days after

6 the date on which the summary of the determination of

7 the Commission with respect to a petition is published

8 under section 8(b), the petitioner, or any other party, may

9 appeal the determination to the United States District

10 Court for the District of Columbia.

11 (b) ATTORNEY FEES AND COSTS.—The prevailing

12 parties in the appeal described in subsection (a) shall be

13 eligible for an award of reasonable attorney fees and costs

14 under the provisions of section 504 of title 5, United

15 States Code, or section 2412 of title 28 of such Code, as

16 the case may be.

17 SEC. 10. IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS.

18 (a) ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—(1)

19 Subject to paragraph (2), upon recognition by the Com20 mission that the petitioner is an Indian tribe, the Indian

21 tribe shall be eligible for the services and benefits from

22 the Federal Government that are available to other feder23 ally recognized Indian tribes by virtue of their status as

24 Indian tribes with a government-to-government relation25 ship with the United States, as well as having the respon-
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1 sibilities and obligations of such Indian tribes. Such rec2 ognition shall subject the Indian tribes to the same au3 thority of Congress and the United States to which other

4 federally recognized tribes are subject.

5 (2) Recognition of the Indian tribe under this Act

6 does not create an immediate entitlement to existing pro7 grams of the Bureau. Such programs shall become avail8 able upon appropriation of funds by law. Requests for ap9 propriations shall follow a determination under subsection

10 (b) of the needs of the newly recognized Indian tribe.

11 (b) NEEDS DETERMINATION.—Within 6 months

12 after an Indian tribe is recognized under this Act, the ap13 propriate area offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and

14 the Indian Health Service shall consult and develop in co15 operation with the Indian tribe, and forward to the respec16 tive Secretary, a determination of the needs of the Indian

17 tribe and a recommended budget required to serve the

18 newly recognized Indian tribe. The recommended budget

19 shall be considered along with other recommendations by

20 the appropriate Secretary in the budget-request process.

21 SEC. 11. LIST OF RECOGNIZED INDIAN TRIBES.

22 By no later than the date that is 90 days after the

23 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter,

24 the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register an up25 to-date list of all Indian tribes which are recognized by
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1 the Federal Government and receiving services from the

2 Bureau.

3 SEC. 12. ACTIONS BY PETITIONERS FOR ENFORCEMENT.

4 Any petitioner may bring an action in the district

5 court of the United States for the district in which the

6 petitioner resides, or the United States District Court for

7 the District of Columbia, to enforce the provisions of this

8 Act, including any time limitations within which actions

9 are required to be taken, or decisions made, under this

10 Act and the district court shall issue such orders (includ11 ing writs of mandamus) as may be necessary to enforce

12 the provisions of this Act.

13 SEC. 13. REGULATIONS.

14 The Commission is authorized to prescribe such regu15 lations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions

16 and purposes of this Act. All such regulations must be

17 published in accordance with the provisions of title 5,

18 United States Code.

19 SEC. 14. GUIDELINES AND ADVICE.

20 (a) GUIDELINES.—No later than 90 days after the

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall make

22 available suggested guidelines for the format of petitions,

23 including general suggestions and guidelines on where and

24 how to research required information, but such examples

25 shall not preclude the use of any other format.
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1 (b) RESEARCH ADVICE.—The Commission, upon re2 quest, is authorized to provide suggestions and advise to

3 any petitioner for his research into the petitioner’s histori4 cal background and Indian identity. The Commission shall

5 not be responsible for the actual research on behalf of the

6 petitioner.

7 SEC. 15. ASSISTANCE TO PETITIONERS.

8 (a) GRANTS.—(1) The Secretary of Health and

9 Human Services may award grants to Indian groups seek10 ing Federal recognition to enable the Indian groups to—

11 (A) conduct the research necessary to substan12 tiate petitions under this Act; and

13 (B) prepare documentation necessary for the

14 submission of a petition under this Act.

15 (2) The grants made under this subsection shall be

16 in addition to any other grants the Secretary of Health

17 and Human Services is authorized to provide under any

18 other provision of law.

19 (b) COMPETITIVE AWARD.—Grants provided under

20 subsection (a) shall be awarded competitively based on ob21 jective criteria prescribed in regulations promulgated by

22 the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

23 SEC. 16. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

24 (a) COMMISSION.—There are authorized to be appro25 priated for the Commission for the purpose of carrying
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•HR 4462 IH

1 out the provisions of this Act (other than section 15),

2 $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1995 and $1,500,000 for each

3 of the 12 succeeding fiscal years.

4 (b) SECRETARY OF HHS.—There are authorized to

5 be appropriated for the Administration for Native Ameri6 cans of the Department of Health and Human Services

7 for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of section

8 15, $500,000 for fiscal year 1995 and $500,000 for each

9 of the 12 succeeding fiscal years.

Æ