I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4833

To reform the management of Indian Trust Funds, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 26, 1994

Mr. RICHARDSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To reform the management of Indian Trust Funds, 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 ‘‘American Indian Trust

5 Fund Management Reform Act of 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY.

7 The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for the

8 management of Indian trust funds including tribal ac9 counts and Individual Indian money accounts.

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

11 For the purposes of this Act:
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1 (1) The term ‘‘Special Trustee’’ means the Spe2 cial Trustee for American Indians established by

3 section 102.

4 (2) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ means any Indian

5 tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or com6 munity, including any Alaska Native village or re7 gional or village corporation as defined in or estab8 lished pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settle9 ment Act (85 Stat. 688), which is recognized as eli10 gible for the special programs and services provided

11 by the United States to Indians because of their sta12 tus as Indians.

13 (3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

14 of the Interior.

15 (4) The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of Spe16 cial Trustee for American Indians established by

17 section 102.

18 TITLE I—SPECIAL TRUSTEE FOR

19 AMERICAN INDIANS

20 SEC. 101. PURPOSES.

21 The purposes of this title are—

22 (1) to provide for more effective management

23 of, and accountability for the proper discharge of,

24 the Secretary’s trust responsibilities to Indian tribes

25 and individual Indians by establishing in the Depart-
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1 ment of the Interior an Office of Special Trustee for

2 American Indians to oversee and coordinate reforms

3 within the Department of practices relating to the

4 management and discharge of such responsibilities;

5 (2) to ensure that reform of such practices in

6 the Department is carried out in a unified manner

7 and that reforms of the policies, practices, proce8 dures and systems of the Bureau of Indian Affairs,

9 Minerals Management Service, and Bureau of Land

10 Management, which carry out such trust responsibil11 ities, are effective, consistent, and integrated; and

12 (3) to ensure the implementation of all reforms

13 necessary for the proper discharge of the Secretary’s

14 trust responsibilities to Indian tribes and individual

15 Indians.

16 SEC. 102. OFFICE OF SPECIAL TRUSTEE FOR AMERICAN IN17 DIANS.

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established

19 within the Department of the Interior the Office of Special

20 Trustee for American Indians. The Office shall be headed

21 by the Special Trustee who shall report directly to the Sec22 retary of the Interior.

23 (b) SPECIAL TRUSTEE.—

24 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Special Trustee shall

25 be appointed by the President, by and with the ad-
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1 vice and consent of the Senate, from among individ2 uals who possess demonstrated ability in general

3 management of large governmental or business enti4 ties and particular knowledge of trust fund manage5 ment, management of financial institutions, and the

6 investment of large sums of money.

7 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Special Trustee shall

8 be paid at a rate determined by the Secretary to be

9 appropriate for the position, but not less than the

10 rate of basic pay payable at Level II of the Execu11 tive Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, United

12 States Code.

13 (c) CONSULTATION.—It is expected that the Senate,

14 in offering its advice and consent, will consult with Indian

15 tribes and appropriate Indian organizations.

16 (d) TERMINATION OF OFFICE.—

17 (1) CONDITIONED UPON IMPLEMENTATION OF

18 REFORMS.—The Special Trustee, in proposing a ter19 mination date under section 103(b)(2)(C), shall en20 sure continuation of the Office until all reforms

21 identified in the strategic plan have been imple22 mented to the satisfaction of the Special Trustee.

23 (2) 30-DAY NOTICE.—Thirty days prior to the

24 termination date proposed in the plan submitted

25 under this section, the Special Trustee shall notify
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1 the Secretary and the Congress in writing of the

2 progress in implementing the reforms identified in

3 the plan. The Special Trustee, at that time, may

4 recommend the continuation, or the permanent es5 tablishment, of the Office if the Special Trustee con6 cludes that continuation or permanent establishment

7 is necessary for the efficient discharge of the Sec8 retary’s trust responsibilities.

9 (3) TERMINATION DATE.—The Office shall ter10 minate 180 legislative days after the date on which

11 the notice to the Congress under paragraph (2) is

12 provided, unless the Congress extends the authorities

13 of the Special Trustee. For the purposes of this ses14 sion, a legislative day is a day on which either House

15 of the Congress is in session.

16 SEC. 103. AUTHORITIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE SPECIAL

17 TRUSTEE.

18 (a) COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PLAN.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Special Trustee shall

20 prepare and, after consultation with Indian tribes

21 and appropriate Indian organizations, submit to the

22 Secretary of the Interior and the Committee on Nat23 ural Resources of the House of Representatives and

24 the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate,

25 within one year after the initial appointment is made
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1 under section 102(b), a comprehensive strategic plan

2 for all phases of the trust management business

3 cycle that will ensure proper and efficient discharge

4 of the Secretary’s trust responsibilities to Indian

5 tribes and individual Indians in compliance with this

6 Act.

7 (2) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—The plan prepared

8 under paragraph (1) shall include the following:

9 (A) Identification of all reforms to the poli10 cies, procedures, practices and systems of the

11 Department of the Interior, the Bureau of In12 dian Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management,

13 and the Minerals Management Service nec14 essary to ensure the proper and efficient dis15 charge of the Secretary’s trust responsibilities

16 in compliance with this Act.

17 (B) Provisions for opportunities for Indian

18 tribes to assist in the management of their

19 trust accounts and to identify for the Secretary

20 options for the investment of their trust ac21 counts, in a manner consistent with the trust

22 responsibilities of the Secretary, in ways that

23 will help promote economic development in their

24 communities.
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1 (C) A timetable for implementing the re2 forms identified in the plan, including a date

3 for the proposed termination of the Office.

4 (b) DUTIES.—

5 (1) GENERAL OVERSIGHT OF REFORM EF6 FORTS.—The Special Trustee shall oversee all re7 form efforts within the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the

8 Bureau of Land Management, and the Minerals

9 Management Service relating to the trust respon10 sibilities of the Secretary to ensure the establish11 ment of policies, procedures, systems and practices

12 to allow the Secretary to discharge his trust respon13 sibilities in compliance with this Act.

14 (2) BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS.—

15 (A) MONITOR RECONCILIATION OF TRUST

16 ACCOUNTS.—The Special Trustee shall monitor

17 the reconciliation of tribal and Individual In18 dian Money trust accounts to ensure that the

19 Bureau of Indian Affairs provides the account

20 holders, with a fair and accurate accounting of

21 all trust accounts.

22 (B) INVESTMENTS.—The Special Trustee

23 shall ensure that the Bureau of Indian Affairs

24 establishes appropriate policies and procedures,
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1 and develops necessary systems, that will allow

2 it—

3 (i) properly to account for and invest,

4 as well as maximize, in a manner consist5 ent with the statutory restrictions imposed

6 on the Secretary’s investment options, the

7 return on the investment of all trust fund

8 monies, and

9 (ii) to prepare accurate and timely re10 ports to account holders (and others, as re11 quired) on a periodic basis regarding all

12 collections, disbursements, investments,

13 and return on investments related to their

14 accounts.

15 (C) OWNERSHIP AND LEASE DATA.—The

16 Special Trustee shall ensure that the Bureau of

17 Indian Affairs establishes policies and practices

18 to maintain complete, accurate, and timely data

19 regarding the ownership and lease of Indian

20 lands.

21 (3) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT.—The

22 Special Trustee shall ensure that the Bureau of

23 Land Management establishes policies and practices

24 adequate to enforce compliance with Federal re25 quirements for drilling, production, accountability,
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1 environmental protection, and safety with respect to

2 the lease of Indian lands.

3 (4) MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE.—The

4 Special Trustee shall ensure that the Minerals Man5 agement Service establishes policies and practices to

6 enforce compliance by lessees of Indian lands with

7 all requirements for timely and accurate reporting of

8 production and payment of lease royalties and other

9 revenues, including the audit of leases to ensure that

10 lessees are accurately reporting production levels and

11 calculating royalty payments.

12 (c) COORDINATION OF POLICIES.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Special Trustee shall

14 ensure that—

15 (A) the policies, procedures, practices, and

16 systems of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the

17 Bureau of Land Management, and the Minerals

18 Management Service related to the discharge of

19 the Secretary’s trust responsibilities are coordi20 nated, consistent, and integrated, and

21 (B) the Department prepares comprehen22 sive and coordinated written policies and proce23 dures for each phase of the trust management

24 business cycle.
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1 (2) STANDARDIZED PROCEDURES.—The Special

2 Trustee shall ensure that the Bureau of Indian Af3 fairs imposes standardized trust fund accounting

4 procedures throughout the Bureau.

5 (3) INTEGRATION OF LEDGER WITH INVEST6 MENT SYSTEM.—The Special Trustee shall ensure

7 that the trust fund investment, general ledger, and

8 subsidiary accounting systems of the Bureau of In9 dian Affairs are integrated and that they are ade10 quate to support the trust fund investment needs of

11 the Bureau.

12 (4) INTEGRATION OF LAND RECORDS, TRUST

13 FUNDS ACCOUNTING, AND ASSET MANAGEMENT SYS14 TEMS AMONG AGENCIES.—The Special Trustee shall

15 ensure that—

16 (A) the land records system of the Bureau

17 of Indian Affairs interfaces with the trust fund

18 accounting system, and

19 (B) the asset management systems of the

20 Minerals Management Service and the Bureau

21 of Land Management interface with the appro22 priate asset management and accounting sys23 tems of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, including

24 ensuring that—
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1 (i) the Minerals Management Service

2 establishes policies and procedures that

3 will allow it to properly collect, account for,

4 and disburse to the Bureau of Indian Af5 fairs all royalties and other revenues gen6 erated by production from leases on Indian

7 lands; and

8 (ii) the Bureau of Land Management

9 and the Bureau of Indian Affairs provide

10 Indian landholders with accurate and time11 ly reports on a periodic basis that cover all

12 transactions related to leases of Indian re13 sources.

14 (d) PROBLEM RESOLUTION.—The Special Trustee

15 shall provide such guidance as necessary to assist Depart16 ment personnel in identifying problems and options for re17 solving problems, and in implementing reforms to Depart18 ment, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Manage19 ment, and Minerals Management Service policies, proce20 dures, systems and practices.

21 (e) SPECIAL TRUSTEE ACCESS.—The Special Trust22 ee, and his staff and agents, shall have access to all

23 records, reports, audits, reviews, documents, papers, rec24 ommendations, files and other material, as well as to any

25 officer and employee, of the Department and any office
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1 or bureau thereof, as the Special Trustee deems necessary

2 for the accomplishment of his duties under this Act.

3 (f) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Special Trustee shall re4 port to the Secretary and the Committee on Natural Re5 sources of the House of Representatives and the Commit6 tee on Indian Affairs of the Senate each year on the

7 progress of the Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs,

8 the Bureau of Land Management, and the Minerals Man9 agement Service in implementing the reforms identified in

10 the comprehensive strategic plan under subsection (a)(1)

11 and in meeting the timetable established in the strategic

12 plan under subsection (a)(2)(C).

13 SEC. 105. STAFF AND CONSULTANTS.

14 (a) STAFF.—The Special Trustee may employ such

15 staff as the Special Trustee deems necessary. The Special

16 Trustee may request staff assistance from within the De17 partment and any office or Bureau thereof as the Special

18 Trustee deems necessary.

19 (b) CONTRACTS.—To the extent and in such amounts

20 as may be provided in advance by appropriations Acts, the

21 Special Trustee may enter into contracts and other ar22 rangements with public agencies and with private persons

23 and organizations for consulting services and make such

24 payments as necessary to carry out the provisions of this

25 title.
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1 SEC. 106. ADVISORY BOARD.

2 Notwithstanding any other law, the Special Trustee

3 shall establish an advisory board to provide advice on all

4 matters within the jurisdiction of the Special Trustee. The

5 advisory board shall consist of nine members, appointed

6 by the Special Trustee after consultation with Indian

7 tribes and appropriate Indian organizations, of which—

8 (1) five members shall represent trust fund ac9 count holders, including both tribal and Individual

10 Indian Money accounts;

11 (2) two members shall have practical experience

12 in trust fund or financial management;

13 (3) one member, from academia, shall have par14 ticular knowledge of trust fund management; and

15 (4) one member, from academia, shall have

16 knowledge of general management of large organiza17 tions.

18 Each member shall serve a term of two years. The Advi19 sory Board shall terminate upon termination of the Office

20 of Special Trustee.

21 TITLE II—INDIAN TRUST FUND

22 MANAGEMENT DEMONSTRA23 TION PROGRAM

24 SEC. 201. PURPOSE.

25 The purpose of this title is to allow tribes an oppor26 tunity to assess new approaches for the management of
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1 tribal and individual Indian funds currently held in trust

2 by the United States and managed by the Secretary

3 through the Bureau, that, consistent with the trust re4 sponsibility of the United States and the principles of self5 determination, will—

6 (1) give Indian tribal governments and individ7 ual Indian account holders greater control over the

8 management of such trust funds; or

9 (2) otherwise demonstrate how the principles of

10 self-determination can work with respect to the man11 agement of such trust funds, in a manner consistent

12 with the trust responsibility of the United States.

13 SEC. 202. INDIAN TRIBE DEFINED.

14 For the purposes of this title, except for the purposes

15 of section 204, the terms ‘‘Indian tribe’’ and ‘‘tribe’’ mean

16 an Indian tribe or a consortia of Indian tribes.

17 SEC. 203. DEMONSTRATION PLANS.

18 (a) PLAN.—An Indian tribe may submit to the Sec19 retary a plan for the tribe to directly manage tribal funds

20 currently held in trust by the United States for such tribe,

21 and as of the date of the enactment of this Act, managed

22 by the Secretary through the Bureau, in a manner that

23 the tribe considers to be more responsive to its financial

24 needs. The implementation of the plan shall be subject to

25 supervision and oversight by the Secretary.
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1 (b) SCOPE.—For the purposes of this section, the

2 term ‘‘manage’’ may include one or more of the functions

3 carried out, as of the date of the enactment of this Act,

4 by the Secretary through the Bureau with regard to trust

5 funds, such as collection, disbursement, and investment

6 functions.

7 SEC. 204. APPROVAL OF PLANS BY THE SECRETARY.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall approve with9 in 90 days of receipt a plan submitted under section 203

10 that meets the following conditions:

11 (1) Such plan has been approved by the appro12 priate Indian tribe, as follows:

13 (A) For a plan involving tribal trust funds,

14 such plan is accompanied by a resolution from

15 the tribal governing body approving the plan.

16 (B) For a plan submitted by an Indian

17 tribe (as defined in paragraphs (1) and (2) of

18 section 202), it is accompanied by a resolution

19 from the tribal governing body approving the

20 plan, along with a certification that the tribe

21 held no fewer than two public meetings to pro22 vide an opportunity for tribal members to com23 ment on the plan.
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1 (2) The Secretary determines such plan to be

2 reasonable after considering all appropriate factors,

3 including (but not limited to) the following:

4 (A) The capability and experience of the

5 individuals or institutions that will be managing

6 the trust funds.

7 (B) The protection against substantial loss

8 of principal.

9 (C) The rate of return, except that the

10 plan need not produce the highest rate of re11 turn possible if the Indian tribe chooses to ac12 cept a lower rate in return for other benefits

13 such as the benefits from investing in local fi14 nancial institutions.

15 (D) The ability of the Secretary to effec16 tively monitor the demonstration, pursuant to

17 the trust responsibility of the United States as

18 specified in section 205.

19 (3) The duration of the plan may not exceed 5

20 years. At the end of that 5-year period, the tribe

21 may—

22 (A) elect to withdraw its funds from the

23 trust and terminate the trust relationship, in

24 accordance with section 208,
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1 (B) return management of its funds to the

2 Secretary, or

3 (C) request renewal of its demonstration

4 plan for an additional five years.

5 (b) INVESTMENT IN EQUITIES OR OTHER FORMS OF

6 INVESTMENTS.—Nothing in this section shall prohibit an

7 Indian tribe submitting a plan for a demonstration under

8 this section from providing in such plan for the investment

9 of its trust funds in equities or other approved forms of

10 investments, if the Secretary determines that such plan

11 meets the standard of subsection (a)(2).

12 SEC. 205. FEDERAL TRUST RESPONSIBILITY FOR TRUST

13 FUND DEMONSTRATION PURPOSES.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—If an Indian tribe assumes man15 agement of trust funds pursuant to a demonstration under

16 this title, the trust responsibility of the United States with

17 respect to such funds shall, for the duration of the dem18 onstration, be limited to the following:

19 (1) The exercise of reasonable care by the Sec20 retary in approving the plan for the demonstration.

21 (2) An annual audit provided by the Secretary,

22 directly or by contract, to determine that the tribe

23 is performing in conformance with such plan.
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1 (3) If the Secretary finds, through such audits,

2 that the tribe is not in compliance with the terms of

3 the plan, the Secretary shall—

4 (A) terminate the demonstration; or

5 (B) prescribe remedial action to be taken

6 by the tribe to achieve compliance with the

7 plan.

8 (b) DECREASE IN INTEREST AND LOSS OF PRIN9 CIPAL.—If a plan for a demonstration submitted under

10 this title and approved by the Secretary provides for the

11 implementation of such demonstration by the Secretary,

12 the United States shall not be liable, during the period

13 of such demonstration, for any decrease in interest rate

14 or any loss of principal that is proximately caused by the

15 Secretary’s prudent implementation of such demonstra16 tion.

17 (c) AGREEMENT.—Prior to the implementation of

18 any demonstration under this title, the Indian tribe in19 volved shall sign a written statement indicating that it un20 derstands and accepts the limitations on the trust respon21 sibility of the United States as provided in this section.

22 SEC. 206. TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

23 The Secretary shall, directly or by contract, provide

24 Indian tribes with technical and financial assistance in de-
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1 veloping, implementing, and managing plans for dem2 onstrations under this title.

3 SEC. 207. NO INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES.

4 Funds managed pursuant to a demonstration pro5 gram under this title, and distributions made from such

6 funds, shall, for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code

7 of 1986, be treated in the same manner as such funds

8 would be treated if such funds were managed directly by

9 the Secretary, through the Bureau.

10 SEC. 208. VOLUNTARY WITHDRAWAL FROM TRUST FUND

11 PROGRAM.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—An Indian tribe may, in accord13 ance with this section, submit a plan to withdraw some

14 or all funds held in trust, including judgment fund ac15 counts, for such tribe by the United States and managed

16 by the Secretary through the Bureau.

17 (b) APPROVAL OF PLAN.—The Secretary shall ap18 prove a plan under this section that meets the require19 ments specified in section 204(a)(1) and subparagraphs

20 (A) and (B) of section 204(a)(2).

21 (c) TERMINATION OF TRUST RESPONSIBILITY.—Be22 ginning on the date funds are withdrawn pursuant to this

23 section, any trust responsibility of the United States with

24 respect to such funds shall terminate.
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1 SEC. 209. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

2 The Secretary shall, beginning one year after the date

3 of the enactment of this Act, submit an annual report to

4 the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Sen5 ate Committee on Indian Affairs on the implementation

6 of demonstration programs under this title. Such report

7 shall include recommendations for changes necessary to

8 effectively implement the purpose of this title.

9 SEC. 210. SAVINGS PROVISION.

10 By submitting or approving a plan under this section,

11 neither the tribe nor the Secretary shall be deemed to have

12 accepted the account balance as accurate or to have

13 waived any rights regarding such balance and to seek com14 pensation.

15 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS

16 SEC. 301. INVESTMENT BY THE SECRETARY OF THE TREAS17 URY OF TRIBAL TRUST FUNDS.

18 Section 161a of title 25, United States Code, is

19 amended as follows:

20 (1) The current text of section 161a is des21 ignated as subsection (a).

22 (2) A new subsection (b) is added as follows:

23 ‘‘(b)(1) At the election of each individual Indian tribe,

24 all of the funds, or a portion thereof, as designated by

25 the tribe, held in trust by the United States and carried

26 in principal accounts on the books of the United States
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1 Treasury to the credit of the tribe may be invested by the

2 Secretary of the Interior—

3 ‘‘(A) in accordance with the second subsection

4 (b) of section 162a of title 25, United States Code;

5 ‘‘(B) in the ‘Common Stock Index Investment

6 Fund’ established under section 161b(f)(1) of title

7 25, United States Code; and

8 ‘‘(C) in the ‘Fixed Income Investment Fund’ es9 tablished under section 161b(f)(2) of title 25, United

10 States Code.

11 ‘‘(2) Twice a year, during time periods designated by

12 the Tribal Trust Funds Investment Board under section

13 161b(c)(1) of this title, a tribe may elect to invest in any

14 one or a combination of the investment options offered in

15 this subsection. If an election is not made, the Secretary

16 shall invest all sums held on account of the tribe in accord17 ance with subsection (a) of this section.

18 ‘‘(3) Each tribe who elects to invest any of its funds

19 in the Common Stock Index Investment Fund or the Fixed

20 Income Investment Fund shall sign an acknowledgement

21 which states that the tribe understands that an investment

22 in either such Fund is made at the tribe’s risk, that the

23 tribe is not protected by the Government against any loss

24 on such investment, and that a return on such investment

25 is not guaranteed by the Government.
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1 ‘‘(4) A tribe who elects to invest any of its funds in

2 the Common Stock Index Investment Fund or the Fixed

3 Income Investment Fund may make withdrawals of those

4 funds only twice a year, during those time periods des5 ignated by the Tribal Trust Funds Investment Board for

6 election of investment options.

7 ‘‘(5) Any management or other fees incurred by the

8 Secretary in investing amounts under this subsection shall

9 be paid from the proceeds of the investments.’’.

10 SEC. 302. TRIBAL TRUST FUND INVESTMENT BOARD.

11 Section 161b of title 25, United States Code, is redes12 ignated as section 161d, and new sections 161b and 161c

13 are included as follows:

14 ‘‘SEC. 161b. TRIBAL TRUST FUND INVESTMENT BOARD.

15 ‘‘(a) There is hereby established in the Department

16 of the Interior a Tribal Trust Fund Investment Board.

17 ‘‘(b) The Board shall be composed of 5 members ap18 pointed by the Secretary of the Interior, after consultation

19 with Indian tribes and appropriate tribal organizations,

20 one of whom the Secretary shall designate as Chairman.

21 The Secretary shall not appoint as a member of the Board

22 any person who is currently a Federal employee. The Di23 rector of the Office of Trust Fund Management shall serve

24 as an ex-officio, nonvoting member of the Board.
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1 ‘‘(1) Members of the Board shall have substan2 tial practical experience, training, and expertise, in

3 the management of financial investments.

4 ‘‘(2) A member of the Board shall be appointed

5 for a term of 4 years, except that of the members

6 first appointed—

7 ‘‘(A) the Chairman shall be appointed for

8 a term of 4 years;

9 ‘‘(B) three members, at the Secretary’s

10 discretion, shall be appointed for terms of 3

11 years; and

12 ‘‘(C) the remaining two members shall be

13 appointed for terms of two years.

14 The term of any member shall not expire before the

15 date on which the member’s successor takes office.

16 ‘‘(3) A vacancy on the Board shall be filled by

17 the Secretary; the individual chosen to fill the va18 cancy shall be appointed for the unexpired term of

19 the member replaced.

20 ‘‘(c) The Board shall—

21 ‘‘(1) establish policies for the investment and

22 management of all tribal trust funds, to provide for

23 prudent investments and low administrative costs,

24 including the designation of two periods of time per

25 calendar year during which tribes may elect invest-
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1 ment options under section 161a(b)(2) of this title

2 and during which tribes may make withdrawals

3 under section 161a(b)(4);

4 ‘‘(2) review the performance of all investments

5 of tribal trust funds; and

6 ‘‘(3) review and approve the budget of the

7 Board.

8 ‘‘(d) The members of the Board shall discharge their

9 responsibilities solely in the interest of tribal trust fund

10 accountholders, and are held to the same high degree of

11 fiduciary responsibility to the tribes as is the Secretary.

12 ‘‘(e) The Board shall establish—

13 ‘‘(1) a Common Stock Index Fund, by selecting

14 an index which is a commonly recognized index com15 prised of common stock the aggregate market value

16 of which is a reasonably complete representation of

17 the United States equity markets. The Common

18 Stock Index Investment Fund shall be invested in a

19 portfolio designed to replicate the performance of

20 the index selected. The portfolio shall be designed

21 such that, to the extent practicable, the percentage

22 of the Common Stock Index Investment Fund that

23 is invested in each stock is the same as the percent24 age determined by dividing the aggregate market

25 value of all shares of that stock by the aggregate
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1 market value of all shares of all stocks included in

2 such index;

3 ‘‘(2) a Fixed Income Investment Fund under

4 which sums are invested in—

5 ‘‘(A) insurance contracts;

6 ‘‘(B) certificates of deposit; or

7 ‘‘(C) other instruments of obligations se8 lected by qualified professional asset managers,

9 which return the amount invested and pay interest

10 at a specified rate or rates, on that amount during

11 a specified period of time. For the purposes of this

12 section, the term ‘qualified professional asset man13 ager’ shall have the same meaning as provided in

14 section 8438(a)(7) of title 5, United States Code.

15 ‘‘(f) The Board shall meet not less than once a

16 month, but at additional times at the call of the Chairman.

17 The Board shall perform the functions and exercise the

18 powers of the Board on a majority vote of a quorum of

19 the Board. Three members of the Board shall constitute

20 a quorum. A vacancy on the Board shall not impair the

21 authority of a quorum of the Board to perform.

22 ‘‘(g) Each member of the Board who is not an officer

23 or employee of the Federal Government shall be com24 pensated at the daily rate of basic pay for level IV of the

25 Executive Schedule for each day during which such mem-
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1 ber is engaged in performing a function of the Board. A

2 member of the Board shall be paid travel, per diem, and

3 other necessary expenses under subchapter I of chapter

4 57 of title 5, United States Code, while traveling away

5 from such member’s home or regular place of business in

6 the performance of the duties of the Board. The accrued

7 annual leave of any Federal employee who is a member

8 of the Board shall not be charged for any time used in

9 performing services for the Board.

10 ‘‘SEC. 161c. ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION.

11 ‘‘(a) The Secretary of the Interior shall establish and

12 maintain an account for each tribe whose funds are held

13 in trust by the United States.

14 ‘‘(b) The Director, Office of Trust Funds Manage15 ment, Bureau of Indian Affairs, shall allocate to each ac16 count an amount equal to a pro rata share of the net earn17 ings and net losses from each investment under section

18 161a of this title attributable to sums credited to such

19 account, reduced by an appropriate share of management

20 and other fees paid out of the net earnings from invest21 ments under subsection (b)(5) of section 161a of this title.

22 ‘‘(c)(1) The Director, Office of Trust Funds Manage23 ment shall engage, annually, on behalf of all tribes for

24 whom an account is maintained, an independent qualified

25 accountant, who shall conduct an examination of all ac-
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1 counts and other books and records maintained in the ad2 ministration of sections 161a, 161b, and 161c, as the pub3 lic accountant considers necessary to enable the public ac4 countant to make the determination required by para5 graph (2) of this subsection. The examination shall be con6 ducted in accordance with auditing standards established

7 by the Comptroller General of the United States, and shall

8 involve such tests of the accounts, books, and records as

9 the public accountant considers necessary.

10 ‘‘(2) The public accountant conducting an examina11 tion under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall deter12 mine whether the accounts, books, and records referred

13 to in such paragraph have been maintained in conformity

14 with generally accepted accounting principles applied on

15 a basis consistent with the manner in which such prin16 ciples were applied during the examination conducted

17 under such paragraph during the preceding year. The pub18 lic accountant shall transmit to the Tribal Trust Funds

19 Investment Board, the Director, Office of Trust Funds

20 Management, Special Trustee, Secretary of the Interior,

21 and the Comptroller General of the United States a report

22 on his examination, including his determination under this

23 paragraph.

24 ‘‘(3) In making a determination under paragraph (2)

25 of this subsection, a public accountant may rely on the
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1 correctness of any actuarial matter certified by an enrolled

2 actuary if the public accountant states his reliance in the

3 report transmitted under such paragraph.

4 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘quali5 fied public accountant’’ shall have the same meaning as

6 provided in section 103(a)(3)(D) of the Employee Retire7 ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.

8 1023(a)(3)(D)).

9 ‘‘(d)(1) The Board shall prescribe regulations under

10 which each tribe for whom an account is maintained shall

11 be furnished with—

12 ‘‘(A) a periodic statement relating to the tribe’s

13 account; and

14 ‘‘(B) a summary description of the investment

15 options under section 161a of this title including an

16 evaluation of each such option covering the 5-year

17 period preceding the date as of which such evalua18 tion is made.

19 ‘‘(2) Information under this subsection shall be pro20 vided at least 30 calendar days before the beginning of

21 each election period under section 161a(b)(2) of this title,

22 and in a manner designed to facilitate informed decision23 making with respect to such election.’’.
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1 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

2 SEC. 401. RECONCILIATION REPORT.

3 The Secretary of the Interior shall transmit to the

4 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep5 resentatives and the Committee on Indian Affairs of the

6 Senate, by September 30, 1995, a report identifying for

7 each tribal trust fund account for which the Secretary is

8 responsible a balance reconciled as of that date. The re9 port shall include—

10 (1) a description of the Secretary’s methodology

11 in reconciling trust fund accounts;

12 (2) attestations by each account holder that—

13 (A) the Secretary has provided the account

14 holder with a full and complete accounting of

15 the account holder’s funds to the earliest pos16 sible date, and that the account holder accepts

17 the balance as reconciled by the Secretary; or

18 (B) the account holder disputes the bal19 ance of the account holder’s account as rec20 onciled by the Secretary and statement explain21 ing why the account holder disputes the Sec22 retary’s reconciled balance;

23 (3) a statement by the Secretary with regard to

24 each account balance disputed by the account holder
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1 outlining efforts the Secretary will undertake to re2 solve the dispute; and

3 (4) for each account that the Secretary is un4 able to reconcile as of September 30, 1995, a state5 ment explaining why the Secretary is unable to rec6 oncile the account and a statement of the Sec7 retary’s plans to negotiate a balance acceptable to

8 both the Secretary and the account holder.

9 SEC. 402. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

10 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as

11 may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

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