II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1457 

To restore an opportunity for tribal economic development on terms that 

are equal and fair, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 22, 2015 

Mr. TESTER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

A BILL 

To restore an opportunity for tribal economic development 

on terms that are equal and fair, 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 ‘‘Alabama-Coushatta 

5 Tribe of Texas Equal and Fair Opportunity Settlement 

6 Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF 

8 POLICY. 

9 (a) FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.—Congress finds 

10 and declares that— 

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1 (1) it is the policy of the United States to pro2 mote tribal self-determination and economic self-suf3 ficiency and to support the resolution of disputes 

4 over historical claims; 

5 (2) Sam Houston, as a leader in the Texas Rev6 olution and the President of the Republic of Texas— 

7 (A) established friendly relations with In8 dian tribes; 

9 (B) expressed his personal appreciation for 

10 the assistance of the tribes during the fight for 

11 Texas independence; and 

12 (C) endeavored to protect the land and 

13 rights of the tribes; 

14 (3) the United States, pursuant to Federal law 

15 and in accordance with several Federal court deci16 sions, has affirmed the rights of tribes, including the 

17 Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas (referred to in 

18 this Act as the ‘‘Tribe’’), to free and undisturbed 

19 use and occupancy of the aboriginal lands of the 

20 tribes, including the right to compensation when 

21 those rights are violated; 

22 (4) the land of the Tribe in southeastern Texas 

23 has been subject to illegal trespass and use, depriv24 ing the Tribe of critical economic development opmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 portunities, including valuable timber production and 

2 oil and gas leasing; 

3 (5) in June 2000, the United States Court of 

4 Federal Claims ruled that— 

5 (A) the United States violated its fiduciary 

6 obligations to the Tribe by knowingly failing to 

7 protect 2,850,000 acres of the aboriginal lands 

8 of the Tribe in southeastern Texas; 

9 (B) that failure would have constituted a 

10 claim eligible to be heard by the Indian Claims 

11 Commission established by the first section of 

12 the Act of August 13, 1946 (60 Stat. 1049, 

13 chapter 959) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian 

14 Claims Commission Act’’) (and terminated by 

15 section 23 of that Act (70 Stat. 624, chapter 

16 679)); and 

17 (C) as described in House Resolution 69 

18 (98th Congress) (November 1, 1983), it was 

19 the sense of the House of Representatives that 

20 the Federal Government should pay full mone21 tary compensation to the Tribe for the loss of 

22 the 2,850,000 acres of aboriginal lands illegally 

23 occupied by non-Indian settlers after 1845; 

24 (6) in October 2002, the United States Court 

25 of Federal Claims adopted $270,600,000 as the 

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1 jointly stipulated amount of economic damages to be 

2 recovered by the Tribe from the United States; 

3 (7) while the Tribe is asserting outstanding 

4 claims regarding the aboriginal lands of the Tribe, 

5 the Tribe has decided to forego, relinquish, waive, 

6 and otherwise extinguish any such claims, on the 

7 condition that Congress shall amend the 1987 Res8 toration Act of the Tribe, enacted as Public Law 

9 100–89 (25 U.S.C. 1300g et seq.), in accordance 

10 with this Act; 

11 (8) Congress desires to empower the Tribe to 

12 govern its own economic future and appreciates the 

13 willingness of the Tribe to forego the land claims de14 scribed in paragraph (7) in exchange for improved 

15 economic self-sufficiency; 

16 (9) this Act represents a good faith effort on 

17 the part of Congress to compensate the Tribe for the 

18 loss of the aboriginal lands of the Tribe by providing 

19 the Tribe with an economic development opportunity 

20 under the same terms and conditions as other feder21 ally recognized Indian tribes, in exchange for the 

22 agreement of the Tribe to relinquish the land claims 

23 described in paragraph (7); and 

24 (10) in the absence of Congressional action, 

25 those land claims will be pursued through the courts, 

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1 a process that in all likelihood will consume many 

2 years and thereby promote hostility and uncertainty 

3 in the State of Texas, to the ultimate detriment of 

4 the Tribe, the members of the Tribe, and all other 

5 citizens of the State of Texas. 

6 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

7 (1) to recognize and compensate the Tribe for 

8 the loss of the aboriginal lands of the Tribe and the 

9 resulting loss of any economically productive use of 

10 those lands for decades; 

11 (2) to restore an economic development oppor12 tunity to the Tribe on terms that are equal and fair; 

13 (3) to resolve claims by the Tribe regarding the 

14 loss of the aboriginal lands of the Tribe; and 

15 (4) to insulate the Federal Government and 

16 taxpayers from potentially greater and ongoing li17 ability from those claims. 

18 SEC. 3. RESTORATION ACT AMENDMENT. 

19 For the purpose of restoring an economic develop20 ment opportunity on terms that are equal and fair, section 

21 207 of Public Law 100–89 (25 U.S.C. 737) is repealed. 

22 SEC. 4. DISMISSAL OF LAND CLAIMS. 

23 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the United States and the Tribe shall execute 

25 and file in each applicable court a motion for dismissal 

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1 of any pending claim arising out of or relating to the ab2 original lands, or an interest in the aboriginal lands, of 

3 the Tribe. 

4 SEC. 5. EXTINGUISHMENT OF CLAIMS. 

5 (a) EXTINGUISHMENT.—Any claim (including any 

6 claim for damages for trespass or for use and occupancy) 

7 by, or on behalf of, the Tribe, or any predecessor in inter8 est or any of the members of the Tribe, against the United 

9 States, the State of Texas, or any landowner, that is based 

10 on any interest in or right involving any land or natural 

11 resources, shall be regarded as extinguished. 

12 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec13 tion— 

14 (1) affects or limits the personal claim of an in15 dividual Indian (except for a Federal common law 

16 fraud claim) that is pursued under any law of gen17 eral applicability that protects non-Indians as well as 

18 Indians; or 

19 (2) alters the status of land held in trust by the 

20 United States on behalf of the Tribe. 

Æ 

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