II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1844

To transfer administrative consideration of applications for Federal recognition of an Indian tribe to an independent commission, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 10 (legislative day, JANUARY 25), 1994

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. INOUYE, and Mr. COCHRAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

A BILL

To transfer administrative consideration of applications for

Federal recognition of an Indian tribe to an independent

commission, 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 SHORT TITLE

4 SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Indian

5 Federal Recognition Administrative Procedures Act of

6 1994’’.

7 PURPOSES

8 SEC. 2. The purposes of this Act are to—
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1 (1) establish an administrative procedure for

2 the recognition of the existence of certain Indian

3 tribes;

4 (2) extend to Indian groups the protection,

5 services, and benefits available from the Federal

6 Government pursuant to the Federal trust respon7 sibility;

8 (3) extend to Indian groups the immunities and

9 privileges available to federally recognized Indian

10 tribes as well as the responsibilities and obligations

11 of such Indian tribes;

12 (4) ensure that the special government-to-gov13 ernment relationship between the United States and

14 Indian tribes has a consistent legal and historical

15 basis;

16 (5) provide clear and consistent standards of

17 administrative review of recognition petitions for In18 dian groups; and

19 (6) expedite the administrative review process

20 by providing definitive timelines for review and ade21 quate resources to process recognition petitions.

22 DEFINITIONS

23 SEC. 3. For purposes of this Act.—

24 (1) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

25 of the Interior or a representative designated by the

26 Secretary of the Interior.
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1 (2) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the inde2 pendent commission established under section 4.

3 (3) The term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart4 ment of the Interior.

5 (4) The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the Bureau of

6 Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior.

7 (5) The term ‘‘area office’’ means an area office

8 of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

9 (6) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ means any Indian

10 entity that—

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

12 the United States, and

13 (B) is recognized by the Secretary of the

14 Interior to be an Indian tribe.

15 (7) The term ‘‘Indian group’’ means any Indian

16 entity that—

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

18 the United States, and

19 (B) is not recognized by the Secretary of

20 the Interior to be an Indian tribe.

21 (8) The term ‘‘petitioner’’ means any entity

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

23 Secretary requesting recognition that the entity is an

24 Indian tribe.
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1 (9) The term ‘‘autonomous’’ means having its

2 own tribal council, internal process, or other organi3 zational mechanism which the Indian group has used

4 as its own means of making decisions independent of

5 the control of any other Indian governing entity, and

6 in using such term for purposes of this Act, such

7 term must be understood in the context of the cul8 ture and social organization of that Indian group.

9 (10) The term ‘‘member of an Indian group’’

10 means an individual who—

11 (A) is recognized by an Indian group as

12 meeting its membership criteria;

13 (B) consents to being listed as a member

14 of that group; and

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

16 (11) The term ‘‘member of an Indian tribe’’

17 means an individual who—

18 (A) meets the membership requirements of

19 the Indian tribe, as set forth in its governing

20 document or recognized collectively by those

21 persons comprising the governing body of the

22 Indian tribe, and

23 (B) has continuously maintained tribal re24 lations with the tribe, or is listed on the tribal
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1 rolls of that Indian tribe as a member, if such

2 rolls are maintained.

3 (12) The term ‘‘historical’’ means dating back

4 to the earliest documented contact between—

5 (A) the aboriginal Indian group from

6 which the petitioners descended, and

7 (B) citizens or officials of the United

8 States, colonial or territorial governments, or if

9 relevant, citizens and officials of foreign govern10 ments from which the United States acquired

11 territory.

12 (13) The term ‘‘continuous’’ means, with re13 spect to any Indian group, extending from genera14 tion to generation throughout the Indian group’s

15 history essentially without interruption.

16 (14) The term ‘‘indigenous’’ means native to

17 the area that constitutes the continental United

18 States in that at least part of the group’s aboriginal

19 range extended into what is now the area that con20 stitutes the continental United States.

21 (15) The term ‘‘community’’ means any people

22 living within such a reasonable proximity as to allow

23 group interaction and maintenance of tribal rela24 tions.
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1 (16) The term ‘‘other party’’ means any af2 fected person or organization other than the peti3 tioner who submits comments or evidence in support

4 of, or in opposition to, a petition.

5 (17) The term ‘‘petition’’ means a petition sub6 mitted to the Commission under section 5(a)(1) or

7 transferred to the Commission under section 5(a)(3).

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

9 (A) negotiated and ratified by the United

10 States with, or on behalf of, any Indian group,

11 (B) made by any sovereign with, or on be12 half of, any Indian group, whereby the United

13 States acquired territory by purchase or ces14 sion, or

15 (C) negotiated by the United States with,

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

17 whether or not the treaty was subsequently

18 ratified.

19 COMMISSION ON INDIAN RECOGNITION

20 SEC. 4. (a)(1) There is established, as an independent

21 commission, the ‘‘Commission on Indian Recognition’’.

22 (2)(A) The Commission shall consist of 3 members

23 appointed by the President, by and with the advice and

24 consent of the Senate.

25 (B) No more than 2 members of the Commission may

26 be members of the same political party.
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1 (C) The Commission shall hold its first meeting no

2 later than 30 days after the date on which all members

3 of the Commission have been appointed and confirmed by

4 the Senate.

5 (D) Each member of the Commission shall be entitled

6 to one vote which shall be equal to the vote of every other

7 member of the Commission.

8 (E) Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect

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

10 the original appointment was made.

11 (F) In making appointments to the Commission, the

12 President shall give careful consideration to—

13 (i) recommendations received from Indian

14 tribes, and

15 (ii) individuals who have a background in In16 dian law or policy, anthropology, genealogy, or his17 tory.

18 (3) At the time appointments are made under para19 graph (2)(A), the President shall designate one of such

20 appointees as chairman of the Commission.

21 (4) Two members of the Commission shall constitute

22 a quorum for the transaction of business.

23 (5) The Commission may adopt such rules (consistent

24 with the provisions of this Act) as may be necessary to
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1 establish its procedures and to govern the manner of its

2 operations, organization, and personnel.

3 (b)(1)(A) Each member of the Commission not other4 wise employed by the United States Government shall re5 ceive compensation at a rate equal to the daily equivalent

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

7 the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, Unit8 ed States Code, for each day, including traveltime, such

9 member is engaged in the actual performance of duties

10 authorized by the Commission.

11 (B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), a mem12 ber of the Commission who is otherwise an officer or em13 ployee of the United States Government shall serve on the

14 Commission without additional compensation, but such

15 service shall be without interruption or loss of civil service

16 status or privilege.

17 (C) All members of the Commission shall be reim18 bursed for travel and per diem in lieu of subsistence ex19 penses during the performance of duties of the Commis20 sion while away from home or their regular place of busi21 ness, in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 of

22 title 5, United States Code.

23 (2) The principal office of the Commission shall be

24 in the District of Columbia.
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1 (c) The Commission shall carry out the duties as2 signed to the Commission by this Act, and shall meet the

3 requirements imposed on the Commission by this Act.

4 (d)(1) Subject to such rules and regulations as may

5 be adopted by the Commission, the chairman of the Com6 mission is authorized to—

7 (A) appoint, terminate, and fix the compensa8 tion (without regard to the provisions of title 5,

9 United States Code, governing appointments in the

10 competitive service, and without regard to the provi11 sions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53

12 of such title, or of any other provision of law, relat13 ing to the number, classification, and General

14 Schedule rates) of an Executive Director of the

15 Commission and of such other personnel as the

16 chairman deems advisable to assist in the perform17 ance of the duties of the Commission, at a rate not

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

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

20 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5,

21 United States Code; and

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

23 of title 5, United States Code, temporary and inter24 mittent services to the same extent as is authorized

25 by law for agencies in the executive branch, but at
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1 rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

2 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Execu3 tive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.

4 (2) The Commission is authorized—

5 (A) to hold such hearings and sit and act at

6 such times,

7 (B) to take such testimony,

8 (C) to have such printing and binding done,

9 (D) subject to the availability of funds, to enter

10 into such contracts and other arrangements,

11 (E) to make such expenditures, and

12 (F) to take such other actions,

13 as the Commission may deem advisable. Any member of

14 the Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to

15 witnesses appearing before the Commission.

16 (3) The provisions of the Federal Advisory Commit17 tee Act shall not apply to the Commission established

18 under this section.

19 (4)(A) The Commission is authorized to secure di20 rectly from any officer, department, agency, establish21 ment, or instrumentality of the Federal Government such

22 information as the Commission may require for the pur23 pose of this Act, and each such officer, department, agen24 cy, establishment, or instrumentality is authorized and di25 rected to furnish, to the extent permitted by law, such in-
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1 formation, suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to

2 the Commission, upon request made by the chairman of

3 the Commission.

4 (B) Upon the request of the chairman of the Commis5 sion, the head of any Federal department, agency, or in6 strumentality is authorized to make any of the facilities

7 and services of such department, agency, or instrumental8 ity available to the Commission and detail any of the per9 sonnel of such department, agency, or instrumentality to

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

11 Commission in carrying out its duties under this section.

12 (C) The Commission may use the United States mails

13 in the same manner and under the same conditions as

14 other departments and agencies of the United States.

15 (e) The Commission shall cease to exist on the date

16 that is 60 days after the date on which the Commission

17 publishes in the Federal Register the last determination

18 the Commission is required to make under section 8(b)

19 with respect to petitions filed under section 5(a). All

20 records, documents, and materials of the Commission,

21 prior to its termination, shall be transferred by the Com22 mission to the National Archives and Records Administra23 tion.

24 PETITIONS FOR RECOGNITION

25 SEC. 5. (a)(1) Any Indian group that is indigenous

26 (including any Indian group whose relationship with the
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1 Federal Government was terminated by law) may submit

2 to the Commission, during the 72-month period beginning

3 on the date of enactment of this Act, a petition requesting

4 that the Commission recognize that the Indian group is

5 an Indian tribe.

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

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

8 recognition under this Act—

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

10 communities, and Alaska Native entities which are

11 already recognized by the Secretary as eligible to re12 ceive services from the Bureau;

13 (B) splinter groups, political factions, commu14 nities, or groups of any character which separate

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

16 time of such separation, is recognized as being an

17 Indian tribe by the Secretary, unless it can be clear18 ly established that the group, faction, or community

19 has functioned throughout history until the date of

20 such petition as an autonomous Indian tribal entity;

21 and

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

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

24 petitioned for, and been denied or refused, recogni-
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1 tion as an Indian tribe under regulations prescribed

2 by the Secretary.

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

4 all of the members of the Commission have been appointed

5 and confirmed by the Senate, the Secretary shall transfer

6 to the Commission all petitions pending before the Depart7 ment that request the Secretary, or the Federal Govern8 ment, to recognize or acknowledge an Indian group as an

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

10 and the Department shall cease to have any authority to

11 recognize or acknowledge, on behalf of the Federal Gov12 ernment, any Indian group as an Indian tribe. Petitions

13 transferred to the Commission under this paragraph shall,

14 for purposes of this Act, be considered as having been sub15 mitted to the Commission as of the date of such transfer.

16 (b) Any petition submitted under subsection (a) by

17 an Indian group shall be in a form which clearly indicates

18 that it is a petition requesting the Commission to recog19 nize that the Indian group is an Indian tribe and shall

20 contain each of the following:

21 (1) A statement of facts establishing that the

22 petitioner has been identified from historical times

23 until the present, on a substantially continuous

24 basis, as Indian, except that a petitioner shall not be

25 considered as having failed to satisfy any require-
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1 ment of this subsection merely because of fluctua2 tions of tribal activity during various years. Evi3 dence which can be offered to demonstrate Indian

4 identity of the petitioner on a substantially continu5 ous basis shall include one or more of the following:

6 (A) Repeated identification of the peti7 tioner as Indian by Federal authorities, includ8 ing actions which constitute legislative or ad9 ministrative termination.

10 (B) Longstanding relationships of the peti11 tioner with State governments based on identi12 fication of the petitioner as Indian.

13 (C) Repeated dealings of the petitioner

14 with a county, parish, or other local government

15 in a relationship based on the Indian identity of

16 the petitioner.

17 (D) Repeated identification of the peti18 tioner as an Indian entity by records in court19 houses, churches, or schools.

20 (E) Repeated identification of the peti21 tioner as an Indian entity by anthropologists,

22 historians, or other scholars.

23 (F) Repeated identification of the peti24 tioner as an Indian entity in newspapers and

25 books.
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1 (G) Repeated identification of the peti2 tioner as an Indian entity by, and dealings of

3 the petitioner as an Indian entity with, Indian

4 tribes or recognized national Indian organiza5 tions.

6 (2) Evidence that—

7 (A) a substantial portion of the member8 ship of the petitioner lives in a community

9 viewed as Indian and distinct from other popu10 lations in the area, and

11 (B) members of the petitioner are descend12 ants of an Indian group or groups which his13 torically inhabited a specific area.

14 (3) A statement of facts which establishes that

15 the petitioner has maintained tribal political influ16 ence or other authority over its members as an au17 tonomous entity from historical times until the

18 present.

19 (4) A copy of the present governing document

20 of the petitioner describing in full the membership

21 criteria of the petitioner and the procedures through

22 which the petitioner currently governs its affairs and

23 members.

24 (5) A list of all current members of the peti25 tioner and their current addresses and a copy of
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1 each available former list of members based on the

2 petitioner’s own defined criteria. The membership

3 must consist of individuals who have established

4 descendancy from an Indian group which existed

5 historically or from historical Indian groups which

6 combined and functioned as a single autonomous en7 tity. Evidence of tribal membership required by the

8 Commission includes (but is not limited to)—

9 (A) descendancy rolls prepared by the Sec10 retary for the petitioner for purposes of distrib11 uting claims money, providing allotments, or

12 other purposes;

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

14 or evidence identifying present members of the

15 petitioner, or ancestors of present members of

16 the petitioner, as being an Indian descendant

17 and a member of the petitioner;

18 (C) church, school, and other similar en19 rollment records indicating membership in the

20 petitioner;

21 (D) affidavits of recognition by tribal el22 ders, leaders, or the tribal governing body as

23 being an Indian descendant of the Indian group

24 and a member of the petitioner; and
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1 (E) other records or evidence identifying

2 the person as a member of the petitioner.

3 NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF PETITION

4 SEC. 6. (a) Within 30 days after a petition is submit5 ted or transferred to the Commission under section 5(a),

6 the Commission shall send an acknowledgment of receipt

7 in writing to the petitioner and shall have published in

8 the Federal Register a notice of such receipt, including

9 the name, location, and mailing address of the petitioner

10 and such other information that will identify the entity

11 submitting the petition and the date the petition was re12 ceived by the Commission. The notice shall also indicate

13 where a copy of the petition may be examined.

14 (b) The Commission shall also notify, in writing, the

15 Governor and attorney general of, and each recognized In16 dian tribe within, any State in which a petitioner resides.

17 (c) The Commission shall publish the notice of receipt

18 of the petition in a major newspaper of general circulation

19 in the town or city nearest the location of the petitioner.

20 The notice will include, in addition to the information de21 scribed in subsection (a), notice of opportunity for other

22 parties to submit factual or legal arguments in support

23 of, or in opposition to, the petition. Such submissions shall

24 be provided to the petitioner upon receipt by the Commis25 sion. The petitioner shall be provided an opportunity to
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1 respond to such submissions prior to a determination on

2 the petition by the Commission.

3 PROCESSING THE PETITION

4 SEC. 7. (a)(1) Upon receipt of a petition, the Com5 mission shall conduct a review to determine whether the

6 petitioner is entitled to be recognized as an Indian tribe.

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

8 include consideration of the petition, supporting evidence,

9 and the factual statements contained in the petition.

10 (3) The Commission may also initiate other research

11 for any purpose relative to analyzing the petition and ob12 taining additional information about the petitioner’s sta13 tus and may consider any evidence which may be submit14 ted by other parties.

15 (b) Prior to actual consideration of the petition and

16 by no later than the date that is 12 months after the date

17 on which the petition is submitted or transferred to the

18 Commission, the Commission shall notify the petitioner of

19 any obvious deficiencies, or significant omissions, that are

20 apparent upon an initial review of the petition and provide

21 the petitioner with an opportunity to withdraw the petition

22 for further work or to submit additional information or

23 a clarification.

24 (c)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this sub25 section, petitions shall be considered on a first come, first

26 served basis, determined by the date of the original filing
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1 of the petition with the Commission, or the Department

2 of the Interior if the petition is one transferred to the

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

4 shall establish a priority register including those petitions

5 pending before the Department of the Interior on the date

6 of enactment of this Act.

7 (2) Petitions that are submitted to the Commission

8 by Indian groups whose relationship with the Federal Gov9 ernment was terminated by law or by Indian groups that

10 were parties to treaties—

11 (A) shall receive priority consideration over pe12 titions submitted by any other Indian groups, and

13 (B) shall be considered on an expedited basis.

14 (d) The Commission shall provide the petitioner and

15 other parties submitting comments on the petition notice

16 of the date on which the petition comes under active con17 sideration.

18 (e) A petitioner may, at its option and upon written

19 request, withdraw its petition prior to publication in the

20 Federal Register by the Commission of proposed findings

21 under section 8(a) and may, if it so desires, resubmit a

22 new petition. A petitioner shall not lose its priority date

23 by withdrawing and resubmitting its petitions, but the

24 time periods provided in section 8(a) shall begin to run

25 upon active consideration of the resubmitted petition.
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1 PROPOSED FINDINGS AND DETERMINATION

2 SEC. 8. (a)(1) Within 1 year after notifying the peti3 tioner under section 7(d) that active consideration of the

4 petition has begun, the Commission shall make a proposed

5 finding on the petition and shall publish the proposed find6 ing in the Federal Register.

7 (2) The Commission may delay making proposed

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

9 upon a showing of good cause by the petitioner.

10 (3) In addition to the proposed findings, the Commis11 sion shall prepare a report on each petition which summa12 rizes the evidence for the proposed findings. Copies of such

13 report shall be available to the petitioner and to other par14 ties upon request.

15 (4) Upon publication of the proposed findings under

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

17 challenge the proposed findings shall have a response pe18 riod of 120 days to present factual or legal arguments and

19 evidence to rebut the evidence upon which the proposed

20 findings are based.

21 (b)(1) After consideration of any written arguments

22 and evidence submitted to rebut the proposed findings

23 made under subsection (a)(1), the Commission shall make

24 a determination of whether the petitioner is recognized by

25 the Federal Government to be an Indian tribe. Except as
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1 otherwise provided by this Act, the determination shall be

2 considered to be a determination on such recognition by

3 the Federal Government, and shall also be treated as a

4 determination on such recognition by the Secretary, for

5 all purposes of law.

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

7 the close of the 120-day response period described in sub8 section (a)(4), the Commission shall—

9 (A) make a determination of whether the peti10 tioner is a federally recognized Indian tribe;

11 (B) publish a summary of the determination in

12 the Federal Register; and

13 (C) deliver a copy of the determination and

14 summary to the petitioner.

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

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

17 the date on which the summary of the determination is

18 published under paragraph (2).

19 (c) In making the proposed findings and determina20 tion under this section with respect to any petition, the

21 Commission shall recognize the petitioner as an Indian

22 tribe if the petition meets all the requirements of section

23 5(b). The Commission shall not make such findings or de24 termination of recognition of the petitioner if such require25 ments have not been met by the petitioner.
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1 (d) If the Commission determines under subsection

2 (b)(1) that the petitioner should not be recognized by the

3 Federal Government to be an Indian tribe, the Commis4 sion shall analyze and forward to the petitioner other op5 tions, if any, under which application for services and

6 other benefits of the Bureau may be made.

7 (e) A determination by the Commission that an In8 dian group is recognized by the Federal Government as

9 an Indian tribe shall not—

10 (1) have the effect of depriving or diminishing

11 the right of any other Indian tribe to govern its res12 ervation as such reservation existed prior to the rec13 ognition of such Indian group,

14 (2) have the effect of depriving or diminishing

15 any property right held in trust or recognized by the

16 United States for such other Indian tribe prior to

17 the recognition of such Indian group, or

18 (3) have the effect of depriving or diminishing

19 any previously or independently existing claim by a

20 petitioner to any such property right held in trust by

21 the United States for such other Indian tribe prior

22 to the recognition of such Indian group.

23 APPEALS

24 SEC. 9. (a) By no later than 60 days after the date

25 on which the summary of the determination of the Com26 mission with respect to a petition is published under sec-
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1 tion 8(b), the petitioner, or any other party, may appeal

2 the determination to the United States Court of Appeals

3 for the District of Columbia Circuit.

4 (b) The prevailing parties in the appeal described in

5 subsection (a) shall be eligible for an award of attorney

6 fees and costs under the provisions of section 504 of title

7 5, United States Code, or section 2412 of title 28 of such

8 Code, as the case may be.

9 IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS

10 SEC. 10. (a) Upon recognition by the Commission

11 that the petitioner is an Indian tribe, the Indian tribe shall

12 be eligible for the services and benefits from the Federal

13 Government that are available to other federally recog14 nized Indian tribes and entitled to the privileges and im15 munities available to other federally recognized Indian

16 tribes by virtue of their status as Indian tribes with a gov17 ernment-to-government relationship with the United

18 States, as well as having the responsibilities and obliga19 tions of such Indian tribes. Such recognition shall subject

20 the Indian tribes to the same authority of Congress and

21 the United States to which other federally recognized

22 tribes are subject.

23 (b) While the Indian tribes that are newly recognized

24 under this Act shall be eligible for benefits and services,

25 recognition of the Indian tribe under this Act will not cre26 ate an immediate entitlement to existing programs of the
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1 Bureau. Such programs shall become available upon ap2 propriation of funds by law. Requests for appropriations

3 shall follow a determination of the needs of the newly rec4 ognized Indian tribe.

5 (c) Within 6 months after an Indian tribe is recog6 nized under this Act, the appropriate area offices of the

7 Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service

8 shall consult and develop in cooperation with the Indian

9 tribe, and forward to the respective Secretary, a deter10 mination of the needs of the Indian tribe and a rec11 ommended budget required to serve the newly recognized

12 Indian tribe. The recommended budget will be considered

13 along with other recommendations by the appropriate Sec14 retary in the usual budget-request process.

15 LIST OF RECOGNIZED INDIAN TRIBES

16 SEC. 11. By no later than the date that is 90 days

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually

18 thereafter, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Reg19 ister an up-to-date list of all Indian tribes which are recog20 nized by the Federal Government and receiving services

21 from the Bureau.

22 ACTIONS BY PETITIONERS FOR ENFORCEMENT

23 SEC. 12. Any petitioner may bring an action in the

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

25 the petitioner resides, or the United States District Court

26 for the District of Columbia, to enforce the provisions of
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1 this Act, including any time limitations within which ac2 tions are required to be taken, or decisions made, under

3 this Act and the district court shall issue such orders (in4 cluding writs of mandamus) as may be necessary to en5 force the provisions of this Act.

6 REGULATIONS

7 SEC. 13. The Commission is authorized to prescribe

8 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the pro9 visions and purposes of this Act. All such regulations must

10 be published in accordance with the provisions of title 5,

11 United States Code.

12 GUIDELINES AND ADVICE

13 SEC. 14. (a) No later than 90 days after the date

14 of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall make avail15 able suggested guidelines for the format of petitions, in16 cluding general suggestions and guidelines on where and

17 how to research required information, but such examples

18 shall not preclude the use of any other format.

19 (b) The Commission, upon request, is authorized to

20 provide suggestions and advice to any petitioner for his

21 research into the petitioner’s historical background and

22 Indian identity. The Commission shall not be responsible

23 for the actual research on behalf of the petitioner.

24 ASSISTANCE TO PETITIONERS

25 SEC. 15. (a)(1) The Commissioner of the Administra26 tion for Native Americans of the Department of Health
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1 and Human Services may award grants to Indian groups

2 seeking Federal recognition to enable the Indian groups

3 to—

4 (A) conduct the research necessary to substan5 tiate petitions under this Act, and

6 (B) prepare documentation necessary for the

7 submission of a petition under this Act.

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

9 in addition to any other grants the Commissioner of the

10 Administration for Native Americans is authorized to pro11 vide under any other provision of law.

12 (b) Grants provided under subsection (a) shall be

13 awarded competitively based on objective criteria pre14 scribed in regulations promulgated by the Commissioner

15 of the Administration for Native Americans.

16 AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

17 SEC. 16. (a) There are authorized to be appropriated

18 for the Commission for the purpose of carrying out the

19 provisions of this Act (other than section 15), $1,500,000

20 for fiscal year 1995 and $1,500,000 for each of the 12

21 succeeding fiscal years.

22 (b) There are authorized to be appropriated for the

23 Administration for Native Americans of the Department

24 of Health and Human Services for the purpose of carrying

25 out the provisions of section 15, $500,000 for fiscal year
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1 1995 and $500,000 for each of the 12 succeeding fiscal

2 years.

Æ

S 1844 IS——2