II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1770

To establish a voluntary alternative claims resolution process to reach a 

settlement of pending class action litigation. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 21, 2003

Mr. CAMPBELL (for himself, Mr. INOUYE, and Mr. DOMENICI) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

A BILL

To establish a voluntary alternative claims resolution process 

to reach a settlement of pending class action litigation.

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 Money Account 

5 Claim Satisfaction Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) since the 19th century, the United States 

9 has held Indian funds and resources in trust for the 

10 benefit of Indians; 
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1 (2) in 1996, a class action was brought against 

2 the United States seeking a historical accounting of 

3 balances of individual Indian money accounts; 

4 (3) after 8 years of litigation and the expendi5 ture of hundreds of millions of dollars of Federal 

6 funds, it is clear that the court-ordered historical ac7 counting will require significant additional resources 

8 and years to accomplish and will not result in sig9 nificant benefits to the members of the class; and 

10 (4) resolving the litigation in a full, fair, and 

11 final manner will best serve the interests of the 

12 members of the class and the United States. 

13 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 

14 a voluntary alternative claims process to reach settlement 

15 of the class action litigation in Cobell v. Norton (No. 

16 96cv01285, D.D.C.). 

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) ACCOUNTING.—The term ‘‘accounting’’—

20 (A) with respect to funds in an individual 

21 Indian money account that were deposited or 

22 invested on or after the date of enactment of 

23 the Act of June 24, 1938 as provided in the 

24 first section of that Act (25 U.S.C. 162a), 

25 means a demonstration, to the maximum extent 
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1 practicable, of the monthly and annual balances 

2 of funds in the individual Indian money ac3 count; and 

4 (B) with respect to funds in an individual 

5 Indian money account that were deposited or 

6 invested between 1887 and the day before the 

7 date of enactment of the Act of June 24, 1938, 

8 means a demonstration of the probable balances 

9 of funds in an individual Indian money account 

10 that were deposited or invested. 

11 (2) CLAIM.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘claim’’ 

13 means a legal or equitable claim that has been 

14 brought or could be brought, asserting any duty 

15 claimed to be owed by the United States under 

16 any statute, common law, or any other source 

17 of law to an individual Indian money account 

18 holder that pertains in any way to the account 

19 holder’s account, including the duty to—

20 (i) collect and deposit funds in the ac21 count; 

22 (ii) invest funds in the account; 

23 (iii) make disbursements from the ac24 count; 
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1 (iv) make and maintain records of ac2 tivity in the account; 

3 (v) provide an accounting; and 

4 (vi) value, compromise, resolve, or 

5 otherwise dispose of claims relating to the 

6 account. 

7 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘claim’’ in8 cludes a claim for damages or other relief for 

9 failure to perform, or for improper performance 

10 of, any duty described in subparagraph (A). 

11 (3) CLASS ACTION.—The term ‘‘class action’’ 

12 means the civil action Cobell v. Norton (No. 

13 96cv01285, D.D.C.). 

14 (4) DE MINIMIS INDIVIDUAL INDIAN MONEY AC15 COUNT.—The term ‘‘de minimis individual Indian 

16 money account’’ means an individual Indian money 

17 account that contains less than $100. 

18 (5) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 

19 individual’’ means—

20 (A) a living individual who is or has been 

21 an individual Indian money account holder, ex22 cept any such individual whose account holds or 

23 held funds only from the distribution of a judg24 ment fund or a per capita distribution; and 
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1 (B) the estate of a deceased individual 

2 who—

3 (i) was living on the date of enact4 ment of the American Indian Trust Fund 

5 Management Reform Act of 1994 (25 

6 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.); and 

7 (ii) held an individual Indian money 

8 account on that date or at any time subse9 quent to that date, except any such indi10 vidual whose account holds or held funds 

11 only from the distribution of a judgment 

12 fund or a per capita distribution. 

13 (6) IMACS TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘IMACS 

14 Task Force’’ means the Indian Money Account 

15 Claim Satisfaction Task Force established by

16 section 4. 

17 (7) INDIVIDUAL INDIAN MONEY ACCOUNT.—

18 The term ‘‘individual Indian money account’’ means 

19 an account that contains funds held in trust by the 

20 United States, established and managed by the 

21 United States on behalf of an individual Indian. 

22 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of the Interior.
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1 (9) TRIBUNAL.—The term ‘‘Tribunal’’ means 

2 the Indian Money Claims Tribunal established by 

3 section 5. 

4 SEC. 4. INDIAN MONEY ACCOUNT CLAIM SATISFACTION 

5 TASK FORCE. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the In7 dian Money Account Claim Satisfaction Task Force. 

8 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The IMACS Task Force 

10 shall be comprised of not fewer than 9 members, ap11 pointed jointly by the majority leader and minority 

12 leader of the Senate and the Speaker and minority 

13 leader of the House of Representatives. 

14 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—

15 (A) BACKGROUND.—Members of the 

16 IMACS Task Force shall be selected from pri17 vate enterprise and academia and shall not be 

18 employees of the United States. 

19 (B) EXPERTISE.—Of the members ap20 pointed to the IMACS Task Force—

21 (i) 2 shall have expertise in the field 

22 of forensic accounting; 

23 (ii) 2 shall have expertise in the field 

24 of Federal Indian law; 
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1 (iii) 2 shall have expertise in the field 

2 of commercial trusts; 

3 (iv) 1 shall have expertise in the field 

4 of mineral resources; 

5 (v) 1 shall have expertise in the field 

6 of economic modeling and econometrics; 

7 and 

8 (vi) 1 shall have expertise in the field 

9 of complex civil litigation. 

10 (3) IMACS TASK FORCE LEADER.—An IMACS 

11 Task Force Leader shall be chosen by majority vote 

12 of the members of the IMACS Task Force. 

13 (c) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A 

14 member of the IMACS Task Force shall be entitled to—

15 (1) compensation, at a rate that does not ex16 ceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic 

17 pay prescribed under level V of the Executive Sched18 ule under section 5316 of title 5, United States 

19 Code, for each day the member is engaged in the 

20 performance of duties the IMACS Task Force; and 

21 (2) travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 

22 of subsistence, in the same manner as persons em23 ployed intermittently in Government service under 

24 section 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 
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1 (d) INFORMATION AND SUPPORT.—The Secretary of 

2 the Interior shall provide the IMACS Task Force—

3 (1) access to all records and other information 

4 in the possession of or available to the Secretary re5 lating to individual Indian money accounts; and 

6 (2) such personnel, office space and other facili7 ties, equipment, and other administrative support as 

8 the IMACS Task Force may reasonably request. 

9 (e) CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.—Section 10(b) of 

10 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall 

11 not apply to the IMACS Task Force. 

12 (f) DUTIES.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The IMACS Task Force 

14 shall—

15 (A) not later than 1 year after the date of 

16 enactment of this Act, complete an analysis of 

17 records, data, and other historical information 

18 with regard to the conduct of an historical ac19 counting submitted by the parties in the class 

20 action to the district court in January 2003; 

21 and 

22 (B) not later than 60 days after com23 pleting the analysis under subparagraph (A), 

24 hold meetings with representatives of—

25 (i) the plaintiffs in that civil action; 
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1 (ii) the Department of Justice and the 

2 Department of the Interior; and 

3 (iii) any other parties that, in the dis4 cretion of the IMACS Task Force, are nec5 essary to allow the IMACS Task Force to 

6 carry out its duties under this Act. 

7 (2) ACCOUNT BALANCES.—

8 (A) METHODOLOGIES OR MODELS.—The 

9 IMACS Task Force shall develop 1 or more ap10 propriate methodologies or models to conduct 

11 an accounting of the individual Indian money 

12 accounts. 

13 (B) DETERMINATION.—Using methodolo14 gies or models developed under subparagraph 

15 (A), the IMACS Task Force shall conduct an 

16 accounting to determine in current dollars the 

17 balances of—

18 (i) first, all individual Indian money 

19 accounts opened in or after 1985; 

20 (ii) second, all individual Indian 

21 money accounts opened on or after the 

22 date of enactment of the first section of 

23 the Act of June 24, 1938 (25 U.S.C. 

24 162a), and before 1985; and 
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1 (iii) third, all individual Indian money 

2 accounts opened before the date of enact3 ment of the first section of the Act of June 

4 24, 1938 (25 U.S.C. 162a). 

5 (C) NOTICE OF DETERMINATION.—On 

6 making a determination of the balance in the 

7 individual Indian money account of an eligible 

8 individual, the IMACS Task Force shall provide 

9 notice of the determination to the eligible indi10 vidual and the Secretary. 

11 (g) ACCEPTANCE OR NONACCEPTANCE BY ELIGIBLE

12 INDIVIDUAL.—

13 (1) ACCEPTANCE.—If an eligible individual ac14 cepts the determination by the IMACS Task Force 

15 of the balance in the individual Indian money ac16 count of the eligible individual—

17 (A) not later than 60 days after the date 

18 on which the eligible individual receives notice 

19 of the determination, the eligible individual 

20 shall submit to the Secretary a notice that the 

21 eligible individual accepts the determination of 

22 the balance; 

23 (B) not later than 30 days after the Sec24 retary receives the notice of acceptance under 

25 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall make any
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1 adjustment in the records of the Secretary to 

2 reflect the determination; 

3 (C) based on the adjustment made pursu4 ant to paragraph (B), the Secretary shall make 

5 full payment to the eligible individual of the 

6 balance in the individual Indian money account 

7 of the eligible individual in satisfaction of any 

8 claim that the individual may have; 

9 (D) the eligible individual shall provide the 

10 Secretary an accord and satisfaction of all 

11 claims of the eligible individual, which shall be 

12 binding on any heirs, transferees, or assigns of 

13 the eligible individual; and 

14 (E) the eligible individual shall be dis15 missed from the class action. 

16 (2) NONACCEPTANCE.—If an eligible individual 

17 does not accept the determination by the IMACS 

18 Task Force of the balance in the individual Indian 

19 money account of the eligible individual, the eligible 

20 individual may—

21 (A) have the amount of the balance deter22 mined through arbitration by the Tribunal; or 

23 (B) remain a member of the class in the 

24 class action. 
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1 SEC. 5. INDIAN MONEY CLAIMS TRIBUNAL. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the In3 dian Money Claims Tribunal. 

4 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Tribunal shall be comprised 

5 of 5 arbitrators drawn from the list of arbitrators main6 tained by the Attorney General. 

7 (c) ELECTION TO ARBITRATE.—If an eligible indi8 vidual elects to have the amount of the balance in the indi9 vidual Indian money account determined through arbitra10 tion by the Tribunal—

11 (1) not later than 60 days after receiving the 

12 notice of determination under section 4(f)(2)(C), the 

13 eligible individual shall submit to the Tribunal, in 

14 such form as the Tribunal may require, all claims of 

15 the eligible individual, with an agreement to be 

16 bound by any determination made by the Tribunal; 

17 and 

18 (2) the United States shall be bound by any de19 termination made by the Tribunal. 

20 (d) REPRESENTATION.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible individual may be 

22 represented by an attorney or other representative in 

23 proceedings before the Tribunal. 

24 (2) ATTORNEY’S FEE.—No legal representative 

25 retained by an eligible individual for purposes of 

26 proceedings before the Tribunal may collect any fee, 
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1 charge, or assessment that is greater than 25 per2 cent of the amount of the balance in the individual 

3 Indian money account of the eligible individual de4 termined by the Tribunal. 

5 (e) TIMING.—To the extent practicable, the Tribunal 

6 shall—

7 (1) schedule any proceedings necessary to de8 termine a claim to occur not later than 180 days 

9 after the date on which the eligible individual sub10 mits the claim; and 

11 (2) make a determination of the claim, and pro12 vide the eligible individual and the Secretary notice 

13 of the determination, not later than 30 days after 

14 the conclusion of the proceedings. 

15 (f) ACTION FOLLOWING DETERMINATION.—Not 

16 later than 30 days after the Secretary receives the notice 

17 of determination under subsection (e)(2)—

18 (1) the Secretary shall make any adjustment in 

19 the records of the Secretary to reflect the determina20 tion; 

21 (2) based on the adjustment made pursuant to 

22 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make full pay23 ment to the eligible individual of the balance in the 

24 individual Indian money account of the eligible indi-
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1 vidual in satisfaction of any claim that the eligible 

2 individual may have; 

3 (3) the individual Indian money account of the 

4 eligible individual shall be closed; 

5 (4) the eligible individual shall provide the Sec6 retary an accord and satisfaction of all claims of the 

7 eligible individual, which shall be binding on any 

8 heirs, transferees, or assigns of the eligible indi9 vidual; and 

10 (5) the eligible individual shall be dismissed 

11 from the class action. 

12 SEC. 6. JUDGMENT FUND AVAILABILITY. 

13 The funds for any payment made pursuant to section 

14 4(g)(1)(C) or 5(f)(2) shall be derived from the permanent 

15 judgment appropriation under section 1304 of title 31, 

16 United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Judgment 

17 Fund’’), without further appropriation. 

18 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 There are authorized to be appropriated—

20 (1) to carry out section 4, $10,000,000 for each 

21 of fiscal years 2004 and 2005; and 

22 (2) to carry out section 5, $10,000,000 for each 

23 of fiscal years 2006 and 2007.

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