I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5177
To provide for the use and distribution of the funds awarded to the Gila
River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community under United States Court of
Federal claims Docket Nos. 236–C, 236–D, 236–N, and 228, and for
other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 22, 2002
Mr. HAYWORTH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
A BILL
To provide for the use and distribution of the funds awarded
to the Gila River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
under United States Court of Federal claims Docket
Nos. 236–C, 236–D, 236–N, and 228, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Table of contents.
TITLE I—GILA RIVER JUDGMENT FUND DISTRIBUTION
Sec. 101. Short title.
Sec. 102. Findings.
Sec. 103. Distribution of judgment funds.
Sec. 104. Definitions.
Sec. 105. General Provisions.
TITLE II—AMENDMENT TO COMMUNITY’S PRIOR JUDGMENT
FUND PLANS
Sec. 201. Amendment to plan for use and distribution of funds awarded in
Docket No. 228.
Sec. 202. Amendment to plan for use and distribution of funds awarded in
Docket No. 236–N.
TITLE III—EXPERT ASSISTANCE LOANS
Sec. 301. Waiver of repayment of expert assistance loans to Community, Oglala
Sioux tribe, Pueblo of Santo Domingo, and Seminole Nation of
Oklahoma.
TITLE I—GILA RIVER JUDGMENT
FUND DISTRIBUTION
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Gila River Indian
Community Judgment Fund Distribution Act of 2002’’.
SEC. 102. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) On August 8, 1951, the Gila River Indian
Community filed a complaint before the Indian
Claims Commission in Gila River Pima-Maricopa In-
dian Community v. United States, Docket No. 236,
for the failure of the United States to carry out its
obligation to protect the Community’s use of water
from the Gila River and the Salt River.
(2) All original 14 dockets under Docket No.
236 have been resolved and funds distributed, except
for Docket Nos. 236–C and 236–D, which remain
undistributed.
(3) In Gila River Pima-Maricopa Indian Com-
munity v. United States, 29 Ind. Cl. Comm. 144
(1972), the Indian Claims Commission held that the
United States, as trustee, was liable to the Commu-
nity as to the claims made in Docket 236–C.
(4) In Gila River Pima-Maricopa Indian Com-
munity v. United States, 684 F.2d 852 (1982), the
United States Court of Claims held that the United
States, as trustee, was liable to the Community as
to the claims made in Docket 236–D.
(5) With the approval of the Community under
Community Resolution GR–98–98, the Community
entered into a settlement with the United States for
claims made under Dockets 236–C and 236–D on
April 
27, 
1999, 
for 
an 
aggregate 
total 
of
$7,000,000.
(6) On May 3, 1999, the United States Court
of Federal Claims ordered that a final judgment be
entered in consolidated Dockets 236–C and 236–D
for $7,000,000 in favor of the Community and
against the United States.
(7) On October 6, 1999, the Department of the
Treasury certified the payment of $7,000,000, less
attorney fees, to be deposited into a trust account on
behalf of the Community, and to which such pay-
ment was made into a trust account managed by the
Office of Trust Funds Management of the Depart-
ment of the Interior.
(8) Pursuant to the Indian Tribal Judgment
Funds Use or Distribution Act (25 U.S.C. 1401, et
seq.) as amended and implemented by 25 CFR Part
87, the Secretary is required to submit an Indian
judgment fund use or distribution plan to Congress
for approval.
SEC. 103. DISTRIBUTION OF JUDGMENT FUNDS.
(a) PER CAPITA PAYMENTS.—Notwithstanding any
provision of the Indian Tribal Judgment Funds Use or
Distribution Act, or any other law, regulation, or plan pro-
mulgated pursuant thereto, the funds appropriated on Oc-
tober 6, 1999, in satisfaction of an award granted to the
Gila River Indian Community in Dockets 236–C and 236–
D before the United States Court of Federal Claims, less
attorney fees and litigation expenses, and including all ac-
crued interest shall be distributed in the form of per capita
payments (in sums as equal as possible) to all eligible en-
rolled members of the Community.
(b) PREPARATION OF PAYMENT ROLL.—The Com-
munity shall prepare the payment roll in accordance with
the following criteria:
(1) Subject to eligibility requirements under
paragraph (2), the following individuals shall be eli-
gible to be listed on the payment roll and eligible to
receive a per capita payment from the Judgment
Fund:
(A) All enrolled Community members who
are eligible to be listed on the per capita pay-
ment roll that was approved by the Secretary
for the distribution of the funds awarded to the
Community in Docket No. 236–N, including
those who were inadvertently omitted from such
roll.
(B) All enrolled Community members who
are living on the date of enactment of this Act.
(C) All enrolled Community members who
have died after the effective date of the pay-
ment plan for Docket No. 236–N and on or
prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
(2) The following individuals shall be ineligible
to be listed on the payment roll prepared under this
Act and ineligible to receive a per capita payment
from the Judgment Fund:
(A) Any individual who has relinquished
membership with the Community prior to the
date the Community certifies their payment roll
for the eligible adult members under this sec-
tion.
(B) Any minor who has relinquished mem-
bership with the Community, or whose parent
or legal guardian has relinquished membership
on their behalf, prior to the date that the minor
is 18 years of age.
(C) 
Any 
individual 
who 
has 
been
disenrolled by the Community for just cause,
such as dual enrollment or failure to meet the
eligibility requirements for enrollment.
(D) Any individual who has been deter-
mined or certified as eligible by the Secretary to
receive per capita payment from any judgment
fund that was awarded to another community,
tribe or tribal entity if that the judgment fund
was appropriated on or before the date of en-
actment of this Act.
(E) Any individual who has not enrolled as
a member of the Community on or before the
90th day after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(c) NOTICE TO SECRETARY.—When the Community
has prepared and approved its payment roll, the Commu-
nity shall notify the Secretary of the total number of indi-
viduals eligible to share in the per capita distribution. The
total number shall be subdivided into the number of shares
that belong to eligible living adult tribal members, and the
number of shares that belong to deceased individuals, le-
gally incompetent individuals, and minors.
(d) INFORMATION PROVIDED TO SECRETARY.—The
Community shall provide the Secretary with the enroll-
ment information necessary to allow the Secretary to es-
tablish estate accounts for the deceased individuals, and
IIM accounts for legally incompetent individuals and mi-
nors.
(e) DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.—Not later than 30
days after the payment roll has been approved by the
Community and the Community has reconciled the num-
ber of shares that belong in each payment category, the
Secretary shall disburse to the Community the funds nec-
essary to make the per capita distribution to the eligible
living adult tribal members. Once the funds are disbursed
to the Community, the Community shall be responsible for
administering and distributing the funds.
(f) SHARES OF DECEASED INDIVIDUALS.—The Sec-
retary shall distribute the per capita shares of deceased
individuals to their heirs and legatees in accordance with
existing regulations prescribed by the Secretary. If a final
determination is made that the decedent has no heirs, the
distribution and the IIM accounts have been established.
If the residual Judgment Funds are insufficient to cover
the cost of such payment, the Community may pay the
individual from its Community-owned Funds. The Sec-
retary is authorized to accept and deposit such funds into
an IIM or estate account established for a minor, legal
incompetent, or deceased beneficiary that the Community
has identified as being eligible to receive payment under
this section, but who was not paid from the Judgment
Fund. The Secretary shall invest these funds pursuant to
existing statutory authority.
(j) USE OF RESIDUAL FUNDS.—Upon request by the
Community, any residual principal and interest funds re-
maining after the Community has declared per capita dis-
tribution complete shall be disbursed to the Community
and deposited into the Community’s general fund.
(k) NONAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN LAW.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, the Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701, et seq.), shall not apply
to Community-owned Funds used by the Community to
cover shortfalls in funding necessary to make payments
to individuals not listed on the payment roll, but eligible
to receive payment as described under subsection (i) of
this section.
SEC. 104. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this title:
(1) ADULT.—The term ‘‘adult’’ means an indi-
vidual who—
(A) is 18 years of age or older on the date
the payment roll is approved by the Commu-
nity; or
(B) will reach 18 years of age not later
than 30 days after the date that the payment
roll is approved by the Community.
(2) COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘Community’’
means the Gila River Indian Community.
(3) COMMUNITY-OWNED
FUNDS.—The term
‘‘Community-owned Funds’’ means funds currently
held in trust by the Secretary that can be made
available to make payments under section 103, or
revenues held by the Community that are derived
from community-owned enterprises.
(4) IIM.—The term ‘‘IIM’’ means individual
Indian money account.
(5) JUDGMENT FUND.—The term ‘‘Judgment
Fund’’ means the funds awarded to the Community
by the Court of Federal Claims in Dockets 236–C
and 236–D.
(6) LEGAL INCOMPETENT.—The term ‘‘legal in-
competent’’ means an individual who has been deter-
mined incapable of managing their own affairs by a
court of competent jurisdiction.
(7) MINOR.—The term ‘‘minor’’ means an indi-
vidual who is less than 18 years of age on the date
the payment roll is approved by the Community, or
who will not reach 18 years of age by the date that
is 30 days after the date that the payment roll is ap-
proved by the Community.
(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 105. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
(a) RESPONSIBILITY FOR FUNDS—After the funds
are disbursed to the Community as provided under section
103(e), the United States and the Secretary shall no
longer have any trust responsibility for the investment, su-
pervision, administration, or expenditure of that portion
of the Judgment Funds. The funds subject to subsections
(f) and (g) of section 103 shall continue to be held in trust
by the Secretary until disbursed under this Act.
(b) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAW.—All funds dis-
tributed under this Act are subject to the provisions of
sections 7 and 8 of Public Law 93–134 (25 U.S.C. 1407
and 1408, respectively).
TITLE II—AMENDMENT TO COM-
MUNITY’S PRIOR JUDGMENT
FUND PLANS
SEC. 201. AMENDMENT TO PLAN FOR USE AND DISTRIBU-
TION OF JUDGMENT FUNDS AWARDED IN
DOCKET 228.
A judgment fund plan for the funds awarded to the
Community in Docket No. 228 was submitted to Congress
under the provisions of the Act of October 19, 1973 (25
U.S.C. 1401, et seq.). The plan became effective on Au-
gust 10, 1986, and was published in the Federal Register
on March 5, 1987 (52 FR 6887). The plan was amended
by the Act of October 16, 1986, Public Law 99–493 (100
Stat. 1241). The plan is further amended to include the
following paragraphs:
‘‘(1) The provisions contained in section 3(b)(3)
of the Indian Tribal Judgment Funds Use and Dis-
tribution Act (25 U.S.C. 1403(b)(3)) shall not apply
to minors’ remaining per capita shares held by the
Secretary under this plan, as of the date of the en-
actment of the Gila River Indian Community Judg-
ment Fund Distribution Act of 2002. The Secretary
shall hold the minors’ per capita shares in trust
until the minors reach 18 years of age. None of the
judgment funds or the interest earned on those
funds shall be disbursed from the minors’ accounts
until the minors reach 18 years of age.
‘‘(2) Upon the request of the Community, any
residual principal and interest funds remaining after
the Community has declared the per capita distribu-
tion complete shall be disbursed to the Community
and deposited into the Community’s general fund.’’.
SEC. 202. AMENDMENT TO PLAN FOR USE AND DISTRIBU-
TION OF JUDGMENT FUNDS AWARDED IN
DOCKET 236–N.
A judgment fund plan for the funds awarded to the
Community in Docket 236–N was submitted to Congress
under the provisions of the Act of October 19, 1973 (25
U.S.C. 1401 et seq.). The plan became effective on May
9, 1994, and was published in the Federal Register on
June 16, 1994 (59 FR 31092). The ‘‘Per Capita Aspect’’
and the ‘‘General Provisions’’ portions of the plan are
amended as follows:
(1) PER CAPITA ASPECT AMENDMENTS.—The
last sentence of the paragraph that relates to the
use of remaining amounts shall be amended to read
as follows: ‘‘Upon request from the Community, any
residual principal and interest funds remaining after
the Community has declared the per capita distribu-