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tion with respect to any petition, the Assistant Secretary
shall decide to recognize the petitioner on behalf of the
Secretary as an Indian tribe only if the petition meets all
the requirements of section 3.
(2) A determination made under this Act to recognize
an Indian group as an Indian tribe shall not—
(A) have the effect of depriving or diminishing
the right of any other Indian tribe to govern and
enjoy the benefits of its treaty reserved resources or
its reservation and reservation resources as such re-
sources or reservation existed prior to such deter-
mination; or
(B) have the effect of depriving or diminishing
any property right held in trust or recognized by the
United States for such other Indian tribe prior to
such determination.
(d) DETERMINATION OF NONRECOGNITION.—If the
Assistant Secretary determines under subsection (b)(1)
that the petitioner should not be recognized to be an In-
dian tribe, the Assistant Secretary shall analyze and for-
ward to the petitioner other options, if any, under which
application for services and other benefits of the Bureau
may be made.
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SEC. 7. TIME LIMIT FOR DEPARTMENTAL ACTION.
If the Assistant Secretary has not published a sum-
mary of a determination made under section 6(b) with re-
spect to a petition before the date that is 90 days after
the date on which the petition was submitted to the Sec-
retary, the petitioner shall be entitled to mandamus relief
requiring the Assistant Secretary to complete the review
and determination required by this Act with due diligence.
SEC. 8. APPEALS.
(a) RECONSIDERATION
AND FINAL DETERMINA-
TION.—(1) The determination made by the Assistant Sec-
retary under section 5(a) and section 6(b) shall be final
for the Department unless the Secretary requests the As-
sistant Secretary to reconsider such determination within
60 days of publication of the decision.
(2) If the Secretary recommends reconsideration, the
Assistant Secretary shall promptly notify the petitioner
and all other involved parties of such reconsideration and
the reasons for such reconsideration.
(3) In reconsidering a determination, the Assistant
Secretary shall consult with the Secretary, review the ini-
tial determination, and, not later than 30 days after the
request for reconsideration, make a final determination,
a summary of which shall be published in the Federal Reg-
ister and a copy of which shall be delivered to the peti-
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tioner. Such determination shall be final and effective
upon publication.
(b) INFORMATION
CONSIDERED.—The Secretary
may, when considering the Assistant Secretary’s deter-
mination, review any information available, whether for-
mally part of the record or not. In any case in which reli-
ance is placed by the Secretary on information not of
record, such information shall be identified as to source
and nature and inserted in the record.
(c) RECONSIDERATION REQUIRED.—The Secretary
may request reconsideration of any decision by the Assist-
ant Secretary but shall request reconsideration of any de-
cision for which significant new evidence has been received
subsequent to the publication of the decision.
SEC. 9. JUDICIAL REVIEW.
(a) IN GENERAL.—By no later than 180 days after
the date of a final determination by the Department on
the merits of a petition for recognition, and not otherwise,
the petitioner or any other party may petition for judicial
review under chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code.
(b) FEES AND COSTS.—If the petitioner prevails in
the judicial review of the final Department action on the
petition, petitoner shall be eligible for an award of attor-
ney fees and costs under the provisions of section 2412
of title 28, United States Code.
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SEC. 10. IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS.
(a) ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS.—Upon recogni-
tion by the Secretary that the petitioner is an Indian tribe,
the Indian tribe shall be eligible for services and benefits
from the Federal Government that are available to other
federally recognized tribes and entitled to the privileges
and immunities available to other federally recognized In-
dian tribes by virtue of their status as Indian tribes with
a government-to-government relationship to the United
States, as well as having the responsibilities and obliga-
tions of such Indian tribes. Such recognition shall subject
the Indian tribes to the same authority of Congress and
the United States to which other federally recognized
tribes are subject.
(b) NO ENTITLEMENT CREATED.—While the Indian
tribes that are newly recognized under this Act shall be
eligible for benefits and services, recognition of the Indian
tribe under this Act shall not create an immediate entitle-
ment to existing programs of the Bureau. Such programs
shall become available upon appropriation of funds by law.
Requests for appropriations shall follow a determination
of the needs of the newly recognized Indian tribe.
(c) BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS.—Within 180 days
after an Indian tribe is recognized under this Act, the ap-
propriate area office of the Bureau shall consult and de-
velop in cooperation with the Indian tribe, and forward
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to the Assistant Secretary, a determination of the needs
of the Indian tribe and a recommended budget required
to serve the newly recognized Indian tribe. The rec-
ommended budget shall be considered along with other
recommendations by the Assistant Secretary in the usual
budget-request process.
SEC. 11. LIST OF RECOGNIZED INDIAN TRIBES.
By no later than the date that is 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter,
the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a cur-
rent list of all Indian tribes which are recognized by the
Federal Government and receiving services from the Bu-
reau.
SEC. 12. NOTICE.
Any notice which by the terms of this Act must be
published in the Federal Register, shall also be mailed to
the petitioner, the governors and attorney generals of the
States involved, and to other parties which have com-
mented on the proposed findings.
SEC. 13. GUIDELINES AND ADVISEMENT.
(a) GUIDELINES.—By no later than the date that is
90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall make available suggested guidelines for the
format of petitions, including general suggestions and
guidelines regarding the mechanics of researching the in-
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formation required to substantiate petitions. Such guide-
lines shall not preclude the use of any other format.
(b) ADVISEMENT.—The Assistant Secretary shall,
upon request by the petitioner, provide advisement regard-
ing research into such petitioner’s historical background
and Indian identity. The Assistant Secretary shall not be
responsible for actual research on behalf of the petitioner.
SEC. 14. ASSISTANCE IN PREPARING PETITIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The Commissioner of the Ad-
ministration for Native Americans of the Department of
Health and Human Services may award grants to Indian
groups seeking Federal recognition to enable the Indian
groups to—
(A) conduct the research necessary to substan-
tiate petitions under this Act; and
(B) prepare documentation necessary for the
submission of a petition under this Act.
(2) The grants made under this subsection shall be
in addition to any other grants the Commissioner of the
Administration for Native Americans is authorized to pro-
vide under any other provision of law.
(b) CRITERIA
FOR ASSISTANCE.—Grants provided
under subsection (a) shall be awarded competitively based
on objective criteria prescribed by regulation by the Com-
missioner of the Administration for Native Americans.