(d) DECISION
BY COMMISSION.—Within 60 days
after the end of the hearing held under subsection (a),
the Commission shall—
(1) make a determination as to the extension or
denial of Federal acknowledgment to the petitioner;
(2) publish its determination under paragraph
(1) in the Federal Register; and
(3) deliver a copy of the determination to the
petitioner, and to every other interested party.
SEC. 10. APPEALS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 60 days after the date the
Commission’s decision is published under section 9(d), the
petitioner may appeal the determination to the United
States District Court for the District of Columbia.
(b) ATTORNEY FEES.—If the petitioner prevails in
the appeal described in subsection (a), it shall be eligible
for an award of reasonable attorney fees and costs under
the provisions of section 504 of title 5, United States
Code, or section 2412 of title 28 of such Code, as the case
may be.
SEC. 11. EFFECT OF DETERMINATIONS.
A determination by the Commission that an Indian
group is recognized by the Federal Government as an In-
dian tribe shall not have the effect of—
(1) depriving or diminishing the right of any
other Indian tribe to govern its reservation as such
reservation existed prior to the recognition of such
Indian group, or as the same may exist thereafter;
(2) depriving or diminishing any property right
held in trust or recognized by the United States for
such other Indian tribe as it existed prior to the rec-
ognition of such Indian group; or
(3) depriving or diminishing any previously or
independently existing claim by a petitioner to any
such property right held in trust by the United
States for such other Indian tribe prior to the rec-
ognition of such Indian group.
SEC. 12. IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS.
(a) ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—(1)
Subject to paragraph (2), upon recognition by the Com-
mission that the petitioner is an Indian tribe, the Indian
tribe shall be eligible for the services and benefits from
the Federal Government that are available to other feder-
ally recognized Indian tribes by virtue of their status as
Indian tribes with a government-to-government relation-
ship with the United States, as well as having the respon-
sibilities and obligations of such Indian tribes. Such rec-
ognition shall subject the Indian tribes to the same au-
thority of Congress and the United States to which other
federally recognized tribes are subject.
(2) Recognition of the Indian tribe under this Act
does not create an immediate entitlement to existing pro-
grams of the Bureau. Such programs shall become avail-
able upon appropriation of funds by law. Requests for ap-
propriations shall follow a determination under subsection
(b) of the needs of the newly recognized Indian tribe.
(b) NEEDS
DETERMINATION.—Within 6 months
after an Indian tribe is recognized under this Act, the ap-
propriate area offices of the Bureau and the Indian Health
Service shall consult and develop in cooperation with the
Indian tribe, and forward to the respective Secretary, a
determination of the needs of the Indian tribe and a rec-
ommended budget required to serve the newly recognized
Indian tribe. The recommended budget shall be considered
along with recommendations by the appropriate Secretary
in the budget-request process.
SEC. 13. ANNUAL REPORT CONCERNING COMMISSION’S AC-
TIVITIES.
(a) LIST OF RECOGNIZED TRIBES.—Not later than
90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and
annually on or before every January 30 thereafter, the
Commission shall publish in the Federal Register a list
of all Indian tribes which are recognized by the Federal
Government and receiving services from the Bureau of In-
dian Affairs.
(b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Beginning one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter,
the Commission shall submit a report to the Committee
on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and
to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate a report
on its activities, which shall include at a minimum the fol-
lowing:
(1) The number of petitions pending at the be-
ginning of the year and the names of the petitioners.
(2) The number of petitions received during the
year and the names of the petitioners.
(3) The number of petitions the Commission
approved for acknowledgment and the names of the
acknowledged petitioners.
(4) The number of petitions the Commission
denied for acknowledgment and the names of the pe-
titioners.
(5) The status of all pending petitions and the
names of the petitioners.
SEC. 14. ACTIONS BY PETITIONERS FOR ENFORCEMENT.
Any petitioner may bring an action in the district
court of the United States for the district in which the
petitioner resides, or the United States District Court for
District of Columbia, to enforce the provisions of this Act,
including any time limitations within which actions are re-
quired to be taken, or decisions made, under this Act and
the district court shall issue such orders (including writs
of mandamus) as may be necessary to enforce the provi-
sions of this Act.
SEC. 15. REGULATIONS.
The Commission is authorized to prescribe such regu-
lations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions
and purposes of this Act. All such regulations must be
published in accordance with the provisions of title 5,
United States Code.
SEC. 16. GUIDELINES AND ADVICE.
(a) GUIDELINES.—No later than 90 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall make
available suggested guidelines for the format of petitions,
including general suggestions and guidelines on where and
how to research required information, but such examples
shall not preclude the use of any other format.
(b) RESEARCH ADVICE.—The Commission, upon re-
quest, is authorized to provide suggestions and advise to
any petitioner for his research into the petitioner’s histori-
cal background and Indian identity. The Commission shall
not be responsible for the actual research on behalf of the
petitioner.
SEC. 17. ASSISTANCE TO PETITIONERS.
(a) GRANTS.—(1) The Secretary of Health and
Human Services may award grants to Indian groups seek-
ing 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 Secretary of Health
and Human Services is authorized to provide under any
other provision of law.
(b) COMPETITIVE AWARD.—Grants provided under
subsection (a) shall be awarded competitively based on ob-
jective criteria prescribed in regulations promulgated by
the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
SEC. 18. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) COMMISSION.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated for the Commission for the purpose of carrying
out the provisions of this Act (other than section 15 17),
$1,500,000 for fiscal year 1996 and $1,500,000 for each
of the 12 succeeding fiscal years.
(b) SECRETARY OF HHS.—There are authorized to
be appropriated for the Administration for Native Ameri-
cans of the Department of Health and Human Services
for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of section
17, $3,000,000 for each fiscal year.
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