I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1451 
To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments to the Quapaw 
Nation and certain members of the Quapaw Nation in accordance with 
the recommendation of the United States Court of Federal Claims, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 21, 2025 
Mr. BRECHEEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to make pay-
ments to the Quapaw Nation and certain members of 
the Quapaw Nation in accordance with the recommenda-
tion of the United States Court of Federal Claims, 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. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Quapaw Tribal Settle-
ment Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. QUAPAW TRIBAL SETTLEMENT. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) CLAIMANT.—The term ‘‘Claimant’’ means 
each of— 
(A) the Quapaw Nation and the parties 
identified in paragraphs 1 through 10 of the 
complaint in Bear, et al. v. United States, No. 
13–51X (Fed. Cl. Mar. 25, 2013); and 
(B) the individual members of the Quapaw 
Nation identified in Exhibit A to the amended 
complaint in Bear, et al. v. United States, No. 
13–51X (Fed. Cl. Mar. 25, 2013) filed on Feb-
ruary 14, 2014. 
(2) REPORT.—The term ‘‘Report’’ means the 
report of the Review Panel of the United States 
Court of Federal Claims in Congressional Reference 
Case No. 13–51X, Bear, et al. v. United States 
(Jan. 9, 2020), submitted to the House of Rep-
resentatives on January 31, 2020. 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior (or a designee). 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Special 
Deposit Account in the Department of the Interior Bureau 
of Trust Funds Administration, to be known as the 
‘‘Quapaw Bear Settlement Trust Account’’. 
(c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary of the Interior 
by and through the Bureau of Trust Funds Administra-
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shall submit the issues of the allocation and dis-
tribution of the settlement proceeds to a mutu-
ally agreed upon third-party mediator. 
(B) In the event the Claimants do not sub-
mit to a mutually agreed upon third-party me-
diation within forty-five (45) days pursuant to 
the preceding subparagraph, then any Claimant 
may initiate Secretarial Allocation procedures 
under paragraph (2) below. 
(C) Any mediation shall be confidential 
and non-binding on the Claimants without the 
written consent of the Claimants, provided that 
nothing in this paragraph shall be interpreted 
to bar the Quapaw Nation Business Committee 
from consulting with the Quapaw Nation Indian 
Council during mediation. 
(D) No statements made or information 
exchanged during mediation shall be admissible 
in any future legal or dispute resolution pro-
ceedings without the written consent of the 
Claimants. 
(E) The Claimants shall mutually agree to 
conduct mediation at a specified location. Each 
Claimant shall pay its own costs, plus an equal 
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share of the costs of the mediator and the medi-
ation facilities. 
(F) Following successful completion of any 
mediation under this section, the Claimants 
may submit a mutually agreed upon distribu-
tion plan to the Secretary. 
(G) Upon submission of a mutually agreed 
upon distribution plan to the Secretary, the 
Secretary shall distribute the funds in the 
Quapaw Bear Settlement Trust Account to the 
Claimants in accordance with their mutually 
agreed upon distribution plan. 
(H) In the event the Claimants do not 
reach a mutually agreed upon distribution plan 
following 
mediation, 
then 
any 
Claimant, 
through written notification, may submit the 
matter to the Secretary who shall determine a 
final distribution plan allocating the funds in 
the Quapaw Bear Settlement Trust Account in 
accordance with the Report based on the proce-
dures in paragraph (2). 
(2) SECRETARIAL ALLOCATION.— 
(A) Following an unsuccessful mediation 
pursuant to the procedures in paragraph (1), 
any Claimant may petition the Secretary to de-
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termine final allocations of settlement proceeds 
in accordance with subsection (d). 
(B) The Secretary shall commence the Sec-
retarial Allocation process in accordance with 
this paragraph (2) if the Claimants do not 
reach a mutually agreed upon allocation plan 
within 18 months following enactment of the 
Act. 
(C) Upon the receipt of such a petition by 
a Claimant, the Secretary or the Secretary’s 
designee shall order an allocation of the settle-
ment proceeds pursuant to the following steps: 
(i) Within thirty (30) days following 
the Secretary’s receipt of a petition to allo-
cation settlement proceeds after failed me-
diation, the Secretary or the Secretary’s 
designee shall issue a scheduling order to 
establish a schedule for a hearing and the 
issuance of a final decision by the Sec-
retary of a final distribution plan. 
(ii) The Secretary’s decision deter-
mining a final distribution plan in accord-
ance with subsection (d) shall be made fol-
lowing a hearing to be presided over by the 
Secretary or the Secretary’s designee. The 
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hearing shall occur no less than sixty (60) 
days following the issuance of the sched-
uling order. 
(iii) At least fifteen (15) days prior to 
the hearing, each Claimant shall submit to 
the other Claimants and to the Secretary 
a copy of all exhibits on which such Claim-
ant intends to rely at the hearing, a pre- 
hearing brief, and a proposed final decision 
by the Secretary. The proposed final deci-
sion shall include a proposed distribution 
plan to be submitted to the Secretary and 
shall be limited to proposed rulings and 
distributions for each Claimant. 
(iv) Within fourteen (14) days after 
the close of the hearing, each Claimant 
may submit a post-hearing brief to the 
Secretary. 
(v) Following the hearing and post- 
hearing brief, the Secretary shall issue a 
final decision determining a final distribu-
tion plan in accordance with subsection (d) 
within sixty (60) calendar days. The 
Claimants may mutually agree upon a 
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binding distribution plan at any time be-
fore the Secretary’s decision is issued. 
(vi) Within twenty (20) calendar days 
after transmittal of the Secretary’s final 
decision to the Claimants, the Claimants 
may submit to the Secretary any informa-
tion necessary for the implementation of 
the final distribution plan. 
(vii) Within sixty (60) days of the 
Secretary’s final decision determining a 
final distribution plan, the Secretary shall 
distribute the funds in the Quapaw Bear 
Settlement Trust Account to the Claimants 
pursuant to the terms of the final distribu-
tion plan. 
(viii) Any deadlines established in this 
section may be extended by unanimous 
mutual agreement of the Claimants. 
(3) FEDERAL
MEDIATION
&
CONCILIATION 
SERVICE.—In discharging any duties under this Act, 
the Secretary is authorized to utilize the Federal 
Mediation Conciliation Service to provide technical 
support and dispute resolution resources, provided, 
however, that the Secretary or the Secretary’s des-
ignee is responsible for approving and implementing 
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any mutually agreed-upon or binding distribution 
plan reached pursuant to this Act. 
Æ 
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