I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2524
To provide for the use and distribution of the funds awarded to the Quinault
Indian Nation under United States Claims Court Dockets 772–71, 773–
71, 774–71, and 775–71, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 17, 2001
Mr. DICKS 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 Quinault Indian Nation under United States
Claims Court Dockets 772–71, 773–71, 774–71, and
775–71, 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 ‘‘Quinault Permanent
Fisheries Fund Act’’.
SEC. 2. DISTRIBUTION OF JUDGMENT FUNDS.
(a) FUNDS TO BE DEPOSITED INTO SEPARATE AC-
COUNTS.—Subject to section 3(c), the funds appropriated
on September 19, 1989, in satisfaction of an award grant-
ed to the Quinault Indian Nation under Dockets 772–71,
773–71, 774–71, and 775–71 before the United States
Claims Court, less attorney fees and litigation expenses,
and including all interest accrued to the date of disburse-
ment, shall be disbursed by the Secretary of the Interior
and deposited into 3 separate accounts to be established
and maintained by the Quinault Indian Nation (herein-
after in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Tribe’’) as follows:
(1) An account for the principal amount of the
judgment funds. Such funds shall be used to create
a Permanent Fisheries Fund. The principal funds
may not be expended by the Tribe and shall be in-
vested by the Tribe in accordance with the Tribe’s
investment policy.
(2) An account for the investment income
earned on the Permanent Fisheries Fund from the
date that the funds are disbursed under this section.
These funds shall be available for fisheries enhance-
ment projects and the costs associated with admin-
istering the Permanent Fisheries Fund. The specific
fisheries enhancement projects for which such funds
are used shall be specified in the Tribe’s approved
annual budget.
(3) An account for the investment income
earned on the judgment funds from September 19,
1989, to the date of the disbursement of the funds
to the Tribe under this section. These funds shall be
available to the Tribe for tribal government activi-
ties. The specific tribal government activities shall
be specified in the Tribe’s approved annual budget.
(b) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF FUNDS AVAIL-
ABLE.—The Quinault Business Committee, as the gov-
erning body of the Tribe, has the discretion to determine
the amount of funds available for expenditure under para-
graphs (2) and (3) of subsection (a) provided that the
amounts are specified in the Tribe’s approved annual
budget.
(c) ANNUAL AUDIT.—The records and investment ac-
tivities of the 3 accounts specified in subsection (a) shall
be maintained separately by the Tribe and shall be subject
to an annual audit.
(d) REPORTING OF INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES AND
EXPENDITURES.—Not later than 120 days after the close
of the Tribe’s fiscal year, a full accounting of the previous
fiscal year’s investment activities and expenditures from
all funds subject to this Act, which may be in the form
of the annual audit, shall be made available to the tribal
membership.
SEC. 3. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
(a) DEADLINE FOR DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.—
Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, all funds subject to this Act shall be disbursed
to the Tribe.
(b) UNITED STATES LIABILITY.—Upon disburse-
ment to the Tribe of the funds pursuant to this Act, the
United States shall no longer have any trust responsibility
or liability for the investment, supervision, administration,
or expenditure of the judgment funds.
(c) APPLICATION OF OTHER LAW.—All funds distrib-
uted under this Act are subject to the provisions of section
7 of the Indian Tribal Judgment Funds Use or Distribu-
tion Act (25 U.S.C. 1407), relating to the use or distribu-
tion of certain judgment funds awarded by the Indian
Claims Commission or the Court of Claims.
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