IV
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 237
Expressing the sense of the Congress that a portion of the budget surplus
should be used to fulfill moral and legal responsibilities of the United
States by ensuring proper payment and management of all federally
held tribal trust fund accounts and individual Indian money accounts.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 18, 1999
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California (for himself, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KENNEDY
of Rhode Island, Mr. VENTO, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. UNDER-
WOOD, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Ms.
ESHOO, and Ms. WATERS) submitted the following concurrent resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on Resources
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress that a portion of the
budget surplus should be used to fulfill moral and legal
responsibilities of the United States by ensuring proper
payment and management of all federally held tribal
trust fund accounts and individual Indian money ac-
counts.
Whereas in 1820, the United States assumed the role of
trustee for lands belonging to Indian tribes and indi-
vidual Indians, and the income earned from such lands;
Whereas the Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, is responsible for administering the
United States’ fiduciary responsibility over Indian trust
•HCON 237 IH
Whereas in 1992 the House of Representative issued a report
entitled ‘‘Misplaced Trust: The Bureau of Indian Affairs’
Mismanaged of the Indian Trust Fund’’ which detailed
management problems, including that the trust funds had
never been reconciled, that tribes and individual Indian
money account holders did not receive regular statement
as to the activity in the accounts, and that the book-
keeping practices for the accounts were substandard;
Whereas the Bureau of Indian Affairs reports that it can not
account for at least $2,000,000,000 in trust funds and
was therefore unable to ensure that these funds were di-
rected to the proper accounts as lost documentation over
the decades has left huge gaps in account paper trails;
Whereas Congress passed the American Indian Trust Fund
Management Act of 1994 (P.L. 103–412) which gave the
Secretary of the Interior specific requirements for man-
agement of trust funds and established a position of Spe-
cial Trustee of Indian Trust Funds within the Depart-
ment of the Interior;
Whereas on June 10, 1996, a class action suit was filed in
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
on behalf of the approximately 390,000 individual Indian
money account holders;
Whereas the historical and legal record demonstrates that the
United States has failed in its fiduciary responsibility to
manage these accounts;
Whereas the Indian trust funds have been listed as one of the
top Federal financial liabilities; and
Whereas the Congressional Budget Office has projected a
$3,000,000,000,000 budget surplus over the 10 years:
Now, therefore, be it
•HCON 237 IH
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that a
portion of the budget surplus should be used to fulfill the
moral and legal responsibilities of the United States by
ensuring proper payment and management of all federally
held tribal trust fund accounts and individual Indian
money accounts.
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