Sonny Bono: “Mr. Speaker, not to repeat what has already been described, basically this is a readjustment of funds for the tribes and…”

“Mr. Speaker, not to repeat what has already been described, basically this is a readjustment of funds for the tribes and for the allottees. This is an agreement that the tribes and the allottees have reached themselves, where they have decided it would be a more equitable distribution of portions of the funds. Mr. Speaker, I tried to do whatever I could to accommodate their needs, and this bill seems to fit within the needs that they are requesting. So I ask that this bill pass unanimously. Mr. Speaker, the bill amends the 1959 Agua Caliente Allotment Act so that allottees may receive equal allotment income, and so funds from the Mineral Springs parcel of land may be used for the benefit of the entire tribe. Agua Caliente has 319 members. Under the 1959 act, 85 allottees or their heirs were given exclusive right to revenues from the Mineral Springs land. The intent of this provision was to provide a means for these allottees to make up for a $5,000 shortfall in allotment values. The attached materials fully explain the history of this shortfall. However, the tribal government determined that implementation of this provision would have actually defeated the intention of the 1959 act by giving more to these allottees than others would have received.”