John Hansen: “Mr. Speaker, this bill is a bill to encourage the negotiated settlement of tribal claims. S. 1857 allows Indian tribes…”

“Mr. Speaker, this bill is a bill to encourage the negotiated settlement of tribal claims. S. 1857 allows Indian tribes to postpone the filing of lawsuits against the United States for either the loss of money held in trust for the tribe or the mismanagement of those funds, such as the loss of interest income or the crediting of the wrong tribal trust fund account. Under present law, the statute of limitations does not run against such claims until each tribal account holder receives an accounting 'from which the beneficiary can determine whether there has been a loss.' Although the United States began to provide Indian tribes with reconciliation reports in early 1996, no one knows for sure whether these reports commenced the running of the statute of limitations. The Government Accounting Office has given Congress real reason to doubt that these reports constitute a sufficient accounting to satisfy the Federal Government trust obligation. However, if, as many Indian tribes fear, the report serves to trigger the statute of limitations, a tribe may feel obligated to file a lawsuit to protect its interests. S. 1857 will help prevent a flood of litigation and the costs it will incur.”