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H.R. 1272, Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Judgment Fund Distribution Act of 2012 1 (May 16, 2012)

handle is hein.congrec/cbo10783 and id is 1 raw text is: CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
0                         COST ESTIMATE
May 16, 2012
H.R. 1272
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Judgment Fund Distribution Act of 2012
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on April 25, 2012
H.R. 1272 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to disburse amounts held in trust
for the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. In 1999, a $20 million settlement was transferred from
the Treasury's Judgment Fund to the Department of the Interior (DOI) and held in trust for
the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe pending legislation to release the funds. Under the Indian
Tribal Judgment Funds Use or Distribution Act of 1973, if the Secretary of the Interior
cannot obtain consent from the tribal governing body concerning the distribution of an
award within 180 days after the funds have been appropriated, legislation is required to
authorize the distribution of such funds. In fiscal year 2010, the Chippewa's Tribal
Executive Council (TEC) approved a resolution describing how to distribute the settlement
amount among the bands of the Tribe and individuals. Though the federal government
transferred ownership of the funds to the Tribe when the funds were expended from the
Judgment Fund, the federal government has retained fiduciary responsibility over the
amounts until they are distributed. The bill would make the disbursement of the funds
contingent on the Tribe submitting updated membership rolls.
Based on information provided by DOI, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1272
would have no significant cost to distribute the settlement funds. The settlement amount
was considered a federal expenditure when it was transferred from the Judgment Fund to
DOI because the Tribe received ownership of the funds. Therefore, the ultimate
distribution of the settlement and accrued interest is not a budgetary outlay of the federal
government. CBO estimates that the total amount to be distributed under the bill would be
about $29 million, which includes the $20 million settlement and about $9 million in
accrued interest payments. Enacting H.R. 1272 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 1272 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. Enacting the bill would benefit the Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von Gnechten. The estimate was
approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

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