Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation Grand Coulee Dam Equitable Compensation Settlement Act
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Aug 5, 1999
Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation Grand Coulee Dam Equitable Compensation Settlement Act - Establishes in the Treasury the Spokane Tribe of Indians Settlement Fund Account.Directs the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to deposit into the Account a sum equal to 39.4 percent of the lump sum paid to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, pursuant to the Confederated Tribes Act, adjusted for inflation, as payment and satisfaction of the Spokane Tribe's claim for use of its lands for generation of hydropower from 1940 through November 2, 1994, the enactment date of such Act.Requires the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration, on September 30 of the next six fiscal years, to pay into the Fund deposits equal to 20 percent of 39.4 of the sum authorized to be paid to the Confederated Tribes through the end of the fiscal year during which this Act is enacted, adjusted for inflation, to maintain the purchasing power the Spokane Tribe would have had if annual payments had been made to it on the date annual payments commenced and were subsequently made to the Confederated Tribes under such Act.Requires, on September 1 of each fiscal year, annual payments to be made by the Power Administration directly to the Spokane Tribe in an amount that is equal to 39.4 percent of the annual payment authorized to be paid to the Confederated Tribes under such Act.Requires the Secretary to transfer settlement funds to the Spokane Business Council within 60 days after receiving written notice of adoption of a resolution by the Council requesting the transfer. Requires that: (1) 25 percent of such funds be reserved by the Council and used for general discretionary purposes of general benefit to all members of the Spokane Tribe; and (2) 75 percent of such funds be used for the resource development program, credit program, scholarship program, and reserve, investment, and economic development programs.Declares that the approval of the Secretary or the Secretary of the Interior for any payment, distribution, or use of the funds transferred or paid to the Spokane Tribe shall not be required and such Secretaries shall have no trust responsibility for the investment, supervision, administration, or expenditure of such funds.Requires that: (1) the Administrator deduct from the interest payable to the Secretary from net proceeds (as defined in the Federal Columbia River Transmission system Act) each year a specified percentage of the payment made to the Tribe for the prior fiscal year; and (2) each deduction be credited to the interest payments otherwise payable by the Administrator to the Secretary during the fiscal year and allocated pro rata to all interest payments on debt associated with the generation function of the Federal Columbia River Power System that are due during that fiscal year.Provides that payments made under this Act shall constitute full payment and satisfaction of the Spokane Tribe's claim to a fair share of the annual hydropower revenues generated by the Grand Coulee Dam project from 1940 through the fiscal year prior to the fiscal year during which this Act is enacted and represents the Tribe's proportional entitlement of hydropower revenues based on the lump sum payment for damages from 1940 through 1994 and the annual payments by the Power Administration to the Confederated Tribes.Authorizes appropriations.
Source last updated: Aug 20, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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