H.R. 1451

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1451 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1451

To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments to the 
Quapaw Nation and certain members of the Quapaw Nation in accordance 
with the recommendation of the United States Court of Federal Claims, 
and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 21, 2025

Mr. Brecheen introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments to the 
Quapaw Nation and certain members of the Quapaw Nation in accordance 
with the recommendation of the United States Court of Federal Claims, 
and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Quapaw Tribal Settlement Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. QUAPAW TRIBAL SETTLEMENT.

(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Claimant.--The term ``Claimant'' means each of--
(A) the Quapaw Nation and the parties identified in 
paragraphs 1 through 10 of the complaint in Bear, et 
al. v. United States, No. 13-51X (Fed. Cl. Mar. 25, 
2013); and
(B) the individual members of the Quapaw Nation 
identified in Exhibit A to the amended complaint in 
Bear, et al. v. United States, No. 13-51X (Fed. Cl. 
Mar. 25, 2013) filed on February 14, 2014.
(2) Report.--The term ``Report'' means the report of the 
Review Panel of the United States Court of Federal Claims in 
Congressional Reference Case No. 13-51X, Bear, et al. v. United 
States (Jan. 9, 2020), submitted to the House of 
Representatives on January 31, 2020.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
of the Interior (or a designee).
(b) Establishment.--There is established a Special Deposit Account 
in the Department of the Interior Bureau of Trust Funds Administration, 
to be known as the ``Quapaw Bear Settlement Trust Account''.
(c) Administration.--The Secretary of the Interior by and through 
the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration shall administer all funds 
appropriated to the Quapaw Bear Settlement Trust Account.
(d) Authorization of Payment.--In accordance with the Report, the 
Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to pay to the 
Claimants $137,500,000 out of any funds in the Treasury of the United 
States not otherwise appropriated. The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
transfer the single payment to the Quapaw Bear Settlement Trust Account 
established in subsection (b).
(e) Payment in Accordance With Report.--The payment under 
subsection (d) shall be made in accordance with the Report.
(f) Distribution.--After the settlement proceeds are transferred to 
the Quapaw Bear Settlement Trust Account specified under subsection 
(b), the settlement proceeds shall be available for use, allocation, 
and distribution in accordance with the Claimants' distribution plan. 
The Claimants shall establish a distribution plan in accordance with 
subsection (d) and the procedures set forth in subsection (g).
(g) Distribution of Funds in the Quapaw Bear Settlement Trust 
Account.--
(1) Mediation.--
(A) No more than forty-five (45) days following 
enactment of the Act, the Claimants shall submit the 
issues of the allocation and distribution of the 
settlement proceeds to a mutually agreed upon third-
party mediator.
(B) In the event the Claimants do not submit to a 
mutually agreed upon third-party mediation within 
forty-five (45) days pursuant to the preceding 
subparagraph, then any Claimant may initiate 
Secretarial Allocation procedures under paragraph (2) 
below.
(C) Any mediation shall be confidential and non-
binding on the Claimants without the written consent of 
the Claimants, provided that nothing in this paragraph 
shall be interpreted to bar the Quapaw Nation Business 
Committee from consulting with the Quapaw Nation Indian 
Council during mediation.
(D) No statements made or information exchanged 
during mediation shall be admissible in any future 
legal or dispute resolution proceedings without the 
written consent of the Claimants.
(E) The Claimants shall mutually agree to conduct 
mediation at a specified location. Each Claimant shall 
pay its own costs, plus an equal share of the costs of 
the mediator and the mediation facilities.
(F) Following successful completion of any 
mediation under this section, the Claimants may submit 
a mutually agreed upon distribution plan to the 
Secretary.
(G) Upon submission of a mutually agreed upon 
distribution plan to the Secretary, the Secretary shall 
distribute the funds in the Quapaw Bear Settlement 
Trust Account to the Claimants in accordance with their 
mutually agreed upon distribution plan.
(H) In the event the Claimants do not reach a 
mutually agreed upon distribution plan following 
mediation, then any Claimant, through written 
notification, may submit the matter to the Secretary 
who shall determine a final distribution plan 
allocating the funds in the Quapaw Bear Settlement 
Trust Account in accordance with the Report based on 
the procedures in paragraph (2).
(2) Secretarial allocation.--
(A) Following an unsuccessful mediation pursuant to 
the procedures in paragraph (1), any Claimant may 
petition the Secretary to determine final allocations 
of settlement proceeds in accordance with subsection 
(d).
(B) The Secretary shall commence the Secretarial 
Allocation process in accordance with this paragraph 
(2) if the Claimants do not reach a mutually agreed 
upon allocation plan within 18 months following 
enactment of the Act.
(C) Upon the receipt of such a petition by a 
Claimant, the Secretary or the Secretary's designee 
shall order an allocation of the settlement proceeds 
pursuant to the following steps:
(i) Within thirty (30) days following the 
Secretary's receipt of a petition to allocation 
settlement proceeds after failed mediation, the 
Secretary or the Secretary's designee shall 
issue a scheduling order to establish a 
schedule for a hearing and the issuance of a 
final decision by the Secretary of a final 
distribution plan.
(ii) The Secretary's decision determining a 
final distribution plan in accordance with 
subsection (d) shall be made following a 
hearing to be presided over by the Secretary or 
the Secretary's designee. The hearing shall 
occur no less than sixty (60) days following 
the issuance of the scheduling order.
(iii) At least fifteen (15) days prior to 
the hearing, each Claimant shall submit to the 
other Claimants and to the Secretary a copy of 
all exhibits on which such Claimant intends to 
rely at the hearing, a pre-hearing brief, and a 
proposed final decision by the Secretary. The 
proposed final decision shall include a 
proposed distribution plan to be submitted to 
the Secretary and shall be limited to proposed 
rulings and distributions for each Claimant.
(iv) Within fourteen (14) days after the 
close of the hearing, each Claimant may submit 
a post-hearing brief to the Secretary.
(v) Following the hearing and post-hearing 
brief, the Secretary shall issue a final 
decision determining a final distribution plan 
in accordance with subsection (d) within sixty 
(60) calendar days. The Claimants may mutually 
agree upon a binding distribution plan at any 
time before the Secretary's decision is issued.
(vi) Within twenty (20) calendar days after 
transmittal of the Secretary's final decision 
to the Claimants, the Claimants may submit to 
the Secretary any information necessary for the 
implementation of the final distribution plan.
(vii) Within sixty (60) days of the 
Secretary's final decision determining a final 
distribution plan, the Secretary shall 
distribute the funds in the Quapaw Bear 
Settlement Trust Account to the Claimants 
pursuant to the terms of the final distribution 
plan.
(viii) Any deadlines established in this 
section may be extended by unanimous mutual 
agreement of the Claimants.
(3) Federal mediation & conciliation service.--In 
discharging any duties under this Act, the Secretary is 
authorized to utilize the Federal Mediation Conciliation 
Service to provide technical support and dispute resolution 
resources, provided, however, that the Secretary or the 
Secretary's designee is responsible for approving and 
implementing any mutually agreed-upon or binding distribution 
plan reached pursuant to this Act.
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