| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 1451 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments to the Quapaw |
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| 6 | 6 | | Nation and certain members of the Quapaw Nation in accordance with |
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| 7 | 7 | | the recommendation of the United States Court of Federal Claims, |
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| 8 | 8 | | and for other purposes. |
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| 9 | 9 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 10 | 10 | | FEBRUARY21, 2025 |
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| 11 | 11 | | Mr. B |
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| 12 | 12 | | RECHEENintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the |
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| 13 | 13 | | Committee on Natural Resources |
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| 14 | 14 | | A BILL |
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| 15 | 15 | | To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to make pay- |
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| 16 | 16 | | ments to the Quapaw Nation and certain members of |
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| 17 | 17 | | the Quapaw Nation in accordance with the recommenda- |
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| 18 | 18 | | tion of the United States Court of Federal Claims, and |
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| 19 | 19 | | for other purposes. |
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| 20 | 20 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 21 | 21 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 22 | 22 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 23 | 23 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Quapaw Tribal Settle-4 |
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| 24 | 24 | | ment Act of 2025’’. 5 |
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| 25 | 25 | | SEC. 2. QUAPAW TRIBAL SETTLEMENT. 6 |
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| 26 | 26 | | (a) D |
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| 27 | 27 | | EFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 |
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| 29 | 29 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 |
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| 30 | 30 | | •HR 1451 IH |
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| 31 | 31 | | (1) CLAIMANT.—The term ‘‘Claimant’’ means 1 |
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| 32 | 32 | | each of— 2 |
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| 33 | 33 | | (A) the Quapaw Nation and the parties 3 |
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| 34 | 34 | | identified in paragraphs 1 through 10 of the 4 |
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| 35 | 35 | | complaint in Bear, et al. v. United States, No. 5 |
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| 36 | 36 | | 13–51X (Fed. Cl. Mar. 25, 2013); and 6 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (B) the individual members of the Quapaw 7 |
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| 38 | 38 | | Nation identified in Exhibit A to the amended 8 |
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| 39 | 39 | | complaint in Bear, et al. v. United States, No. 9 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 13–51X (Fed. Cl. Mar. 25, 2013) filed on Feb-10 |
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| 41 | 41 | | ruary 14, 2014. 11 |
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| 42 | 42 | | (2) R |
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| 43 | 43 | | EPORT.—The term ‘‘Report’’ means the 12 |
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| 44 | 44 | | report of the Review Panel of the United States 13 |
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| 45 | 45 | | Court of Federal Claims in Congressional Reference 14 |
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| 46 | 46 | | Case No. 13–51X, Bear, et al. v. United States 15 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (Jan. 9, 2020), submitted to the House of Rep-16 |
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| 48 | 48 | | resentatives on January 31, 2020. 17 |
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| 49 | 49 | | (3) S |
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| 50 | 50 | | ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 18 |
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| 51 | 51 | | the Secretary of the Interior (or a designee). 19 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (b) E |
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| 53 | 53 | | STABLISHMENT.—There is established a Special 20 |
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| 54 | 54 | | Deposit Account in the Department of the Interior Bureau 21 |
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| 55 | 55 | | of Trust Funds Administration, to be known as the 22 |
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| 56 | 56 | | ‘‘Quapaw Bear Settlement Trust Account’’. 23 |
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| 57 | 57 | | (c) A |
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| 58 | 58 | | DMINISTRATION.—The Secretary of the Interior 24 |
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| 59 | 59 | | by and through the Bureau of Trust Funds Administra-25 |
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| 61 | 61 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 |
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| 62 | 62 | | •HR 1451 IH |
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| 63 | 63 | | tion shall administer all funds appropriated to the Quapaw 1 |
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| 64 | 64 | | Bear Settlement Trust Account. 2 |
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| 65 | 65 | | (d) A |
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| 66 | 66 | | UTHORIZATION OF PAYMENT.—In accordance 3 |
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| 67 | 67 | | with the Report, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized 4 |
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| 68 | 68 | | and directed to pay to the Claimants $137,500,000 out 5 |
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| 69 | 69 | | of any funds in the Treasury of the United States not 6 |
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| 70 | 70 | | otherwise appropriated. The Secretary of the Treasury 7 |
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| 71 | 71 | | shall transfer the single payment to the Quapaw Bear Set-8 |
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| 72 | 72 | | tlement Trust Account established in subsection (b). 9 |
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| 73 | 73 | | (e) P |
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| 74 | 74 | | AYMENT INACCORDANCEWITHREPORT.—The 10 |
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| 75 | 75 | | payment under subsection (d) shall be made in accordance 11 |
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| 76 | 76 | | with the Report. 12 |
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| 77 | 77 | | (f) D |
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| 78 | 78 | | ISTRIBUTION.—After the settlement proceeds 13 |
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| 79 | 79 | | are transferred to the Quapaw Bear Settlement Trust Ac-14 |
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| 80 | 80 | | count specified under subsection (b), the settlement pro-15 |
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| 81 | 81 | | ceeds shall be available for use, allocation, and distribution 16 |
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| 82 | 82 | | in accordance with the Claimants’ distribution plan. The 17 |
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| 83 | 83 | | Claimants shall establish a distribution plan in accordance 18 |
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| 84 | 84 | | with subsection (d) and the procedures set forth in sub-19 |
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| 85 | 85 | | section (g). 20 |
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| 86 | 86 | | (g) D |
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| 87 | 87 | | ISTRIBUTION OFFUNDS IN THEQUAPAWBEAR 21 |
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| 88 | 88 | | S |
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| 89 | 89 | | ETTLEMENTTRUSTACCOUNT.— 22 |
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| 90 | 90 | | (1) M |
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| 91 | 91 | | EDIATION.— 23 |
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| 92 | 92 | | (A) No more than forty-five (45) days fol-24 |
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| 93 | 93 | | lowing enactment of the Act, the Claimants 25 |
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| 95 | 95 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 |
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| 96 | 96 | | •HR 1451 IH |
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| 97 | 97 | | shall submit the issues of the allocation and dis-1 |
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| 98 | 98 | | tribution of the settlement proceeds to a mutu-2 |
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| 99 | 99 | | ally agreed upon third-party mediator. 3 |
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| 100 | 100 | | (B) In the event the Claimants do not sub-4 |
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| 101 | 101 | | mit to a mutually agreed upon third-party me-5 |
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| 102 | 102 | | diation within forty-five (45) days pursuant to 6 |
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| 103 | 103 | | the preceding subparagraph, then any Claimant 7 |
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| 104 | 104 | | may initiate Secretarial Allocation procedures 8 |
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| 105 | 105 | | under paragraph (2) below. 9 |
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| 106 | 106 | | (C) Any mediation shall be confidential 10 |
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| 107 | 107 | | and non-binding on the Claimants without the 11 |
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| 108 | 108 | | written consent of the Claimants, provided that 12 |
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| 109 | 109 | | nothing in this paragraph shall be interpreted 13 |
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| 110 | 110 | | to bar the Quapaw Nation Business Committee 14 |
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| 111 | 111 | | from consulting with the Quapaw Nation Indian 15 |
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| 112 | 112 | | Council during mediation. 16 |
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| 113 | 113 | | (D) No statements made or information 17 |
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| 114 | 114 | | exchanged during mediation shall be admissible 18 |
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| 115 | 115 | | in any future legal or dispute resolution pro-19 |
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| 116 | 116 | | ceedings without the written consent of the 20 |
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| 117 | 117 | | Claimants. 21 |
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| 118 | 118 | | (E) The Claimants shall mutually agree to 22 |
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| 119 | 119 | | conduct mediation at a specified location. Each 23 |
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| 120 | 120 | | Claimant shall pay its own costs, plus an equal 24 |
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| 123 | 123 | | •HR 1451 IH |
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| 124 | 124 | | share of the costs of the mediator and the medi-1 |
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| 125 | 125 | | ation facilities. 2 |
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| 126 | 126 | | (F) Following successful completion of any 3 |
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| 127 | 127 | | mediation under this section, the Claimants 4 |
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| 128 | 128 | | may submit a mutually agreed upon distribu-5 |
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| 129 | 129 | | tion plan to the Secretary. 6 |
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| 130 | 130 | | (G) Upon submission of a mutually agreed 7 |
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| 131 | 131 | | upon distribution plan to the Secretary, the 8 |
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| 132 | 132 | | Secretary shall distribute the funds in the 9 |
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| 133 | 133 | | Quapaw Bear Settlement Trust Account to the 10 |
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| 134 | 134 | | Claimants in accordance with their mutually 11 |
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| 135 | 135 | | agreed upon distribution plan. 12 |
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| 136 | 136 | | (H) In the event the Claimants do not 13 |
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| 137 | 137 | | reach a mutually agreed upon distribution plan 14 |
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| 138 | 138 | | following mediation, then any Claimant, 15 |
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| 139 | 139 | | through written notification, may submit the 16 |
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| 140 | 140 | | matter to the Secretary who shall determine a 17 |
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| 141 | 141 | | final distribution plan allocating the funds in 18 |
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| 142 | 142 | | the Quapaw Bear Settlement Trust Account in 19 |
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| 143 | 143 | | accordance with the Report based on the proce-20 |
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| 144 | 144 | | dures in paragraph (2). 21 |
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| 145 | 145 | | (2) S |
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| 146 | 146 | | ECRETARIAL ALLOCATION .— 22 |
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| 147 | 147 | | (A) Following an unsuccessful mediation 23 |
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| 148 | 148 | | pursuant to the procedures in paragraph (1), 24 |
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| 149 | 149 | | any Claimant may petition the Secretary to de-25 |
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| 151 | 151 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 |
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| 152 | 152 | | •HR 1451 IH |
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| 153 | 153 | | termine final allocations of settlement proceeds 1 |
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| 154 | 154 | | in accordance with subsection (d). 2 |
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| 155 | 155 | | (B) The Secretary shall commence the Sec-3 |
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| 156 | 156 | | retarial Allocation process in accordance with 4 |
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| 157 | 157 | | this paragraph (2) if the Claimants do not 5 |
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| 158 | 158 | | reach a mutually agreed upon allocation plan 6 |
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| 159 | 159 | | within 18 months following enactment of the 7 |
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| 160 | 160 | | Act. 8 |
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| 161 | 161 | | (C) Upon the receipt of such a petition by 9 |
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| 162 | 162 | | a Claimant, the Secretary or the Secretary’s 10 |
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| 163 | 163 | | designee shall order an allocation of the settle-11 |
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| 164 | 164 | | ment proceeds pursuant to the following steps: 12 |
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| 165 | 165 | | (i) Within thirty (30) days following 13 |
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| 166 | 166 | | the Secretary’s receipt of a petition to allo-14 |
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| 167 | 167 | | cation settlement proceeds after failed me-15 |
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| 168 | 168 | | diation, the Secretary or the Secretary’s 16 |
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| 169 | 169 | | designee shall issue a scheduling order to 17 |
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| 170 | 170 | | establish a schedule for a hearing and the 18 |
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| 171 | 171 | | issuance of a final decision by the Sec-19 |
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| 172 | 172 | | retary of a final distribution plan. 20 |
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| 173 | 173 | | (ii) The Secretary’s decision deter-21 |
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| 174 | 174 | | mining a final distribution plan in accord-22 |
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| 175 | 175 | | ance with subsection (d) shall be made fol-23 |
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| 176 | 176 | | lowing a hearing to be presided over by the 24 |
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| 177 | 177 | | Secretary or the Secretary’s designee. The 25 |
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| 180 | 180 | | •HR 1451 IH |
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| 181 | 181 | | hearing shall occur no less than sixty (60) 1 |
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| 182 | 182 | | days following the issuance of the sched-2 |
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| 183 | 183 | | uling order. 3 |
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| 184 | 184 | | (iii) At least fifteen (15) days prior to 4 |
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| 185 | 185 | | the hearing, each Claimant shall submit to 5 |
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| 186 | 186 | | the other Claimants and to the Secretary 6 |
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| 187 | 187 | | a copy of all exhibits on which such Claim-7 |
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| 188 | 188 | | ant intends to rely at the hearing, a pre- 8 |
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| 189 | 189 | | hearing brief, and a proposed final decision 9 |
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| 190 | 190 | | by the Secretary. The proposed final deci-10 |
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| 191 | 191 | | sion shall include a proposed distribution 11 |
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| 192 | 192 | | plan to be submitted to the Secretary and 12 |
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| 193 | 193 | | shall be limited to proposed rulings and 13 |
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| 194 | 194 | | distributions for each Claimant. 14 |
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| 195 | 195 | | (iv) Within fourteen (14) days after 15 |
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| 196 | 196 | | the close of the hearing, each Claimant 16 |
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| 197 | 197 | | may submit a post-hearing brief to the 17 |
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| 198 | 198 | | Secretary. 18 |
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| 199 | 199 | | (v) Following the hearing and post- 19 |
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| 200 | 200 | | hearing brief, the Secretary shall issue a 20 |
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| 201 | 201 | | final decision determining a final distribu-21 |
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| 202 | 202 | | tion plan in accordance with subsection (d) 22 |
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| 203 | 203 | | within sixty (60) calendar days. The 23 |
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| 204 | 204 | | Claimants may mutually agree upon a 24 |
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| 207 | 207 | | •HR 1451 IH |
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| 208 | 208 | | binding distribution plan at any time be-1 |
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| 209 | 209 | | fore the Secretary’s decision is issued. 2 |
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| 210 | 210 | | (vi) Within twenty (20) calendar days 3 |
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| 211 | 211 | | after transmittal of the Secretary’s final 4 |
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| 212 | 212 | | decision to the Claimants, the Claimants 5 |
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| 213 | 213 | | may submit to the Secretary any informa-6 |
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| 214 | 214 | | tion necessary for the implementation of 7 |
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| 215 | 215 | | the final distribution plan. 8 |
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| 216 | 216 | | (vii) Within sixty (60) days of the 9 |
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| 217 | 217 | | Secretary’s final decision determining a 10 |
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| 218 | 218 | | final distribution plan, the Secretary shall 11 |
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| 219 | 219 | | distribute the funds in the Quapaw Bear 12 |
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| 220 | 220 | | Settlement Trust Account to the Claimants 13 |
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| 221 | 221 | | pursuant to the terms of the final distribu-14 |
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| 222 | 222 | | tion plan. 15 |
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| 223 | 223 | | (viii) Any deadlines established in this 16 |
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| 224 | 224 | | section may be extended by unanimous 17 |
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| 225 | 225 | | mutual agreement of the Claimants. 18 |
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| 226 | 226 | | (3) F |
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| 227 | 227 | | EDERAL MEDIATION & CONCILIATION 19 |
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| 228 | 228 | | SERVICE.—In discharging any duties under this Act, 20 |
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| 229 | 229 | | the Secretary is authorized to utilize the Federal 21 |
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| 230 | 230 | | Mediation Conciliation Service to provide technical 22 |
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| 231 | 231 | | support and dispute resolution resources, provided, 23 |
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| 232 | 232 | | however, that the Secretary or the Secretary’s des-24 |
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| 233 | 233 | | ignee is responsible for approving and implementing 25 |
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| 236 | 236 | | •HR 1451 IH |
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| 237 | 237 | | any mutually agreed-upon or binding distribution 1 |
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| 238 | 238 | | plan reached pursuant to this Act. 2 |
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| 239 | 239 | | Æ |
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| 241 | 241 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB |
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