Cobell Also, $3.4 billion would go to Indians

[mdenney]

Senate approves $4.6B for black farmers, Indians
Buzz up!63 votes ShareretweetEmailPrintBy MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press – 1 hr 48 mins ago
WASHINGTON – The Senate has approved almost $4.6 billion to settle long-standing claims brought by American Indians and black farmers against the government.

The money has been held up for months in the Senate as Democrats and Republicans squabbled over how to pay for it. The two class action lawsuits were filed over a decade ago.

The settlements include almost $1.2 billion for black farmers who say they suffered discrimination at the hands of the Agriculture Department. Also, $3.4 billion would go to Indian landowners who claim they were swindled out of royalties by the Interior Department. The legislation was approved in the Senate by voice vote Friday and sent to the House.

Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe from Browning, Mont. and the lead plaintiff in the Indian case, said Friday that it took her breath away when she found out the Senate had passed the bill. She was feeling despondent after the chamber had tried and failed to pass the legislation many times and two people who would have been beneficiaries had died on her reservation this week.

"It's 17 below and the Blackfeet nation is feeling warm," she said. "I don't know if people understand or believe the agony you go through when one of the beneficiaries passes away without justice."

John Boyd, head of the National Black Farmers Association, said the passage of the black farmers' money is also long overdue. "Twenty-six years justice is in sight for our nation's black farmers," he said.

Lawmakers from both parties have said they support resolving the long-standing claims of discrimination and mistreatment by federal agencies. But the funding has been caught up in a fight over spending and deficits. Republicans repeatedly objected to the settlements when they were added on to larger pieces of legislation. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., satisfied conservative complaints by finding spending offsets to cover the cost.

The legislation also includes a one-year extension of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which gives grants to states to provide cash assistance and other services to the poor, and several American Indian water rights settlements in Arizona, Montana and New Mexico sought by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.

In the Indian case, at least 300,000 Native Americans claim they were swindled out of royalties overseen by the Interior Department since 1887 for things like oil, gas, grazing and timber. The plaintiffs would share the settlement.

The Cobell lawsuit has dragged on for almost 15 years, with one judge in 2008 comparing it to the Charles thingyens' "Bleak House," which chronicles a never-ending legal suit. Using passages from that novel, U.S. District Judge James Robertson noted that the "suit has, in course of time, become so complicated" that "no two lawyers can talk about it for five minutes without coming to a total disagreement as to all the premises."

The Indian plaintiffs originally said they were owed $100 billion, but signaled they were willing to settle for less as the trial wore on. After more than 3,600 court filings and 80 court decisions, the two sides finally reached a settlement in December.

"Personally I still think we're owed a hundred billion dollars, but how long do you drag this thing out?" Cobell said Friday. "Do you drag it out until every beneficiary is dead? You just can't do that."

Cobell said she feels confident about passage in the House, where the two settlements already have passed twice as part of larger pieces of legislation.

For the black farmers, it is the second round of funding from a class-action lawsuit originally settled in 1999 over allegations of widespread discrimination by local Agriculture Department offices in awarding loans and other aid. It is known as the Pigford case, named after Timothy Pigford, a black farmer from North Carolina who was an original plaintiff.

The government already has paid out more than $1 billion to about 16,000 farmers, with most getting payments of about $50,000. The new money is intended for people — some estimates say 70,000 or 80,000 — who were denied earlier payments because they missed deadlines for filing. The amount of money each would get depends on how many claims are successfully filed.

The bill passed Friday would be partially paid for by diverting dollars from a surplus in nutrition programs for women and children and by extending customs user fees.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said with the passage of the Cobell settlement: "This is a day that will be etched in our memories and our history books."

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said passage "marks a major milestone in USDA's efforts to turn the page on a sad chapter in our history."

Last month, the Agriculture Department offered American Indian farmers who say they were denied farm loans a $680 million settlement. Hispanic and women farmers also have cases pending against the department

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101119/ap_on_go_co/us_black_farmers_indian_money


www.bia.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/text/idc012234.pdf

[mdenney]

House clears Indian, black farmer settlements


By BEN EVANS, Associated Press Ben Evans, Associated Press – 30 mins ago
WASHINGTON – American Indian landowners and black farmers who for years have waited for Washington to address their claims of government mistreatment won a hard-fought victory Tuesday as Congress cleared legislation to pay the groups $4.6 billion to settle a pair of historic class-action lawsuits.

The measure passed the House in a 256-152 vote and now goes to President Barack Obama, who promised during his campaign to work toward resolving the long-standing disputes and others involving the government's past discrimination against minorities.

In a statement, Obama applauded the bill's passage and said he would continue working to resolve other lingering complaints of historic discrimination, including from women and Hispanic farmers.

Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe from Browning, Mont., and lead plaintiff in the Indian case, called it a "historic day in Indian country as well as in America's history."

"A monumental step has been taken to remove a stain on our national honor and create a better future for Indians as our government begins to make some amends for grave past injustices," she said.

The package would award some $3.4 billion to American Indians over claims they were cheated out of royalties overseen by the Interior Department for resources like oil, gas and timber. Another $1.2 billion would go to African-Americans who claim they were unfairly denied loans and other assistance from the Agriculture Department.

The settlements have broad bipartisan support but had stalled on Capitol Hill over costs until the Senate broke a stalemate earlier this month.

Although the Senate passed the measure without opposition, all but 16 Republicans opposed it in the House. Many argued the individual settlements have merit but objected to lumping them together in a single bill with other provisions, including deals on four long-standing disputes over Indian water rights.

Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said Democrats weren't really paying for the bill as they claimed but were simply tapping unused funds in unrelated programs.

"When we approve new spending we should offset that by spending cuts," Brady said.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, likened the black farmers program to "modern-day reparations" for African-Americans and argued along with Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., that the claims process is rife with fraud.

Democrats and at least one Republican supporter countered that the bill protects taxpayers while offering fair compensation for people who were mistreated.

"This is not about fraud. This is about justice for black farmers who were wronged by the U.S. Department of Agriculture," said John Boyd, who founded the National Black Farmers Association and has lobbied Congress on the issue for more than two decades.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., noted that a federal judge has held the federal government in contempt for not funding the Indian case and called it a "bargain for the American taxpayers" that will avoid tens of millions of dollars in court costs.

"We are correcting historic wrongs that should never have occurred in the first place," he said.

In the Indian case, at least 300,000 Native Americans claim they were swindled out of royalties overseen by the Interior Department since 1887. The plaintiffs originally said they were owed $100 billion, but signaled they were willing to settle for less as the case dragged on.

For the black farmers, it is the second round of funding from a class-action lawsuit originally settled in 1999 over allegations of widespread discrimination by local USDA offices.

The government already has paid out more than $1 billion to about 16,000 farmers, with most getting payments of about $50,000. The new money is intended for people who were denied earlier payments because they missed deadlines for filing. Tens of thousands of new claims are expected, and the amount of money each would get depends on how many are successful.

The bill also includes nearly $1 billion to settle several long-standing Indian water-rights lawsuits and extends for one year the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which gives grants to states to provide cash assistance and other services to the poor.

The costs of the bill would be offset by diverting dollars from a surplus in nutrition programs for women and children, extending customs user fees and new efforts for the Treasury to recoup excess unemployment insurance payments.

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101130/ap_on_bi_ge/us_black_farmers_indian_money

[mdenney]

What happens now that there is a Settlement?
First:


Who is affected by the Settlement?



www.cobellsettlement.com/class/index.php#who


=======================================
U.S. Department of Interior

OFFICE OF SPECIAL TRUSTEE

FOR AMERICAN INDIANS

www.doi.gov/ost/cobell/index.html

[mdenney]

President Obama Signs Law to Address Claims of Gov't Mistreatment over Many Decades under Landmark Legislation

Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe from Browning, Mont., and the lead plaintiff in the Indian royalties case, called the signing ceremony "breathtaking," adding that she did not expect it to happen in her lifetime. Cobell filed the suit nearly 15 years ago and led efforts to reach the $3.4 billion settlement a year ago and then push it through the House and Senate.

At least 300,000 Native Americans say they were swindled out of royalties overseen by the Interior Department since 1887 for oil, gas, grazing and timber rights. The plaintiffs will share the settlement.

Cobell said she was driving her car in Montana when she learned the Senate had approved the measure last month. "I pulled over and I cried," she said.

Even with Obama's signature, the settlement must still go through a gauntlet of court hearings, a media campaign to notify beneficiaries, waiting periods for comments and appeals. The first check is not expected to reach tribal plaintiffs until August.

Even so, Cobell said the day was historic.

"This day means a lot to the elders, because it basically means they receive justice," she said. "The money is secondary. They got justice. The United States government gave them justice."




www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/08/national/main7131963.shtml