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Monday, July 28, 2003

The following is taken from the text of S.1459, the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act Amendments Act of 2003, as introduced on Friday, July 25, 2003.

SEC. 4. AFFIRMATION OF STANDARDS.

Title I of the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 4011 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

"SEC. 105. AFFIRMATION OF STANDARDS.

"Congress affirms that the proper discharge of trust responsibility of the United States requires, without limitation, that the trustee, using the highest degree of care, skill, and loyalty--

"(1) protect and preserve Indian trust assets from loss, damage, unlawful alienation, waste, and depletion;

"(2) ensure that any management of Indian trust assets required to be carried out by the Secretary--

"(A) promotes the interest of the beneficial owner; and

"(B) supports, to the maximum extent practicable in accordance with the trust responsibility of the Secretary, the beneficial owner's intended use of the assets;

"(3)(A) enforce the terms of all leases or other agreements that provide for the use of trust assets; and

"(B) take appropriate steps to remedy trespass on trust or restricted land;

"(4) promote tribal control and self-determination over tribal trust land and resources without diminishing the trust responsibility of the Secretary;

"(5) select and oversee persons that manage Indian trust assets;

"(6) confirm that Indian tribes that manage Indian trust assets in accordance with contracts and compacts authorized by the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.) protect and prudently manage those Indian trust assets;

"(7) provide oversight and review of the performance of the trust responsibility of the Secretary, including Indian trust asset and investment management programs, operational systems, and information systems;

"(8) account for and identify, collect, deposit, invest, and distribute, in a timely manner, income due or held on behalf of tribal and individual Indian account holders;

"(9) maintain a verifiable system of records that, at a minimum, is capable of identifying, with respect to a trust asset--

"(A) the location of the trust asset;

"(B) the beneficial owners of the trust asset;

"(C) any legal encumbrances (such as leases or permits) applicable to the trust asset;

"(D) the user of the trust asset;

"(E) any rent or other payments made;

"(F) the value of trust or restricted land and resources associated with the trust asset;

"(G) dates of--

"(i) collections;

"(ii) deposits;

"(iii) transfers;

"(iv) disbursements;

"(v) imposition of third-party obligations (such as court-ordered child support or judgments

"(vi) statements of earnings;

"(vii) investment instruments; and

"(viii) closure of all trust fund accounts relating to the trust fund asset;

"(H) documents pertaining to actions taken to prevent or compensate for any diminishment of the Indian trust asset; and

"(I) documents that evidence the actions of the Secretary regarding the management and disposition of the Indian trust asset;

"(10) establish and maintain a system of records that--

"(A) permits beneficial owners to obtain information regarding Indian trust assets in a timely manner; and

"(B) protects the privacy of that information;

"(11) invest tribal and individual Indian trust funds to ensure that the trust account remains reasonably productive for the beneficial owner consistent with market conditions existing at the time at which investment is made;

"(12) communicate with beneficial owners regarding the management and administration of Indian trust assets; and

"(13) protect treaty-based fishing, hunting, gathering, and similar rights-of-access and resource use on traditional tribal land.".

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