The Cobell plaintiffs have agreed to change the terms of the $3.4 billion settlement to the Indian trust fund lawsuit.

The overall amount of the settlement remains the same. But $100 million will be taken from the land consolidation portion and put into payments for individual Indians.

Account holders will now receive $1.5 billion in direct payments. The change was made at the suggestion of Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), the vice chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, who has been blocking passage of the deal.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), another member of the committee, blocked passage of the settlement this week.

Get the Story:
Plaintiffs' Lawyers in Cobell Optimistic About $3.4B Settlement (The Blog of Legal Times 9/30)
Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn criticized for holding up Indian trust, black farmer settlements (The Oklahoman 10/1)

Cobell Settlement Documents:
Agreement | Press Release | Q&A | Audio

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