Number: 111- 60
Date: December 2, 2010

House and Senate Pass H.R. 4783, the Claims Resettlement Act of 2010

 

On November 30, 2010, the House agreed to Senate amendments to H.R. 4783, the “Claims Resettlement Act of 2010”, by a vote of 256-152.  The Senate passed its amendments to the bill on November 19, 2010 by unanimous consent.  The bill now awaits the President’s signature to become law.

The bill includes the following provision of interest to SSA:

Settlement Payments to American Indians

  • Would ratify a class-action lawsuit settlement (Cobell et al. v. Salazar et al.) that determined the United States had mismanaged American Indian assets for generations.  Under the terms of the settlement, Indian landowners who had monies held in these mismanaged trust accounts would be eligible for settlement payments.
  • Would exclude these settlement payments from consideration as income (in the month received) or as a resource (for a period of one year beginning with the month of receipt) for Federal or federally-assisted program purposes, including SSI.
  • Would be effective upon enactment.