Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Judgment Fund Distribution Act of 2012
Public Law 112-179 · H.R. 1272 · 112th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Barack Obama (D) on Oct 5, 2012 · Native Americans
Sponsor: Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN-7)
Cosponsors (2): Rep. Chip Cravaack, Rep. Erik Paulsen
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Judgment Fund Distribution Act of 2012 - (Sec. 4) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to reimburse the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe for the amount, plus interest, that the Tribe contributed for the payment of attorneys' fees and litigation expenses associated with the litigation of Docket No. 19 and No. 188 before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the distribution of judgment funds.
Requires the Tribe's claim for reimbursement of expended funds to be certified by the Tribe as being unreimbursed to it from other funding sources.
Requires payment of interest on such funds at the rate of 6% per year from the date such funds were expended until they are reimbursed to the Tribe.
Requires use of the judgment funds to reimburse the Tribe for those attorneys' fees and litigation expenses.
(Sec. 5) Requires the Tribe to provide the Secretary with updated membership rolls for the Boise Forte Band, Fond du Lac Band, Grand Portage Band, Leech Lake Band, Mille Lacs Band, and White Earth Band of the Tribe.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) distribute to each Band, from the remaining judgment funds, an amount sufficient to enable each Band to pay $300 to each Band member; and (2) divide the funds that remain after that distribution, as well as unclaimed payments, into equal shares for each Band.
(Sec. 6) Prohibits funds disbursed under this Act from being liable for the payment of a recipient's previously contracted obligations.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Natural Resources Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: Indian and Insular Affairs Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
1 bill the Library of Congress relates to this one.
S. 1739Related bill
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Judgment Fund Distribution Act of 2011
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 24 actions.
- Oct 5, 2012Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 112-179.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Sep 25, 2012FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Sep 24, 2012FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Sep 22, 2012FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Aug 1, 2012CalendarCalendar · Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 482.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Indian Affairs. Reported by Senator Akaka without amendment. Without written report.
- Jun 28, 2012CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
- Jun 19, 2012CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
- Jun 18, 2012FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1272.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Young (AK) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- May 30, 2012CalendarCalendar · Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 354.
- CommitteeCommittee · Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 112-501.
- Apr 25, 2012CommitteeCommittee · Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- CommitteeCommittee · Subcommittee Indian and Alaska Native Affairs Discharged.
- Mar 1, 2012CommitteeCommittee · Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Indian and Insular Affairs Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- Apr 4, 2011CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee Indian and Alaska Native Affairs.
- Mar 30, 2011CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
No amendments to this bill are on record.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.