Claim Resulting From Inadvertent Omission in Payment of Judgment

An authorized certifying officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) requested an advance decision as to whether funds appropriated for aid to tribal governments may be distributed to a Northern Paiute descendant who was inadvertently omitted from the payment roll when funds appropriated in satisfaction of a judgment by the Indian Claims Commission in favor of the Northern Paiute Nation were distributed. The descendant was initially denied participation in the award for failure to demonstrate Northern Paiute descendency. This exclusion was appealed, and the appeal was eventually sustained. However, the descendant's name was nevertheless omitted from the payment roll through an administrative error. BIA then requested that it be permitted to use appropriated funds to pay the claim. That request must be denied. The Indian Claims Commission awarded a specific sum of money to the Northern Paiute Nation as compensation for its land, and Congress appropriated precisely that sum. These funds have been distributed in their entirety. Accordingly, GAO held that, since Congress specifically appropriated set amounts to settle these claims, no other funds appropriated to the Department of the Interior, including those for aid to tribal governments, may be used to pay a descendant who was inadvertantly excluded from participation in the distribution of judgment funds. The claim is being referred to the Department of Justice with the recommendation that it settle the claim to avoid imminent litigation.