Sponsors (2)
Creates two funded subaccounts and requires annual Treasury deposits (2026–2035) to pay existing and future Congress‑approved Indian water settlements.
The bill provides substantial, predictable federal funding to fulfill tribal water-settlement obligations and enable future agreements, but it increases federal spending and gives the Interior Secretary broader discretion while creating some restrictions that may limit funding flexibility for specific tribal provisions.
Indigenous tribal nations and residents of tribal lands will receive predictable, dedicated, and immediately available federal funding — $45M/year for operations plus $250M/year for settlements (total ~$295M/year through 2035) — to satisfy existing water-settlement obligations and reduce payment delays.
A new subaccount allows use of funds for future Congress-approved water settlements, helping tribes and state governments complete negotiated water agreements and resolve long-term water-rights and infrastructure needs.
All taxpayers will incur increased federal outlays of about $295M per year through 2035 to fund the settlements, raising federal spending obligations.
State and local governments and tribal communities may face reduced transparency and predictability because the Secretary of the Interior has broad discretion over the timing, indexing, and sequencing of transfers.
A change clarifying or shifting funding related to a White Mountain Apache provision could limit the Reclamation Water Settlements Fund's availability for that purpose, potentially restricting flexibility for that tribe's settlement.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates two permanent subaccounts in the Indian Water Rights Settlement Completion Fund and requires annual Treasury deposits from 2026 through 2035 to pay for existing and future federally approved Indian water rights settlements. The bill directs $45 million per year to an Operations, Maintenance, Repair, and Ongoing Obligations Subaccount and $250 million per year to a New and Continuing Settlements Subaccount, with funds available to the Interior Secretary without further appropriation for transfers to satisfy U.S. obligations under specified or future Congress‑approved Indian water settlements. Also clarifies that certain funding described in the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2010 may not be drawn from the Reclamation Water Settlements Fund. The Secretary of the Interior is given discretion over exact transfer timing, indexing, sequencing, and amounts between accounts and tribal trust funds to meet settlement obligations.
Official title: Amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to establish subaccounts in the Indian Water Rights Settlement Completion Fund, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 24, 2026 by Ben Ray Luján · Last progress June 24, 2026