03.25.02

Senate Panel Approves Quinault Permanent Fisheries Fund Act

WASHINGTON, D.C.-U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) today announced that the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs unanimously approved the Quinault Permanent Fisheries Fund Act. The bill was introduced Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and co-sponsored by Senator Cantwell, who is a member of the Senate's Indian Affairs Committee.

"This legislation is of great importance to the Quinault Indian Nation of Washington state," Cantwell said. "The Quinaults have been waiting for almost three years for this legislation, and I am eager to see it enacted. The tribe deserves compensation, and I'm glad to say that today they a step closer to getting it."

When signed into law the Act will grant the Quinaults access to Mitchell Act settlement funds, which the tribe was awarded as compensation for damage to the tribe's fisheries caused by forestry and logging practices. The settlement of $540,000 will be used to establish a Permanent Fisheries Fund.

The Quinault's settlement is currently in a trust account and Congressional action is required to make it available to the tribe. When the funds become available, the Quinaults plan to spend only the interest, while the principal will remain non-expendable.