S. 995 would compensate the Spokane Tribe of Indians for the use of tribal lands in the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State. Beginning in 2020, the bill would require the federal Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to make annual payments to the tribe out of receipts from the sale of electricity. Starting in 2030, BPA could offset a portion of those payments by paying less interest to the Department of the Treasury.
Enacting S. 995 would affect direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates that the net costs would be insignificant over the 2019-2028 period but, starting in 2030, would rise to $2.7 million a year. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues or spending subject to appropriation.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 995 would not increase net direct spending by more than $2.5 billion or on-budget deficits by more than $5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 995 would impose an intergovernmental mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by extinguishing the monetary claims of the Spokane Tribe of Indians against the United States for hydropower revenues and for past and continued use of their land. CBO estimates that the cost of the mandate would not exceed the annual threshold established in the act ($78 million in 2017, adjusted annually for inflation).
The bill contains no private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
