H.R. 5673: Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2020

116th Congress · introduced 2020-01-24 · Native Americans · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States.

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Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2020-01-24 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ-7] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2020

Plain summary

Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2020 This bill modifies and ratifies a specified water rights settlement agreement entered into by the United States, Montana, and the Fort Belknap Indian Community (i.e., the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana). The bill requires the community's water rights to be held in trust for the benefit of the community and its allottees. The community must enact a tribal water code to regulate its water rights. Among other things, the Department of the Interior must negotiate with Montana for the transfer of specified parcels of state land located on and off the reservation, hold transferred land in trust for the benefit of the community, allocate 20,000 acre-feet per year of stored water from Lake Elwell, establish a settlement trust fund, and request Montana to pay a specified amount to contribute to the design and construction of the Peoples Creek Dam and Reservoir to support mitigation activities. The bill requires the Bureau of Reclamation to modify the operating procedures of the Milk River Project to ensure that the Fresno Reservoir is operated in accordance with the agreement. The bill also outlines certain waivers, releases, and retention of claims under the settlement agreement.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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Official text

Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2020

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ-7] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ-7] reported raising $4.8 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

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Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116hr5673.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/hr>

Record fed-us-cong116-hr5673 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116