# 116-hr-5673: Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2020

116-hr-5673, Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2020, is a 116th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ] (D-AZ); status Referred to the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-5673
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 116-hr-5673
- Congress: 116
- Title: Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort Belknap Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2020
- Status: Referred to the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States.
- Introduced: 2020-01-24
- Sponsor: Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ] (D-AZ)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Native Americans
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## 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.

## Related bills

- 116-hr-8801: Air America Act of 2020
- 116-hr-8782: Keeping All Students Safe Act
- 116-hr-8729: Native American Language Resource Center Act
- 116-hr-8702: Holding Providers Harmless From Medicare Cuts During COVID–19 Act of 2020
- 116-hr-8665: Extending Tribal Broadband Priority Act of 2020
- 116-hr-8662: Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act

## Sources
- [116-hr-5673 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/5673)

## Related
- [116-hr-8801: Air America Act of 2020](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8801)
- [116-hr-8782: Keeping All Students Safe Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8782)
- [116-hr-8729: Native American Language Resource Center Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8729)
- [116-hr-8702: Holding Providers Harmless From Medicare Cuts During COVID–19 Act of 2020](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8702)
- [116-hr-8665: Extending Tribal Broadband Priority Act of 2020](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8665)
- [116-hr-8662: Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8662)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-5673 (as of 2025-11-18).