U.S. To Pay $940 Million To Settle Class Claims Of Tribes Over Contract Rates

Mealey's (October 8, 2015, 10:55 AM EDT) -- ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico federal judge on Sept. 30 preliminarily approved a class action settlement under which the U.S. government will pay $940 million to resolve 25-year-old claims of several Native American tribes that the Department of the Interior (DOI) improperly calculated indirect cost rates for tribes and tribal contractors entering contracts or self-governance agreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to take over operation of certain BIA programs and services pursuant to the Indian Self Determination Act of 1975 (ISDA) (Ramah Navajo Chapter, et al. v. Sally Jewell, et al., No. 90-957, D. N.M.)....