White House asks Congress to fund $3.4B Cobell trust settlement
The White House is asking Congress to include the $3.4 billion Indian trust fund settlement in a "stopgap" appropriations measure, the Associated Press reports.

The Obama administration reached the settlement with the Cobell plaintiffs last December. The House has voted twice to approve it but Republicans in the Senate have held it up due to spending concerns.

The deal provides $1.412 billion in direct payments to individual Indians. It also creates a $2 billion land consolidation fund.

According to the AP, the White House's wish-list for items in the stopgap measure totals more than $20 billion.

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White House sends spending wish list to Congress (AP 9/15)