The Senate approved the $3.4 billion settlement to the Indian trust fund lawsuit on Friday.

The plaintiffs and the Obama administration announced the settlement last December. But Republican opposition tied up the deal in the Senate until last week, when it passed by unanimous consent as part of the Claims Settlement Act of 2010.

"I applaud the Senate for passing the Claims Settlement Act of 2010, which will at long last provide funding for the agreements reached in the Pigford II lawsuit, brought by African American farmers, and the Cobell lawsuit, brought by Native Americans over the management of Indian trust accounts and resources," President Barack Obama said in a statement. "I particularly want to thank Attorney General Holder and Secretaries Salazar and Vilsack for their continued work to achieve this outcome. I urge the House to move forward with this legislation as they did earlier this year, and I look forward to signing it into law."

The bill now goes to the House, where it has passed twice as part of other legislation. A vote is expected after Thanksgiving.

"The U.S. House of Representatives still needs to pass the pending legislation. It has passed two previous bills approving the settlement," lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Nation of Montana, said in a statement. "Once this measure is signed by President Obama we will finally be able to return to the courts to begin the process of restoring funds to Indian people across the nation."

Get the Story:
U.S. Senate finally passes Cobell settlement (Missoula News 11/19)
U.S. Senate passes historic Cobell settlement, Crow water compact (The Clark Fork Chronicle 11/19)
Senate Approves Native American, Black Farmer Settlements (The National Journal 11/19)
Senate votes to fund $4.5B settlements (The Washington Post 11/20)
enate Approves Payment of Black Farmers’ Claims (The New York Times 11/20)
Senate Advances Billion-Dollar Settlements for Black Farmers, American Indians (The National Law Journal 11/22)

Cobell Settlement Documents:
Agreement | Press Release | Q&A | Audio

Related Stories:
Congress heads back to DC with Cobell settlement still in limbo (11/15)
Sen. Tester worried about finding money to pay Cobell settlement (11/05)
Justice Department honors attorneys who work on Cobell case (10/27)
Cobell calls $3.5B settlement 'best we're going to get' in case (10/18)
Judge hopes for 'one last chance' for Congress to support Cobell (10/15)
Opinion: Time to pass Cobell and African-American settlements (10/08)
Elouise Cobell provides update about state of trust settlement (10/4)
Cobell worried about ties to African-American farmers lawsuit (10/4)
Cobell settlement changed to give more money to beneficiaries (10/1)
Elouise Cobell statement on lack of Senate vote for settlement (9/30)
Republican opposition kills vote on Cobell settlement in Senate (9/30)
Cobell probably not included in stopgap appropriations measure (9/28)
Cobell not included in bill for African-American farmer settlement (9/27)
Editorial: Time running out for Senate to act on Cobell settlement (9/24)
Marty Two Bulls: Something stinky about Cobell trust settlement (9/24)
John Boyd: Cobell lawsuit delaying African-American settlement (9/23)
African-American farmers don't want settlement linked to Cobell (9/22)
Shakopee Tribe awards $50K grant for Cobell case documentary (9/20)
White House asks Congress to fund $3.4B Cobell trust settlement (9/16)
Elouise Cobell: Sen. Barrasso needs to work for trust settlement (9/13)
Obama calls trust fund settlement 'priority' at press conference (9/13)