Native Americans to be reimbursed millions after victory at U.S. Supreme CourtJune 19, 2012 - 20:48 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the government to repay Native American tribes the costs of providing public services, in a ruling that could be worth millions of dollars, BBC News said. Under federal laws which allow the tribes to manage their own affairs, the government must reimburse them for the costs of these facilities. But between 1994-2001 the Congress failed to allocate enough money. The tribes will now be paid in the same way as any private contractor. In the 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that the Navajo Indians and several other tribes must be paid in full for the services they provided in 1994-2001, including education, environmental protection and security. It said that it was not the fault of the tribes that Congress had imposed a ceiling on such payments because of the lack of funds. "The government was obligated to pay the tribes' contract support costs in full," the court said in the ruling. The federal payments reportedly covered between 77% and 92% of the costs, depriving the plaintiffs of hundreds of millions of dollars. The verdict is a major victory for the tribes, but the decision also has implications for contractors in general, as the court said the government has to abide by its promises. If a service had been performed, the court said, then it was not good enough simply to say the money was not there, BBC News reported. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Welcome to CaseKey 2024. Byblos Bank Armenia firmly stands by future innovators Strategic business cases, invaluable experience, innovative approaches and more than 25 events are in store for the participants of CaseKey 2024. Macron honors Charles Aznavour on 100th anniversary French President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to the memory of French-Armenian crooner Charles Aznavour. Blinken says U.S. reviewing a number of aid requests from Armenia He said the U.S. is reviewing the requests to determine what more it can do to increase its assistance to Armenia. At least 2 CSTO members participated in preparing 44-day war against Armenia – PM Nikol Pashinyan has declared that at least two CSTO member countries participated in preparations for the 44-day war against Armenia. |