First, here’s a link to my Tribal Scene Radio interview on the Cobell vs. Salazar suit, which aired Friday morning on KBGA.

Now, on to the print news: The House of Representatives on Friday voted on Friday for tax and job bill that included approval of the Cobell settlement, a class-action suit affecting about a half million Indian landowners.

The 215-204 vote marks a critical marker in the Cobell vs. Salazar suit, which the Obama administration agreed to settle after 14 years of federal litigation. The Cobell settlement was piggybacked with the Pigford settlement, a suit filed on behalf of black farmers. The Sentate still needs to bear a stamp of approval. The senators will return after a week-long Memorial Day recess.

“Today, the House passed an important package of measures that would bring much-needed relief to our nation’s families and businesses during these hard economic times,” said President Obama in statement from the White House. “The bill extends vital unemployment benefits to help those Americans who are fighting to find a good job, and provides tax cuts for individuals and businesses to help support the economic recovery. It helps extend Small Business Administration lending efforts so our nation’s small businesses can get the credit they need to create jobs and grow. And it includes funding to settle the long-standing discrimination claims that African-American farmers have had against the federal government and to resolve the Cobell case, helping address these painful chapters in our history.”

Lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell, a community development director in Browning, Mont., praised passage of the bill.

“Since the U.S. House of Representatives has approved H.R. 4213 – The American Jobs, Closing Tax Loopholes and Preventing Outsourcing Act, which authorizes the Cobell settlement, we want to give the Senate an opportunity to do the same upon its return from the recess,” said Cobell. “In light of the flood of calls received by plaintiffs’ counsel from class members asking that we ensure finalization of this settlement, the parties have agreed to extend the May deadline for enacting legislation authorizing the settlement to June 15, 2010. I look forward to working with the Senate on this legislation.”

“We are grateful to the House for its action today,” said Cobell. “I would especially like to thank Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, House Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall of West Virginia, Tom Cole of Oklahoma, Norman Dicks of Washington, Sander Levin and Dale Kildee of Michigan, Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota and Denny Rehberg of Montana for their assistance.”

Cobell is entitled to recover up to $15 million in expenses incurred over the past 14 years in connection with this lawsuit.

The Blog of Legal Times reports : “Senior Judge James Robertson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia had been hinting at a confrontation with lawmakers if they did not act. In an April 8 hearing, Robertson extended a deadline for the $1.41 billion Cobell settlement until the end of May and said he would invite members of Congress to a hearing if they had not acted by then. That case involves lost royalty funds flowing from the use of natural resources on Indian land. D.C. solo practitioner Dennis Gingold, another lead attorney for the Cobell plaintiffs, also said he was pleased with the House vote. “They got it done,” he said.Three weeks ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tried unsuccessfully to attach the settlements to disaster-relief legislation.”

Jodi Rave