11 1 (2) Any member of a Panel who is otherwise employed 2 by the Federal Government (including an employee of the 3 Smithsonian Institution) shall not receive additional compen4 sation for service on a Panel, but shall be eligible for reim5 bursement of expenses incurred by reason of such service. 6 7 PETITIONS FOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF STATUS SEC. 7. (a)(1) Any Indian group which satisfies the cri8 teria set out in subsection (c) or (d), including any Indian 9 tribe subject to any statute which terminates, or prohibits, 10 any special relationship between the Federal Government 11 and the Indian tribe, may submit a petition to the Director 12 seeking acknowledgment that the Indian group is an Indian 13 tribe. The petition may, at the election of the petitioner, be 14 submitted under the criteria set out in subsection (c) or under 15 the criteria set out in subsection (d). 16 17 18 19 222 23 24 25 26 (2) The provisions of this Act shall not apply to (A) splinter groups, political factions, communities, or groups of any character which separate from the main body of an Indian tribe after the Indian tribe has been acknowledged as being an Indian tribe by the Federal Government, unless it can be clearly established that the group has functioned from historical times until the present as an autonomous Indian tribal entity, or (B) an indigenous nation, tribe, band, village, community or organized Indian group acknowledged as 8 1 pervision and direction of the Director of the Office of Feder 2 al Acknowledgment. 3 (b)(1) The Director of the Office shall be appointed by 4 the President by and with the advice and consent of the 5 Senate. The Director shall 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 (A) be a person familiar with the historical, anthropological, and legal problems of Indian groups, (B) be appointed without regard to political affiliation, and (C) be removable for cause. (2) The term of office of the Director shall be 6 years. (3) The Director shall be responsible for day-to-day ad13 ministration of the Office, hiring, discharge, and supervision 14 of staff, financial management, and such other activities as 15 may be necessary to carry out the duties of the Director 16 under this Act. 17 (4) The Director shall appoint the staff of the Office pur18 suant to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, govern19 ing appointments in the competitive service. The Director 20 shall employ sufficient anthropologists, historians, and sup21 port staff to complete preliminary review of all petitions filed 22 under this Act and to comply with the time limitations im23 posed under this Act. 24 (c) The Director shall review all petitions submitted to, 25 or transferred to, the Director under this Act. 1 9 (d)(1) Upon the request of the Director, the head of any 2 Federal agency is authorized to detail personnel temporarily 3 to the Office to assist the Director in carrying out the duties 4 of the Director under this Act, unless otherwise prohibited by 5 law. The Director may also procure temporary and intermit6 tent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States 7 Code. 8 (2) Upon request of the Director, the head of any de9 partment or agency of the United States shall furnish such 10 information as the Director deems necessary to enable the 11 Director to carry out the duties of the Director under this 12 Act, unless otherwise prohibited by law. The Director shall 13 report any failure to comply with this subsection to the Con14 gress in any report submitted under section 11. 15 16 APPEALS PANELS SEC. 6. (a)(1) The Secretary shall compile a list of can17 didates to serve on Federal Acknowledgment Appeals 18 Panels. The number of individuals on the list shall be at the 19 discretion of the Secretary. 20 (2) The individuals placed on the list described in para21 graph (1) shall be experienced scholars in anthropology and 22 the history of the United States who have established nation23 al reputations. 24 (b)(1) Within 45 days of the receipt of comments chal : 25 lenging a ruling pursuant to section 8(e) or 9(d), the Secre26 tary shall appoint 3 individuals from the list described in subS 611 IS-2 10 1 section (a)(1) to serve on a Panel to review the ruling. No 2 appointment shall be made if the petitioner objects under sec 3 tion 9(e) to the referral of the ruling to a Panel. 4 5 6 བ 7 8 9 10 11 (2) The Secretary shall— (A) exercise discretion in appointing individuals to a Panel in order to avoid any appearance of impropriety or a conflict of interest based on any recent contractual employment with the United States, and (B) strive to ensure that each Panel reflects a broad range of historical and anthropological expertise. (3) Each petitioner may reject the appointment of one 12 individual to a Panel. If such right of rejection is exercised, 13 the Secretary shall select a substitute from the list described 14 in subsection (a)(1) in order to ensure that each Panel has 3 15 members. 16 (c) Each Panel shall establish its own meeting schedule 17 and methods of work. Meetings of a Panel to make a decision 18 shall be public, and opinions of any Panel shall be matters of 19 public record, but a Panel may hold meetings in executive 20 session. 21 (d)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), members of 22 each Panel shall be paid reasonable compensation fixed by 23 the Secretary, together with reimbursement for any expenses 24 incurred by reason of their service on a Panel. 11 1 (2) Any member of a Panel who is otherwise employed 2 by the Federal Government (including an employee of the 3 Smithsonian Institution) shall not receive additional compen4 sation for service on a Panel, but shall be eligible for reim5 bursement of expenses incurred by reason of such service. 6 7 PETITIONS FOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF STATUS SEC. 7. (a)(1) Any Indian group which satisfies the cri8 teria set out in subsection (c) or (d), including any Indian 9 tribe subject to any statute which terminates, or prohibits, 10 any special relationship between the Federal Government 11 and the Indian tribe, may submit a petition to the Director 12 seeking acknowledgment that the Indian group is an Indian 13 tribe. The petition may, at the election of the petitioner, be 14 submitted under the criteria set out in subsection (c) or under 15 the criteria set out in subsection (d). 16 17 18 19 20 21 222 (2) The provisions of this Act shall not apply to (A) splinter groups, political factions, communities, or groups of any character which separate from the main body of an Indian tribe after the Indian tribe has been acknowledged as being an Indian tribe by the Federal Government, unless it can be clearly estab lished that the group has functioned from historical 23 times until the present as an autonomous Indian tribal 24 25 26 entity, or (B) an indigenous nation, tribe, band, village, community or organized Indian group acknowledged as |