[Senate Prints 107-105]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


107th Congress                                                  S. Prt.
                            COMMITTEE PRINT                     
 2d Session                                                     107-105
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

 
                   HISTORY, JURISDICTION, AND SUMMARY
                       OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES
                                 OF THE
                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                      COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS

                               DURING THE

                      ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS

                               2001-2002


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TONGRESS.#13



         Printed for the use of the Committee on Indian Affairs


                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
97-232                      WASHINGTON : 2004
____________________________________________________________________________
For Sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov  Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; (202) 512ï¿½091800  
Fax: (202) 512ï¿½092250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402ï¿½090001


                      COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS

                   DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Chairman

            BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado, Vice Chairman

KENT CONRAD, North Dakota            FRANK MURKOWSKI, Alaska
HARRY REID, Nevada                   JOHN McCAIN, Arizona,
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii              PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico
PAUL WELLSTONE, Minnesota            CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming
BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota        ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah
TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota            JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington

        Patricia M. Zell, Majority Staff Director/Chief Counsel

         Paul Moorehead, Minority Staff Director/Chief Counsel

                                  (ii)

  
                  I. HISTORY AND JURISDICTION

    A. Summary. In 1977, the Senate re-established the 
Committee on Indian Affairs, making it a temporary Select 
Committee [February 4, 1977, S. Res. 4, Sec. 105, 95th 
Congress., 1st Sess. (1977), as amended]. The select committee 
was to disband at the close of the 95th Congress, but following 
several term extensions, the Senate voted to make the committee 
permanent on June 6, 1984. The committee has jurisdiction to 
study the unique problems of American Indian, Native Hawaiian, 
and Alaska Native peoples and to propose legislation to 
alleviate these difficulties. These issues include, but are not 
limited to, Indian education, economic development, land 
management, trust responsibilities, health care, and claims 
against the United States. Additionally, all legislation 
proposed by Members of the Senate that specifically pertains to 
American Indians, Native Hawaiians, or Alaska Natives is under 
the jurisdiction of the committee.
    B. History. Until 1946, when a legislative reorganization 
act abolished both the House and Senate Committees on Indian 
Affairs, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs had been in 
existence since the early 19th century. After 1946, Indian 
affairs legislative and oversight jurisdiction was vested in 
subcommittees of the Interior and Insular Affairs Committees of 
the House of Representatives and the Senate. While this 
subcommittee arrangement may not have specifically reflected a 
diminishment of the consideration given Indian affairs by the 
Congress, the revised arrangement historically coincided with a 
20-year hiatus in Indian affairs known as the ``Termination 
Era''--a period in which the prevailing policy of the United 
States was to terminate the Federal relationship with Indian 
tribes or transfer jurisdiction over tribal lands to the 
States.
    By the mid-1960's, this Termination philosophy was in 
decline as a failed policy and the Congress began to include 
Indian tribes in legislation designed to rebuild the social 
infrastructure of the Nation and provide economic opportunities 
for economically-depressed areas. In the early 1970's the 
Termination era was decisively ended with the enactment of the 
Menominee Restoration Act of 1973. Although a number of 
important legislative initiatives affecting Indians were 
enacted in the early 1970's, it became clear that the existing 
subcommittee structure was not providing an adequate forum for 
legislating appropriate solutions to problems confronting 
Indian country. Legislative jurisdiction over Indian affairs 
was fragmented among a number of committees. Overall, more than 
10 committees in the Congress were responsible for Indian 
affairs, a situation which resulted in a sometimes disjointed 
treatment of Indian affairs and in an often haphazard 
development of Federal Indian policy.
    C. Re-establishment of committee. In 1973, Senator James 
Abourezk introduced S.J. Res. 133 to establish a Federal 
commission to review all aspects of policy, law, and 
administration relating to affairs of the United States with 
American Indian tribes and people. The Senate and the House of 
Representatives both adopted S.J. Res. 133 and on January 2, 
1975, the Resolution was signed into law by the President, thus 
establishing the American Indian Policy Review Commission 
[Public Law 93-580]. As the work of this Commission progressed, 
it became readily apparent that a full Senate committee with 
full legislative and oversight authority was needed to receive 
the report of the American Indian Policy Review Commission and 
to act upon its recommendations. Indeed, one of the final 
recommendations of the Commission was that a full-fledged 
Committee on Indian Affairs be established in the Senate.
    At the same time the Commission was formulating its 
recommendation for the establishment of an Committee on Indian 
Affairs, the Senate was developing a far-reaching proposal for 
reorganization of the entire Senate committee system. Under 
this proposal, the Subcommittee on Indian Affairs under the 
Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs was to be abolished 
with its natural resource functions to be distributed among 
other newly formed Senate committees and its human resources 
functions to be transferred to the Senate Committee on Labor 
and Human Resources.
    In view of the pending report of the American Indian Policy 
Review Commission and its anticipated recommendations, however, 
the Senate revamped its committee reorganization proposal to 
include the establishment of a temporary select committee to 
receive the Commission's report and to act on its 
recommendations. Thus, there was included within S. Res. 4 of 
February 4, 1977, the Committee System Reorganization 
Amendments of 1977, a provision to establish a Select Committee 
on Indian Affairs with full jurisdiction over all proposed 
legislation and other matters relating to Indian affairs. With 
the commencement of the 96th Congress, the Select Committee on 
Indian Affairs was to expire and jurisdiction over Indian 
matters was to be transferred to the Senate Committee on Labor 
and Human Resources.
    As the Select Committee on Indian Affairs grappled with the 
report of the American Indian Policy Review Commission and the 
many other Indian issues that were presented to it during the 
95th Congress, it became increasingly evident that if the 
Congress was to continue to meet its constitutional, legal, and 
historical responsibilities in the area of Indian affairs, an 
ongoing legislative committee with adequate expertise and 
resources should be re-established in the Senate.
    S. Res. 405, to make the Select Committee on Indian Affairs 
a permanent committee of the Senate, was introduced by Senator 
Abourezk on February 22, 1978. The measure was amended by the 
Rules Committee to extend the life of the committee for 2 years 
until January 2, 1981, and was agreed to by the Senate on 
October 14, 1978. In the 96th Congress, Senator John Melcher, 
who was at the time chairman of the Select Committee on Indian 
Affairs, introduced S. Res. 448 to make it a permanent 
committee. The resolution had 28 cosponsors, and was reported 
by the Rules Committee with an amendment to extend the select 
committee to January 2, 1984, and to expand the membership to 
seven members commencing in the 97th Congress. S. Res. 448 was 
adopted by the Senate on December 11, 1980.
    D. Permanent committee. On April 28, 1983, Senator Mark 
Andrews, chairman of the Select Committee on Indian Affairs in 
the 98th Congress, introduced S. Res. 127 to make the committee 
a permanent committee. This resolution had 28 cosponsors. On 
November 1, 1983, the Committee on Rules and Administration 
voted unanimously to report the resolution without amendment, 
and the resolution was so reported on November 2, 1983 [S. 
Rept. 98-294].
    On November 18, the last day of the first session of the 
98th Congress, the Senate agreed to an extension of the select 
committee to July 1, 1984, in order to allow time for later 
debate. By the time the resolution was brought to the floor for 
consideration there were 60 cosponsors. On June 4, 1984, the 
Select Committee on Indian Affairs was made a permanent 
committee of the Senate [S. Res. 127, 98th Congress, 2d sess.]. 
In 1993, the Select Committee on Indian Affairs was re-
designated as the Committee on Indian Affairs [Sec. 25, S. Res. 
71, 103d Cong., 1st sess.].
    E. Committee membership. The number of members serving on 
the committee has expanded since its formation in 1977. At the 
time the committee was formed in the 95th Congress, there were 
five members. The membership remained at five in the 96th 
Congress, but grew to seven in the 97th Congress and the 98th 
Congress. The membership increased to nine in the 99th 
Congress, and by the 101st Congress, the committee membership 
grew to 10. In the 102d Congress the membership of the 
committee expanded to 16 members. A further increase occurred 
in the beginning of the 103d Congress when the membership was 
expanded to 18.
    In the 104th Congress, the Senate named 17 of its members 
to serve on the committee, and elected Senator John McCain as 
chairman and Senator Daniel K. Inouye as vice chairman. In the 
106th Congress and the 107th Congress, the committee membership 
totaled 15. In May 2001 Senator Jim Jeffords left the 
Republican party to become an Independent. At that time Senator 
Campbell relinquished the chairmanship of the committee and 
Senator Inouye became chairman, presiding over the 15-member 
committee.

 II. JURISDICTION AND RULES OF THE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS

      A. Excerpts from Senate Resolution 4. The Committee System 
 Reorganization Amendments of 1977 were amended and revised to reflect 
     membership and designations applicable to the 107th Congress.

    Committee on Indian Affairs, to which committee shall be 
referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, 
memorials, and other matters relating to Indian affairs:
        Sec. 105(a)(1) There is established a Committee on 
        Indian Affairs [hereafter in this section referred to 
        as the ``committee''] which shall consist of 17 
        members, 9 to be appointed by the President of the 
        Senate, upon the recommendation of the majority leader, 
        from among members of the majority party and 7 to be 
        appointed by the President of the Senate, upon 
        recommendation of the minority leader, from among the 
        members of the minority party. The committee shall 
        select a chairman from among its members.
        (2) A majority of the members of the committee shall 
        constitute a quorum thereof for the transaction of 
        business, except that the committee may fix a lesser 
        number as a quorum for the purpose of taking testimony. 
        The committee shall adopt rules of procedure not 
        inconsistent with this section and the rules of the 
        Senate governing standing committees of the Senate.
        (3) Vacancies in the membership of the committee shall 
        not affect the authority of the remaining members to 
        execute the functions of the committee.
        (4) For purposes of paragraph 6 of rule XXV of the 
        Standing Rules of the Senate, service of a Senator as a 
        member or chairman of the committee shall not be taken 
        into account.
        (b)(1) All proposed legislation, messages, petitions, 
        memorials, and other matters relating to Indian affairs 
        shall be referred to the committee.
        (2) It shall be the duty of the committee to conduct a 
        study of any and all matters pertaining to problems and 
        opportunities of Indians, including but not limited to, 
        Indian land management and trust responsibilities, 
        Indian education, health, special services, and loan 
        programs, and Indian claims against the United States.
        (3) The committee shall from time to time report to the 
        Senate, by bill or otherwise within its jurisdiction.
        (c)(1) For the purposes of this resolution, the 
        committee is authorized, in its discretion, (A) to make 
        investigations into any matter within its jurisdiction, 
        (B) to make expenditures from the contingent fund of 
        the Senate, (C) to employ personnel, (D) to hold 
        hearings, (E) to sit and act at any time or place 
        during the sessions, recesses, and adjourned periods of 
        the Senate, (F) to require, by subpoena or otherwise, 
        the attendance of witnesses and the production of 
        correspondence, books, papers, and documents, (G) to 
        take depositions and other testimony, (H) to procure 
        the services of individual consultants or organizations 
        thereof, in accordance with the provisions of section 
        202(i) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, 
        and (I) with the prior consent of the Government 
        department or agency concerned and the Committee on 
        Rules and Administration, to use on a reimbursable 
        basis the services of personnel of any such department 
        or agency.
        (2) The chairman of the committee or any member thereof 
        may administer oaths to witnesses.
        (3) Subpoenas authorized by the committee may be issued 
        over the signature of the chairman, or any member of 
        the committee designated by the chairman, and may be 
        served by any person designated by the chairman or any 
        member signing the subpoena.

              B. Rules of the Committee on Indian Affairs

    Senate Standing Rule XXVI requires each committee to adopt 
rules to govern the procedures of the committee and to publish 
those rules in the Congressional Record not later than March 1 
of the first year of each Congress. On February 28, 2001, the 
Committee on Indian Affairs held a business meeting during 
which the members of the committee unanimously adopted rules to 
govern the procedures of the committee. The rules as adopted 
follow.

                            COMMITTEE RULES

    Rule 1. The Standing Rules of the Senate, S. Res. 4, and 
the provisions of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, 
as amended by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, to 
the extent the provisions of such act are applicable to the 
Committee on Indian Affairs and supplemented by these rules, 
are adopted as the rules of the committee.

                       MEETINGS OF THE COMMITTEE

    Rule 2. The committee shall meet on the first Tuesday of 
each month while the Congress is in session for the purpose of 
conducting business, unless for the convenience of the members, 
the chairman shall set some other day for a meeting. Additional 
meetings may be called by the chairman as he may deem 
necessary.

                       OPEN HEARINGS AND MEETINGS

    Rule 3. Hearings and business meetings of the committee 
shall be open to the public except when the chairman by a 
majority vote orders a closed hearing or meeting.

                           HEARING PROCEDURE

    Rule 4(a). Public notice shall be given of the date, place 
and subject matter of any hearing to be held by the committee 
at least one week in advance of such hearing unless the 
chairman of the committee determines that the hearing is 
noncontroversial or that special circumstances require 
expedited procedures and a majority of the Committee involved 
concurs. In no case shall a hearing be conducted with less than 
24 hours notice.
    (b). Each witness who is to appear before the committee 
shall file with the committee, at least 72 hours in advance of 
the hearing, an original and 75 printed copies of his or her 
written testimony. In addition, each witness shall provide an 
electronic copy of the testimony on a computer disk formatted 
and suitable for use by the committee.
    (c). Each member shall be limited to 5 minutes in 
questioning of any witness until such times as all members who 
so desire have had an opportunity to question the witness 
unless the committee shall decide otherwise.
    (d). the chairman and vice chairman or the ranking majority 
and minority members present at the hearing may each appoint 
one committee staff member to question each witness. Such staff 
member may question the witness only after all members present 
have completed their questioning of the witness or at such time 
as the chairman and vice chairman or the ranking majority and 
minority members present may agree.

                        BUSINESS MEETING AGENDA

    Rule 5(a). A legislative measure or subject shall be 
included in the agenda of the next following business meeting 
of the committee if a written request by a member for such 
inclusion has been filed with the chairman of the committee at 
least 1 week prior to such meeting. Nothing in this rule shall 
be construed to limit the authority of the chairman of the 
committee to include legislative measures or subject on the 
committee agenda in the absence of such request.
    (b). Notice of, and the agenda for, any business meeting of 
the committee shall be provided to each member and made 
available to the public at least 2 days prior to such meeting, 
and no new items may be added after the agenda is published 
except by the approval of a majority of the members of the 
committee. The clerk shall promptly notify absent members of 
any action taken by the committee on matters not included in 
the published agenda.

                                 QUORUM

    Rule 6(a). Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), 8 
members shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business 
of the committee. Consistent with Senate rules, a quorum is 
presumed to be present unless the absence of a quorum is noted 
by a member.
    (b). A measure may be ordered reported from the committee 
unless an objection is made by a member, in which case a 
recorded vote of the members shall be required.
    (c). One member shall constitute a quorum for the purpose 
of conducting a hearing or taking testimony on any measure 
before the committee.

                                 VOTING

    Rule 7(a). A recorded vote of the members shall be taken 
upon the request of any member.
    (b). Proxy voting shall be permitted on all matters, except 
that proxies may not be counted for the purpose of determining 
the presence of a quorum. Unless further limited, a proxy shall 
be exercised only for the date for which it is given and upon 
the terms published in the agenda for that date.

                SWORN TESTIMONY AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

    Rule 8. Witnesses in committee hearings may be required to 
give testimony under oath whenever the chairman or vice 
chairman of the committee deems it to be necessary. At any 
hearing to confirm a Presidential nomination, the testimony of 
the nominee, and at the request of any member, any other 
witness, shall be under oath. Every nominee shall submit a 
financial statement, on forms to be perfected by the Committee, 
which shall be sworn to by the nominee as to its completeness 
and accuracy. All such statements shall be made public by the 
committee unless the committee, in executive session, 
determines that special circumstances require a full or partial 
exception to this rule. Members of the committee are urged to 
make public a complete disclosure of their financial interests 
on forms to be perfected by the committee in the manner 
required in the case of Presidential nominees.

                         CONFIDENTIAL TESTIMONY

    Rule 9. No confidential testimony taken by, or confidential 
material presented to the committee or any report of the 
proceedings of a closed committee hearing or business meeting 
shall be made public in whole or in part by way of summary, 
unless authorized by a majority of the members of the committee 
at a business meeting called for the purpose of making such a 
determination.

                         DEFAMATORY STATEMENTS

    Rule 10. Any person whose name is mentioned or who is 
specifically identified in, or who believes that testimony or 
other evidence presented at, an open committee hearing tends to 
defame him or her or otherwise adversely affect his or her 
reputation may file with the Committee for its consideration 
and action a sworn statement of facts relevant to such 
testimony of evidence.

                  BROADCASTING OF HEARINGS OR MEETINGS

    Rule 11. Any meeting or hearing by the committee which is 
open to the public may be covered in whole or in part by 
television, radio broadcast, or still photography. 
Photographers and reporters using mechanical recording, 
filming, or broadcasting devices shall position their equipment 
so as not to interfere with the sight, vision, and hearing of 
members and staff on the dais or with the orderly process of 
the meeting or hearing.

                           AMENDING THE RULES

    Rule 12. These rules may be amended only by a vote of a 
majority of all the members of the committee in a business 
meeting of the committee; Provided, that no vote may be taken 
on any proposed amendment unless such amendment is reproduced 
in full in the committee agenda for such meeting at least 7 
days in advance of such meeting.

  III. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES FOR THE 107th CONGRESS

    A. Overview. In the 107th Congress, a total of 52 bills and 
3 resolutions were referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 
for consideration. The committee reported to the Senate for 
action a total of 22 bills and 2 resolutions; 4 of the bills 
reported by the committee became public law. The committee also 
reported the nomination of 3 Presidential appointees who were 
subsequently confirmed by the Senate.
    The committee held 55 hearings, 21 of which were oversight 
hearings with some involving multiple bills or issues. Several 
of the meetings were field hearings taking the committee to 
locations throughout the Indian country.
    While the bills and resolutions considered by and acted 
upon by the committee covered a variety of issues, the 
foregoing statistics do not adequately reflect much of the 
committee's major activities during the 107th Congress. A 
number of bills that were considered by the committee were 
incorporated into multi-title legislation and enacted into law 
as part of other broader legislation, and action on a number of 
bills referred to the committee was made unnecessary by other 
action on similar companion legislation.
    Similarly, the committee was substantially involved in 
efforts to develop proposals that were under consideration or 
incorporated within omnibus legislation over which other 
committees of the Senate had jurisdiction. For example, the 
committee considered measures aimed at improving education for 
Native youth; legislation to assist in tribes in developing 
their energy resources; a bill to improve small business 
development on reservation lands; initiatives to improve the 
telecommunications infrastructure in Indian country; and 
others.
    The committee also was actively involved through hearings, 
interactions with other committees, and floor consideration, in 
the budget resolutions and appropriations measures affecting 
Federal Indian programs during both the first and second 
sessions of the 107th Congress. Legislative proposals to amend 
or reform principles of Federal Indian law included, the 
management of Indian tribal trust fund accounts, Native 
American housing, Indian land consolidation and probate reform, 
small business and economic development, tribal land and water 
rights settlements, and proposals to reform the process for 
Federal recognition of Indian tribes within the Department of 
the Interior.
    B. Legislation reported and enacted into law. A number of 
the bills over which the committee exercised its jurisdiction 
were reported by the committee and signed into law by the 
President. These include bills to improve education for 
Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Alaskan Natives [S. 211, Public 
Law 107-110]; a bill to re-authorize the Native American 
Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 [S. 1210, 
S. Rept. 107-246, Public Law 107-292]; a bill to amend the 
Indian Financing Act of 1974 to improve the effectiveness of 
the Indian Loan Guaranty and Insurance program [S. 2017, S. 
Rept. 107-249, Public Law 107-331]; and a bill to Encourage the 
Negotiated Settlement of Tribal Claims [S. 1857, Public Law 
107-153].
    C. Legislation reported by the committee. A number of the 
bills over which the committee has jurisdiction were reported 
by the committee but were not enacted into law. These measures 
include: A bill to amend the Native Hawaiian Health Care 
Improvement Act [S. 87, S. Rept. 107-56]; A bill to amend the 
Native American Languages Act to provide for the support of 
Native American Language survival Schools [S. 91]; a bill to 
authorize the integration and consolidation of alcohol and 
substance abuse programs and services provided by Indian tribal 
governments [S. 210, S. Rept. 107-250]; a bill to elevate the 
position of director of the Indian Health Service within the 
Department of Health and Human Services to Assistant Secretary 
for Indian Health, [S. 214]; A bill to establish a 
demonstration project to authorize the integration and 
coordination of Federal funding dedicated to the community, 
business, and economic development of Native American 
communities [S. 343, S. Rept. 324]; a bill to provide equitable 
compensation to the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota and the 
Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska for the loss of value of certain 
lands [S. 434]; a bill to express the policy of the United 
States regarding the United States relationship with Native 
Hawaiians and to provide a process for the recognition by the 
United States of the Native Hawaiian governing entity [S. 746]; 
a bill to provide for the use and distribution of the funds 
awarded to the Western Shoshone identifiable group under Indian 
Claims Commission Docket Numbers 326-A-1, 326-A-3, 326-K [S. 
958, S. Rept. 107-297]; A bill to provide for the use and 
distribution of the funds awarded to the Quinault Indian Nation 
under United States Claims Court Dockets 772-72, 773-71, and 
775-71 9S. 1308, S. Rept. 107-252]; a bill to amend the Indian 
Land Consolidation Act to provide for probate reform with 
respect to trust or restricted lands [S. 1340]; a bill to 
provide training and technical assistance to Native Americans 
who are interested in commercial vehicle driving careers [S. 
1344, S. Rept. 107-248]; a bill to establish the T'uf Shur Bien 
Preservation Trust Area within the Cibola National Forest in 
the State of New Mexico to resolve a land claim involving the 
Sandia Mountain Wilderness [S. 2018, S. Rept. 107-321]; a bill 
to re-authorize and improve programs relating to Native 
Americans [S. 2711, S. Rept. 107-247]; a bill to approve the 
settlement of the water rights claims of the Zuni Indian Tribe 
in Apache County, AZ [S. 2743, S. Rept. 107-301]; a bill to 
provide for the use of and distribution of certain funds 
awarded to the Gila River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community [S. 
2799, S. Rept. 107-298]; a bill to protect certain lands held 
in fee by the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians from 
condemnation until a final decision is made by the Secretary of 
the Interior regarding a pending fee to trust application for 
that land [S. 2989, S. Rept. 107-299]; a bill to provide for 
the distribution of judgment funds to the Assiniboine and Sioux 
Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation [S. 3059, S. Rept. 107-
313]; a bill to amend laws relating to the lands of the 
enrollees and lineal descendants of enrollees whose names 
appear on the final Indian rolls of the Muscogee [Creek], 
Seminole, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Nations 
[historically referred to as the Five Civilized Tribes], [H.R. 
2880].
    D. Legislation given active consideration. A wide variety 
of bills were given active consideration by the committee. In 
the 107th Congress, Economic Development in Indian Country was 
the subject of several committee hearings. Areas such as Indian 
Reservation Small Business Development, the BIA Loan Guaranty 
Program, Native American Housing, Tribal Good Governance 
Practices, and Telecommunications Infrastructure were the 
subject of several hearings.
    The committee also considered several Indian Water Rights 
Settlement bills including the Zuni Indian Tribe of Arizona; 
and several land settlement claims such as the Three Affiliated 
Tribes and Standing Rock Sioux Tribes, the Hoopa and Yurok 
Tribes of California, and the Bay Mills Indian Community of 
Michigan.
    The committee also spent significant time reviewing the 
Department of the Interior's management of the Indian Tribal 
Trust Fund Accounts and the role of the Special Trustee for 
American Indians.
    Another area of major committee focus was the issue of 
Federal recognition. Hearings were held on the procedure of the 
Federal recognition process and legislative proposals to reform 
and improve the procedures for the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
with respect to tribal recognition.
    E. Legislation referred to the committee. A wide variety of 
measures were introduced and referred to the committee 
including:
    1. S. Res. 46, an original resolution authorizing 
expenditures by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
    2. S. Res. 321, a resolution commemorating the 30th 
Anniversary of the founding of the American Indian Higher 
Education Consortium [AIHEC].
    3. S. 81, a bill to express the policy of the United States 
regarding the United States relationship with Native Hawaiians, 
to provide a process for the reorganization of a Native 
Hawaiian Government and the recognition by the United States of 
the Native Hawaiian Government, and for other purposes.
    4. S. 87, a bill to amend the Native Hawaiian Health Care 
Improvement Act to revise and extend such act.
    5. S. 91, a bill to amend the Native American Languages Act 
to provide for the support of Native American Language Survival 
Schools, and for other purposes.
    6. S. 210, a bill to authorize the integration and 
consolidation of alcohol and substance abuse programs and 
services provided by Indian tribal governments, and for other 
purposes.
    7. S. 211, a bill to amend the Education Amendments of 1978 
and the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988 to improve 
education for Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Alaskan Natives.
    8. S. 212, a bill to amend the Indian Health Care 
Improvement Act to revise and extend such act.
    9. S. 214, a bill to elevate the position of Director of 
the Indian Health Service within the Department of Health and 
Human Services to Assistant Secretary for Indian Health, and 
for other purposes.
    10. S. 243, a bill to provide for the issuance of bonds to 
provide funding for the construction of schools of the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior, and for 
other purposes.
    11. S. 266, a bill regarding the use of the trust land and 
resources of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs 
Reservation of Oregon.
    12. S. 340, a bill to recruit and retain more qualified 
individuals to teach in Tribal Colleges or Universities.
    13. S. 343, a bill to establish a demonstration project to 
authorize the integration and coordination of Federal funding 
dedicated to the community, business, and economic development 
of Native American communities.
    14. S. 344, a bill to amend the Transportation Equity Act 
for the 21st Century to make certain amendments with respect to 
Indian tribes.
    15. S. 434, a bill to provide equitable compensation to the 
Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota and the Santee Sioux Tribe 
of Nebraska for the loss of value of certain lands.
    16. S. 493, a bill to provide for the establishment of a 
Sioux Nation Economic Development Council.
    17. S. 502, a bill to provide for periodic Indian needs 
assessments, to require Federal Indian program evaluations, and 
for other purposes.
    18. S. 504, a bill for administrative procedures to extend 
Federal recognition to certain Indian groups, and for other 
purposes.
    19. S. 533, a bill to provide for the equitable settlement 
of certain Indian land disputes regarding land in Illinois.
    20. S. 535, a bill to amend title XIX of the Social 
Security Act to clarify that Indian women with breast or 
cervical cancer who are eligible for health services provided 
under a medical care program of the Indian Health Service or of 
a tribal organization are included in the optional Medicaid 
eligibility category of breast or cervical cancer patients 
added by the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and 
Treatment Act of 2000.
    21. S. 746, a bill to express the policy of the United 
States regarding the United States relationship with Native 
Hawaiians and to provide a process for the recognition by the 
United States of the Native Hawaiian governing entity, and for 
other purposes.
    22. S. 761, a bill to provide loans for the improvement of 
telecommunications services on Indian reservations.
    23. S. 832, a bill to amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory 
Act, and for other purposes.
    24. S. 934, a bill to require the Secretary of the Interior 
to construct the Rocky Boy's North Central Montana Regional 
Water System in the State of Montana, to offer to enter into an 
agreement with the Chippewa Cree Tribe to plan, design, 
construct, operate, maintain and replace the Rocky Boy's Rural 
Water System, and to provide assistance to the North Central 
Montana Regional Water Authority for the planning, design, and 
construction of the noncore system, and for other purposes.
    25. S. 958, a bill to provide for the use and distribution 
of the funds awarded to the Western Shoshone identifiable group 
under Indian Claims Commission Docket Numbers 326-A-1, 326-A-3, 
326-K, and for other purposes.
    26. S. 1210, a bill to re-authorize the Native American 
Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996.
    27. S. 1308, a bill to provide for the use and distribution 
of the funds awarded to the Quinault Indian Nation under United 
States Claims Court Dockets 772-72, 773-71, and 775-71, and for 
other purposes.
    28. S. 1321, a bill to authorize the construction of a 
Native American Cultural Center and Museum in Oklahoma City, 
Oklahoma.
    29. S. 1340, a bill to amend the Indian Land Consolidation 
Act to provide for probate reform with respect to trust or 
restricted lands.
    30. S. 1344, a bill to provide training and technical 
assistance to Native Americans who are interested in commercial 
vehicle driving careers.
    31. S. 1392, a bill to establish procedures for the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior with 
respect to tribal recognition.
    32. S. 1393, a bill to provide grants to ensure full and 
fair participation in certain decisionmaking processes at the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs.
    33. S. 1783, a bill expressing the policy of the United 
States regarding the United States relationship with Native 
Hawaiians and to provide a process for the recognition by the 
United States of the Native Hawaiian governing entity, and of 
other purposes.
    34. S. 1857, a bill to encourage the negotiated settlement 
of Tribal claims.
    35. S. 2017, a bill to amend the Indian Financing Act of 
1974 to improve the effectiveness of the Indian loan guarantee 
and insurance program.
    36. S. 2018, a bill to establish the T'uf Shur Bien 
Preservation Trust Area within the Cibola National Forest in 
the State of New Mexico to resolve a land claim involving the 
Sandia Mountain Wilderness, and for other purposes.
    37. S. 2212, a bill to establish a direct line of authority 
for the Office of Trust Reform Implementations and Oversight to 
oversee the management and reform of Indian trust funds and 
assets under the jurisdiction of the Department of the 
Interior, and to advance tribal management of such funds and 
assets, pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination Act and for 
other purposes.
    38. S. 2567, a bill to provide for equitable compensation 
of the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation in 
settlement of claims of the tribe concerning the contribution 
of the tribe to the production of hydro power by the Grand 
Coulee Dam, and for other purposes.
    39. S. 2694, a bill to extend Federal recognition to the 
Chickahominy Tribe, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe--Eastern 
Division, the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, the Rappahannock Tribe, 
Inc., the Monacan Tribe, and the Nansemond Tribe.
    40. S. 2711, a bill to re-authorize and improve programs 
relating to Native Americans.
    41. S. 2743, a bill to approve the settlement of the water 
rights claims of the Zuni Indian Tribe in Apache County, AZ, 
and for other purposes.
    42. S. 2799, a bill to provide for the use of and 
distribution of certain funds awarded to the Gila River Pima-
Maricopa Indian Community, and for other purposes.
    43. S. 2921, a bill to encourage Native contracting over 
the management of Federal lands, and for other purposes.
    44. S. 2971, a bill to amend the Transportation Equity Act 
for the 21st Century to provide the Highway Trust Fund 
additional funding for Indian reservation roads, and for other 
purposes.
    45. S. 2974, a bill to provide that land which is owned by 
the Seminole Tribe of Florida but which is not held in trust by 
the United States for the Tribe may be mortgaged, leased, or 
transferred by the Tribe without further approval by the United 
States.
    46. S. 2986, a bill to provide for and approve the 
settlement of certain land claims of the Bay Mills Indian 
Community, Michigan.
    47. S. 2989, a bill to protect certain lands held in fee by 
the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians from condemnation 
until a final decision is made by the Secretary of the Interior 
regarding a pending fee to trust application for that land.
    48. S. 3059, a bill to provide for the distribution of 
judgment funds to the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort 
Peck Reservation.
    49. S. 3066, a bill to improve programs relating to Indian 
tribes.
    50. H. Con. Res. 270, expressing the sense of Congress that 
Americans should take time during Native American Heritage 
Month to recognize the many accomplishments and contributions 
made by native peoples.
    51. H.R. 483, a bill regarding the use of the trust land 
and resources of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs 
Reservation of Oregon.
    52. H.R. 1913, a bill to require the valuation of non-
tribal interest ownership of subsurface rights within the 
boundaries of the Acoma Indian Reservation, and for other 
purposes.
    53. H.R. 1937, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to engage in certain feasibility studies of water 
resource projects in the State of Washington.
    54. H.R. 2880, a bill to amend laws relating to the lands 
of the enrollees and lineal descendants of enrollees whose 
names appear on the final Indian rolls of the Muscogee [Creek], 
Seminole, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Nations 
[historically referred to as the Five Civilized Tribes], and 
for other purposes.
    55. H.R. 4938, a bill to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, to conduct a 
feasibility study to determine the most feasible method of 
developing a safe and adequate municipal, rural, and industrial 
water supply for the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska, and for 
other purposes.
    F. Oversight Activity. A substantial portion of the 
committee's hearing and investigatory energy was devoted to 
carrying out its authority and responsibility to provide 
oversight of the executive branch's implementation of Federal 
Indian law and policy. Many of the hearings led to the 
development of corrective legislation which was the subject of 
further committee activity during the 107th Congress.
    The hearings touched on a wide range of issues, including 
Indian tribal trust fund management reform; Native American 
housing; business and economic development on Indian lands; 
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act issues; Federal recognition of 
Indian tribes; welfare reform and impacts in Native 
communities; Indian land and water rights and settlement 
legislation; problems with Native youth; Indian tribal self 
governance; the role of the Special Trustee for American 
Indians within the Department of the Interior; confirmation 
hearings on the nominations to head the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, Department of the Interior, the National Indian Gaming 
Commission, Department of the Interior, the Administration of 
Native Americans, the Department of Health and Human Services; 
goals and priorities of tribal governments from various regions 
across the country; telecommunications on Indian reservation 
lands; and others.
                    IV. COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES

                     107th Congress, First Session

    A. Committee Hearings and Markups
    January 31, 2001.--Business/Organizational Meeting to 
Select the Chairman and Vice Chairman.
    February 28, 2001.--Business Meeting to Consider the 
Committee Funding Resolution for the 107th Congress.
    February 28, 2001.--Oversight Hearing to Receive the Views 
of the Department of the Interior on Matters of Indian Affairs.
    March 7, 2001.--Business Meeting to Adopt the Rules of the 
Committee for the 107th Congress.
    March 14, 2001.--Business Meeting to Consider the 
Committee's Views and Estimates on the President's Fiscal Year 
2002 Budget Request for Indian Programs.
    March 14, 2001.--Hearing on S. 211, the ``Native American 
Education Improvement Act of 2001''.
    March 22, 2001.--Oversight Hearing on the Goals and 
Priorities of the Member Tribes of the National Congress of 
American Indians for the 107th Congress.
    April 4, 2001.--Business Meeting to markup S. 211.
    April 5, 2001.--Oversight Hearing to Receive the Goals and 
Priorities of the United South and Eastern Tribes [USET] for 
the 107th Congress.
    May 10, 2001.--Oversight Hearing to Receive the Goals and 
Priorities of the Alaska Native Community for the 107th 
Congress.
    June 13, 2001.--Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of 
Mr. Neal A. McCaleb to be Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of 
Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior.
    June 19, 2001.Hearing to Receive Testimony on the Goals and 
Priorities of the Member Tribes of the Midwest Alliance of 
Sovereign Tribes/Inter-tribal Bison Cooperative for the 107th 
Congress.
    June 21, 2001.--Oversight Hearing on Native American 
Program Initiatives.
    June 26, 2001.--Hearing to Receive Testimony on the Goals 
and Priorities of the Great Plains Tribes for the 107th Session 
of the Congress.
    July 12, 2001.--Hearing to Receive Testimony on the Goals 
and Priorities of the Member Tribes of the Montana Wyoming 
Tribal Leaders Council for the 107th Session of the Congress.
    July 18, 2001.Oversight Hearing on Tribal Good Governance 
Practices and Economic Development.
    July 24, 2001.--Business Meeting to markup S. 87, S. 91, S. 
746.
    July 24, 2001.--Hearing on S. 266, a bill to Provide for 
the Long-Term Leasing of Lands on the Warm Springs Reservation, 
and for the Approval of an Agreement Between the U.S. 
Department of the Interior, the Portland General Electric 
Company and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs 
Reservation.
    July 25, 2001.--Oversight Hearing on the Indian Gaming 
Regulatory Act.
    July 31, 2001.--Hearing on Indian Health Care Improvement 
Act Focusing on Urban Indian Health Care Programs.

                       107th Congress, 2d Session

    February, 7, 2002.--Oversight Hearing on Legislative 
Proposals relating to the Statute of Limitations on Claims 
Against the United States Related to the Management of Indian 
Tribal Trust Fund Accounts.
    February 13, 2002.--Business Meeting to markup S. 1857.
    February 13, 2002.--Oversight Hearing on the Implementation 
of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-
Determination Act.
    February 26, 2002.--Oversight Hearing on the Management of 
Indian Trust Funds.
    February 27, 2002.Hearing on Rulings of the United States 
Supreme Court Affecting Tribal Government Powers and 
Authorities.
    March 5, 2002.--Hearing on the President's Budget Request 
for Indian Programs for Fiscal Year 2003.
    March 7, 2002.--Hearing on the President's Budget Request 
for Indian Programs for Fiscal Year 2003.
    March 14, 2002.--Oversight Hearing on the President's 
Budget Request for Indian Programs for Fiscal Year 2003.
    March 21, 2002.--Business Meeting to markup S. 214, S. 434, 
S. 1308.
    April 3, 2002.--Field Hearing on the Three Affiliated 
Tribes and Standing Rock Sioux Equitable Compensation Act 
[Title 35 of Public Law 102-575].
    April 5, 2002.--Field Hearing on Native Hawaiian Early 
Education, Development, and Care.
    April 17, 2002.--Oversight Hearing on Subsistence Hunting 
and Fishing Issues in the State of Alaska.
    April 24, 2002.--Legislative Hearing on S. 2017, a bill to 
Amend the Indian Financing Act of 1974.
    April 24, 2002.--Joint Hearing with the Senate Energy and 
Natural Resources Committee on S. 2018, a bill to Establish the 
T'uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area Within the Cibola 
National Forest in the State of New Mexico to Resolve a Land 
Claim Involving the Sandia Mountain Wilderness, and for other 
purposes.
    April 30, 2002.--Joint Hearing with the Senate Small 
Business Committee on Small Business Development in Native 
American Communities: Is the Federal Government Meeting its 
Obligations?
    May 8, 2002.--Legislative Hearing on S. 343, The Indian 
Tribal Development Consolidated Funding Act of 2001.
    May 10, 2002.Hearing on Implementation and Re-authorization 
of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
Reconciliation Act of 1996.
    May 14, 2002.--Joint Oversight Hearing with Senate Commerce 
Committee on Telecommunications Issues in Indian Country.
    May 22, 2002.--Legislative Hearing on S. 1340, a bill to 
Amend the Indian Land Consolidation Act to Provide for Indian 
Probate Reform.
    June 4, 2002.Oversight Hearing on the Activities of Federal 
Agencies as they Affect Native American Sacred Sites.
    June 11, 2002.--Oversight Hearing on the Branch of 
Acknowledgment, U.S. Department of the Interior.
    June 18, 2002.Oversight Hearing on Texas Restoration Act.
    June 26, 2002.Oversight Hearing on the Status of the 
Department of the Interior/Tribal Trust Fund Management Reform 
Dialog.
    July 10, 2002.--Business Meeting to markup S. 210.
    July 10, 2002.--Hearing on Elder Health Issues.
    July 11, 2002.--Hearing on Contemporary Tribal Governments: 
Challenges in Law Enforcement Related to the Rulings of the 
U.S. Supreme Court.
    July 17, 2002.--Hearing on the Protection of Native 
American Sacred Places.
    July 18, 2002.--Business Meeting to mark-up S. 1210, S. 
2711.
    July 18, 2002.--Hearing on S. 2743 , a bill to Approve the 
Settlement of Water Rights Claims of the Zuni Indian Tribe in 
Apache County, Arizona, and for other purposes.
    July 18, 2002.--Hearing on S. 2065, a bill to Ratify an 
Agreement to Regulate Air Quality on the Southern Ute Indian 
Reservation.
    July 24, 2002.--Hearing on S. 1344, a bill to Encourage 
Training to Native Americans Interested in Commercial Vehicle 
Driving Careers.
    July 25, 2002.--Hearing on the July 2, 2002 Report of the 
U.S. Department of the Interior to the Congress on the 
Historical Accounting of Individual Indian Money Accounts.
    July 30, 2002.--Hearing on a Legislative Proposal of the 
Department of Interior/Tribal Trust Fund Reform Task Force.
    July 30, 2002.--Hearing on S. 2212 , the Indian Trust Asset 
and Trust Fund Management and Reform Act of 2002.
    August 1, 2002.--Business Meeting to markup: S. 1344, S. 
2017, H.R. 2880.
    August 1, 2002.--Oversight Hearing on the Interior 
Secretary's Report on the Hoopa Yurok Settlement Act.
    August 1, 2002.--Oversight Hearing on Problems Facing 
Native Youth.
    August 2, 2002.--Hearing on S. 958, A bill to Provide for 
the Use and Distribution of the Funds Awarded to the Western 
Shoshone Identifiable Group Under Indian Claims Commission 
Docket Numbers 326-A-1, 326-A-3, 326-K, and for other purposes.
    September 14, 2002.--Oversight Field Hearing on the Goals 
and Priorities of South Dakota Tribes.
    September 17, 2002.--Hearing on S. 1392, a bill to 
Establish Procedures for the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the 
Department of the Interior With Respect to Tribal Recognition.
    September 18, 2002.--Hearing on H.R. 2880, Five Nations 
Citizens Land Reform Act.
    September 24, 2002.Oversight Hearing on the Role of the 
Special Trustee Within the Department of the Interior.
    September 25, 2002.--Business Meeting for the consideration 
of bills for Report to the full Senate Hearing, to Receive 
Testimony on the President's Appointment of Quanah Crossland 
Stamps to Serve As Commissioner for the Administration for 
Native Americans, and the Appointment of Phil Hogen to Serve as 
Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission.
    September 26, 2002.--Oversight Hearing on Intra-tribal 
Leadership Disputes and Tribal Governance.
    October 1, 2002.--Business Meeting to consider S. 2743, S. 
2799, S. 2989, S. Res. 321, the Nomination of Phil Hogen to 
Serve As Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission, and 
the Nomination of Quannah Crossland Stamps to Serve as 
Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans.
    October 9, 2002.--Hearing on S. 2694, the Thomasina E. 
Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 
2002.
    October 10, 2002.--Hearing on S. 2986, a bill to Provide 
for and Approve the Settlement of Certain Land Claims of the 
Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan.

