[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 140 (Friday, September 30, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 30, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
            ALZHEIMER'S HOME AND COMMUNITY CARE PROJECT ACT

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar Order No. 680, S. 
1422, relating to claims court jurisdiction with respect to land claims 
of the Pueblo of Isleta Indian Tribe; that the committee substitute be 
agreed to; that the bill be read a third time, passed, the motion to 
reconsider laid upon the table; that the amendments to the title be 
agreed to; and that any statement appear at the appropriate place in 
the Record as if read.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senate proceeded to consider the bill (S. 1422), a bill to amend 
the provisions of the Public Health Service Act regarding grants to 
States for projects relating to Alzheimer's disease, and for other 
purposes, which had been reported from the Committee on the Judiciary, 
with an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause and inserting 
in lieu thereof the following:

     SECTION 1. JURISDICTION.

       Notwithstanding sections 2401 and 2501 of title 28, United 
     States Code, and section 12 of the Act of August 13, 1946 (60 
     Stat. 1052), or any other law which would interpose or 
     support a defense of untimeliness, jurisdiction is hereby 
     conferred upon the United States Court of Federal Claims to 
     hear, determine, and render judgment on any claim by Pueblo 
     of Isleta Indian Tribe of New Mexico against the United 
     States with respect to any lands or interests therein the 
     State of New Mexico or any adjoining State held by aboriginal 
     title or otherwise which were acquired from the tribe without 
     payment of adequate compensation by the United States. As a 
     matter of adequate compensation, the United States Court of 
     Federal Claims may award interest at a rate of 5 percent per 
     year to accrue from the date on which such lands or interests 
     therein were acquired from the tribe by the United States. 
     Such jurisdiction is conferred only with respect to claims 
     accruing on or before August 13, 1946, and all such claims 
     must be filed within three years after the date of enactment 
     of this Act. Such jurisdiction is conferred notwithstanding 
     any failure of the tribe to exhaust any available 
     administrative remedy.

     SEC. 2. CERTAIN DEFENSES NOT APPLICABLE.

       Any award made to any Indian tribe other than the Pueblo of 
     Isleta Indian Tribe of New Mexico before, on, or after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, under any judgment of the 
     Indian Claims Commission or any other authority, with respect 
     to any lands that are the subject of a claim submitted by the 
     tribe under section 1 shall not be considered a defense, 
     estoppel, or set-off to such claim, and shall not otherwise 
     affect the entitlement to, or amount of, any relief with 
     respect to such claim.

  So the substitute amendment was agreed to.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, read the 
third time, and passed.
  The title was amended so as to read: ``A bill to confer jurisdiction 
on the United States Court of Federal Claims with respect to land 
claims of Pueblo of Isleta Indian Tribe.''
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise with my distinguished colleague, 
Senator Domenici, to present to the Senate S. 1422, a modest measure of 
great importance to our constituents, the people of the Pueblo of 
Isleta in New Mexico. Our distinguished colleagues from New Mexico in 
the House, Representatives Skeen and Schiff, have introduced companion 
legislation to S. 1422 and are awaiting the Senate's action today.
  I want to thank the distinguished chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee, Senator Biden, and the chairman of the Subcommittee on 
Courts and Administrative Practices, Senator Heflin, for their support 
of this measure and their help in getting us to this point.
  This legislation provides authority for New Mexico's Pueblo of Isleta 
to file an aboriginal land claim in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims 
under the Indian Claims Act. The bill does not pass judgment on the 
claim or give the Pueblo priority on the court's docket. If, however, 
the Pueblo of Isleta proves to the court that it does indeed have a 
valid claim of aboriginal land use and occupancy, then appropriate 
monetary compensation would be determined by the court.
  Mr. President, S. 1422 is identical to a bill we, along with 
Congressmen Schiff and Skeen, sponsored the 102d Congress. In the 
previous Congress, a hearing was held on the House bill, and it passed 
to the House late in the session. Unfortunately, the Senate was unable 
to act before adjournment. I am pleased that the bill will not suffer a 
similar fate in the 103d Congress.
  During the previous Congress, In April 1992, testimony before the 
House Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Law and Governmental 
Relations made clear that the Pueblo of Isleta--like all the Pueblo 
tribes in New Mexico--had standing to pursue land claims under the 
Indian Claims Act of 1946. Under the Act, claims could be based either 
on title to the land or aboriginal use, but all claims must have been 
by 1951.
  Unfortunately, due to incomplete or improper advice from counsel, the 
Pueblo of Isleta filed only a limited claim based on a Spanish Land 
Grant, to which it had a written record, before the 1951 deadline. The 
Pueblo apparently was not informed by counsel that it could file a 
claim based on aboriginal land use. Significantly, the Pueblo's counsel 
was a Bureau of Indian Affairs official who was later found by the 
court to have given erroneous advice on a similar matter to the Pueblo 
of Zuni. The Pueblo, like many other tribes, was dependent on the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs for advice and assistance regarding land 
claims in the 1940s and 1950s.
  Mr. President, S. 1422, would simply allow the Pueblo of Isleta to 
pursue a claim today, much like legislation Congress approved a few 
years ago for the Pueblo of Zuni. Again, the bill does not give the 
Pueblo priority on the court's docket, and it does not pass judgment on 
the claim itself.
  The people of the Pueblo of Isleta are entitled to their day in 
court. This bill assures them of that right, and I urge its swift 
passage.

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