[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 20 (Wednesday, February 1, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H1021-H1022]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TAOS PUEBLO INDIANS OF NEW MEXICO LAND TRANSFER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 51 and rule 
XXIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House 
on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 101.

                              {time}  1741


                     in the committee of the whole

  Accordingly the House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill (H.R. 
101) to transfer a parcel of land to the Taos Pueblo Indians of New 
Mexico, with Mr. Hastert in the chair.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as having 
been read the first time.
  Under the rule, the gentleman from Utah [Mr. Hansen] will be 
recognized for 30 minutes, and the gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. 
Richardson] will be recognized for 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah [Mr. Hansen].
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 101, sponsored by Mr. 
Richardson, which would transfer approximately 764 acres of the Wheeler 
Peak Wilderness, located in the Carson National Forest to the Secretary 
of the Interior to be held in trust for the Pueblo de Taos in New 
Mexico. This noncontroversial legislation would settle a long standing 
issue over these religiously sacred lands between the Pueblo de Taos 
and the administration.
  H.R. 101 insures that these lands will continue to be managed as part 
of the Blue Lake Wilderness but the Pueblo will be able to control 
access in order to insure privacy during certain religious ceremonies. 
This area is sacred to the Pueblo and a sacred trail known as the Trail 
of Life crosses this area.
  H.R. 101 was reported favorably by the Committee on Resources on 
January 18, 1995, by unanimous voice vote. This same measure passed the 
House during the 103d Congress but failed final passage in the waning 
hours of business. I commend the ranking member, Mr. Richardson, for 
his hard work on this measure and I urge the Members of the House to 
support his effort.
  Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. RICHARDSON asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Chairman, today is an important day for the Taos 
Pueblo people. Today, the House will again consider legislation to 
transfer a sacred tract of wilderness land back to the Taos Pueblo.
  The so-called bottleneck tract of the Wheeler Peak Wilderness will be 
transferred by this bill to management by the Taos Pueblo as the final, 
missing part of the Blue Lake Wilderness.
  In an age when Federal policies affecting the first Americans are 
becoming more and more controversial, H.R. 101 is a simple, 
noncontroversial solution to an age-old problem on which I hope we can 
all agree.
  My legislation will return the last remaining land tract in the Blue 
Lake Wilderness to its rightful owners, the Taos Pueblo Indians.
  In 1970, when President Nixon signed the original Blue Lake 
Wilderness authorizing legislation, the ``bottleneck'' tract was 
excluded.
  At that time, the acreage was needed to create the adjacent Wheeler 
Peak Wilderness which would have fallen below the minimum acreage 
requirement necessary for wilderness creation.
  Now, 25 years later, this tract is no longer needed to qualify the 
Wheeler Peak Wilderness for designation. Now, we have the opportunity 
to close the last chapter in a decades-long quest by the Taos Pueblo to 
gain the return of one of their most sacred sites.
  The bottleneck tract has been used for hundreds of years by the Taos 
Pueblo people as a sacred religious area for ceremonies, pilgrimages 
and other private observances.
  Unfortunately, as the area has not been included in the Blue Lake 
Wilderness, the Pueblo has been powerless to prevent public intrusions 
in the area during their sacred rituals.
  With the transfer of the land to management as wilderness by the 
Pueblo, the bottleneck lands would be used for traditional purposes 
only, such as religious ceremonies, hunting, fishing, and as a source 
of water, forage for domestic livestock, wood, timber and other natural 
resources.
  H.R. 101, which is similar to legislation which passed the House in 
the last Congress, is supported by the bipartisan New Mexico 
congressional delegation and a broad coalition of local and national 
environmental groups.
  Identical legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senators 
Pete Domenici, Jeff Bingaman, and Bob Dole.
  Mr. Chairman, it is time to bring final justice to the Taos Pueblo by 
returning this land to their management.
  It is time to close one more sad chapter in the long history of U.S. 
Government relations with native American peoples.
  It is time to pass H.R. 101 and enact it into law.
  [[Page H1022]] I call upon all of my colleagues to join me in 
supporting this important step forward for native American sovereignty.
  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Chairman, I have no requests for time, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Chairman, I have no requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The CHAIRMAN. All time for general debate has expired.
  Pursuant to the rule, the committee amendment in the nature of a 
substitute now printed in the bill is considered as an original bill 
for the purpose of amendment and is considered as read.
  The text of the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute is 
as follows:

                                H.R. 101

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. LAND TRANSFER.

       (a) Transfer.--The parcel of land described in subsection 
     (b) is hereby transferred without consideration to the 
     Secretary of the Interior to be held in trust for the Pueblo 
     de Taos. Such parcel shall be a part of the Pueblo de Taos 
     Reservation and shall be managed in accordance with section 4 
     of the Act of May 31, 1933 (48 Stat. 108) (as amended, 
     including as amended by Public Law 91-550 (84 Stat. 1437)).
       (b) Land Description.--The parcel of land referred to in 
     subsection (a) is the land that is generally depicted on the 
     map entitled ``Lands transferred to the Pueblo of Taos--
     proposed'' and dated September 1994, comprises 764.33 acres, 
     and is situated within sections 25, 26, 35, and 36, Township 
     27 North, Range 14 East, New Mexico Principal Meridian, 
     within the Wheeler Peak Wilderness, Carson National Forest, 
     Taos County, New Mexico.
       (c) Conforming Boundary Adjustments.--The boundaries of the 
     Carson National Forest and the Wheeler Peak Wilderness are 
     hereby adjusted to reflect the transfer made by subsection 
     (a).
       (d) Resolution of Outstanding Claims.--The Congress finds 
     and declares that, as a result of the enactment of the Act, 
     the Taos Pueblo has no unresolved equitable or legal claims 
     against the United States on the lands to be held in trust 
     and to become part of the Pueblo de Taos Reservation under 
     this section.

  The CHAIRMAN. Are there amendments to the bill?
  Hearing none, the question is on the committee amendment in the 
nature of a substitute.
  The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute was agreed to.
  Under the rule the Committee rises.
  Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. 
Upton) having assumed the chair, Mr. Hastert, Chairman of the Committee 
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, reported that that 
Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 101) to 
transfer a parcel of land to the Taos Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, he 
reported the bill back to the House with an amendment adopted by the 
Committee of the Whole.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is 
ordered.
  The question is on the amendment.
  The amendment was agreed to.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read 
the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

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