[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 14, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H4917]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            ADDITION OF LANDS TO GOSHUTE INDIAN RESERVATION

  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2464) to amend Public Law 103-93 to provide additional lands 
within the State of Utah for the Goshute Indian Reservation, and for 
other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2464

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

     SECTION 1. ADDITION OF CERTAIN UTAH STATE LANDS TO GOSHUTE 
                   INDIAN RESERVATION.

       The Utah Schools and Lands Improvement Act of 1993 (107 
     Stat. 995) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating section 11 as section 12; and
       (2) by inserting after section 10 the following new 
     section:

     ``SEC. 11. ADDITIONAL GOSHUTE INDIAN RESERVATION LANDS.

       ``(a) Further Additions to Goshute Reservation.--In 
     addition to the lands described in section 3, for the purpose 
     of securing in trust for the Goshute Indian Tribe certain 
     additional public lands and lands belonging to the State of 
     Utah, which comprise approximately 8,000 acres of surface and 
     subsurface estate, as generally depicted on the map entitled 
     `Additional Utah-Goshute Exchange', dated July 1, 1994, such 
     public lands and State lands are hereby declared to be part 
     of the Goshute Indian Reservation in the State of Utah 
     effective upon the completion of conveyance of the State 
     lands from the State of Utah and acceptance of title by the 
     United States.
       ``(b) Authorization.--The Secretary of the Interior is 
     authorized to acquire through exchange those lands and 
     interests in land described in subsection (a) which are owned 
     by the State of Utah, subject to valid existing rights.
       ``(c) Application of Prior Provisions.--(1) Except as 
     provided in paragraph (2), the remaining provisions of this 
     Act which are applicable to the lands to be transferred to 
     the Goshute Indian Tribe pursuant to section 3 shall also 
     apply to the lands subject to this section.
       ``(2) The Goshute Indian Tribe will be responsible for 
     payment of the costs of appraisal of the lands to be acquired 
     pursuant to this section, which costs shall be paid prior to 
     the transfer of such lands.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah [Mr. Hansen] and the gentleman from American Samoa [Mr. 
Faleomavaega] will each be recognized for 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah [Mr. Hansen].
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Utah Schools and Lands Improvement Act, Public Law 
103-93, which passed in 1993, is an important bill to all Utahns. After 
much hard work, we were able to pass legislation that was meant to help 
play a vital role in paying for the education of Utah's children. The 
act provided the framework for a proposed exchange of lands between the 
Federal Government and the Utah school trust.
  H.R. 2464 would amend Public Law 103-93 to correct a boundary problem 
on the southern edge of the Goshute Indian Reservation located about 60 
miles south of Wendover, UT. It places approximately 8,000 acres of 
land located within the boundaries of the Goshute Indian Reservation in 
trust for the Goshute Tribe. Approximately 7,000 acres of this land are 
currently owned by the State, and will become part of the reservation 
upon acquisition by the United States.
  The State and Federal Government will simply ask the existing team of 
appraisers, both surface and mineral, to look at these additional 
properties. The appraisers are already collecting comparables, so the 
marginal cost of appraising these lands should be relatively small. 
Once appraised, and agreement on value is reached, the State school 
trust will be compensated out of the properties identified elsewhere in 
Public Law 103-93.
  This bill will allow for the school trust to receive fair 
compensation for their ground as well as improve the ability of the 
tribe to manage their lands and clear-up an ongoing problem with their 
southern border. H.R. 2466 is noncontroversial and enjoys the support 
of the BLM, the State of Utah, Juab County, and the Goshute Tribe.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today would amend 
Public Law 103-93, the Utah Schools and Land Improvement Act, which 
transferred land between the Federal Government and the State of Utah. 
At the time the bill was under consideration, we were approached by the 
Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, which is located along 
the border of Utah and Nevada. Their request was to correct some 
boundary problems along the southern edge of the reservation in Utah. 
Due to the current configuration of that boundary and the remoteness of 
the area, proper management of the land has been very difficult. The 
State of Utah and the Bureau of Land Management and the tribe have been 
unable to prevent persistent problems with trespassing and poaching on 
the land.
  Some are concerned that stopping action on the Utah Schools and Land 
Improvement Act to deal with the needs of the Goshute Tribe could be 
detrimental to the passage of this legislation. It was, therefore, 
agreed that the tribe would withdraw its request, with the promise that 
their needs would be addressed at a later date.
  Mr. Speaker, I am glad to say that we are here today to keep our 
promise to the Goshute Tribe. This bill will transfer approximately 
8,000 acres of State and 400 of BLM land to the tribe, resulting in a 
much clearer boundary definition for the tribe to manage.
  This bill is supported by the tribe, the administration, the board of 
trustees for the school and Institutional Trust Lands Administration of 
Utah, Juab County, UT, and the Utah Wilderness Coalition.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah [Mr. Hansen] the author 
of this piece of legislation. He is certainly to be commended for his 
tireless efforts to bring all the appropriate parties to negotiate an 
agreeable arrangement of land boundaries between the tribe and the 
State of Utah and the Federal Government. I also want to commend the 
gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. Richardson], the ranking member of the 
subcommittee, for his review and close collaboration with the 
interested parties and organizations to bring this bill now up for full 
consideration by the House.
  I want to say, Mr. Speaker, that this is what I would consider a 
model piece of legislation, where there has truly been the spirit of 
bipartisanship in certainly the leadership exemplified by the gentleman 
from Utah in bringing this now to the forefront and before the body.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill and I urge my colleagues to support 
it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from American Samoa 
for his kind words, and handling the bill on this side. I ask my 
colleagues to vote for this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Utah [Mr. Hansen] that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 2464.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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