[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 16, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H4594-H4595]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   ADVISORY COUNCIL ON CALIFORNIA INDIAN POLICY EXTENSION ACT OF 1997

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 3069) to extend the Advisory Council on California 
Indian Policy to allow the Advisory Council to advise Congress on the 
implementation of the proposals and recommendations of the Advisory 
Council.
  The Clerk read as follows:
       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Advisory Council on 
     California Indian Policy Extension Act of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. FINDING AND PURPOSE.

       (a) Finding.--Congress finds that the Advisory Council on 
     California Indian Policy, pursuant to the Advisory Council on 
     California Indian Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-416; 25 
     U.S.C. 651 note), submitted its proposals and recommendations 
     regarding remedial measures to address the special status of 
     California's terminated and unacknowledged Indian tribes and 
     the needs of California Indians relating to economic self-
     sufficiency, health, and education.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to allow the 
     Advisory Council on California Indian Policy to advise 
     Congress on the implementation of such proposals and 
     recommendations.

     SEC. 3. DUTIES OF ADVISORY COUNCIL REGARDING IMPLEMENTATION 
                   OF PROPOSALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

       (a) In General.--Section 5 of the Advisory Council on 
     California Indian Policy Act of 1992 (106 Stat. 2133) is 
     amended by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (6), by 
     striking the period at the end of paragraph (7) and inserting 
     ``; and'', and by adding at the end the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(8) work with Congress, the Secretary, the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services, and the California Indian tribes, 
     to implement the Council's proposals and recommendations 
     contained in the report submitted made under paragraph (6), 
     including--
       ``(A) consulting with Federal departments and agencies to 
     identify those recommendations that can be implemented 
     immediately, or in the very near future, and those which will 
     require long-term changes in law, regulations, or policy;
       ``(B) working with Federal departments and agencies to 
     expedite to the greatest extent possible the implementation 
     of the Council's recommendations;
       ``(C) presenting draft legislation to Congress for 
     implementation of the recommendations requiring legislative 
     changes;
       ``(D) initiating discussions with the State of California 
     and its agencies to identify specific areas where State 
     actions or tribal-State cooperation can complement actions by 
     the Federal Government to implement specific recommendations;
       ``(E) providing timely information to and consulting with 
     California Indian tribes on discussions between the Council 
     and Federal and State agencies regarding implementation of 
     the recommendations; and
       ``(F) providing annual progress reports to the Committee on 
     Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Resources 
     of the House of Representatives on the status of the 
     implementation of the recommendations.''
       (b) Termination.--The first sentence of section 8 of the 
     Advisory Council on California Indian Policy Act of 1992 (106 
     Stat. 2136) is amended to read as follows: ``The Council 
     shall cease to exist on March 31, 2000.''

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Alaska (Mr. Young) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. 
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young).
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. YOUNG of Alaska asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, this is a relatively simple bill. 
It is the proposed Advisory Council on California Indian Policy 
Extension Act of 1997, to extend the life of the Advisory Council on 
California Indian Policy, ACCIP, until March 31 of the year 2000.
  The ACCIP has issued 8 reports on various topics as well as an 
overview of California Indian history.
  Some of these recommendations by the ACCIP are controversial and will 
not be implemented by the Congress. Other recommendations are too 
expensive.
  However, some of the recommendations included in the 8 reports issued 
make good sense and should be given full consideration by the 
Administration and the Congress.
  H.R. 3069 would add additional new duties to those provided for by 
Congress when the ACCIP was created in 1992. These new duties include: 
Working with Congress to implement its proposals; consulting with 
Federal departments to implement its recommendations; and presenting 
draft legislation to Congress.
  H.R. 3069 is very important to the many Indian tribes of California. 
While I do not agree with each and every recommendation made by ACCIP, 
I think we should move forward in

[[Page H4595]]

the process. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3069.
  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, I am proud to support, H.R. 3069, the 
Advisory Council on California Indian Policy Extension Act of 1977. 
This bill, introduced by George Miller, the Senior Democrat on the 
Resources Committee, extends the life of the Advisory Council for an 
additional two years. The Advisory Council was created by legislation 
sponsored by Congressman Miller in the 102nd Congress.

  The Council was created to specifically provide Congress with a 
report setting forth recommendations for remedial measures to address 
the special problems facing California Indians and Indian tribes. 
California Indians have long suffered the effects of broken treaties 
and the ill-conceived policy of termination and are struggling to find 
ways to improve education, health care, economic development, and 
housing needs.
  Many of these problems are not solvable overnight. They will require 
cooperation and understanding from the federal government, the state, 
and between the tribes themselves. To this end, Congress created the 
Advisory Council in 1992 to help Congress sort through the complex web 
of problems unique to California Indians. The Council fulfilled its 
task in 1997 and provided us with its report and recommendations. These 
recommendations deal with land consolidation, restoration of tribes, 
provision of health, education, and social services, and responsibility 
to urban Indians.
  Because the Council has acquired considerable expertise on these 
issues in the past four years, the bill extends its existence an 
additional two years so that the Council will be able to guide Congress 
in the implementation of the report's recommendations.
  This makes good sense. We should avail ourselves of the Council's 
great knowledge that it has accumulated over the past six years. Their 
expertise should prove of invaluable assistance in helping us draft 
legislation to carry forward the recommendations contained in their 
report. They have lived up to their end of the bargain. Now it's time 
for us to live up to ours.
  Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I did not give special recognition 
to our Democratic committee staff for their hard work and 
professionalism in the development of this legislation as it was 
authored by our senior ranking Democrat, the gentleman from California 
Mr. Miller. I want to thank our minority staff counsel Mr. Chris 
Stearns for the excellent work he has done on this bill, and also Ms. 
Jessica Rae Alcorn. Both native Americans. Mr. Stearns is a member of 
the Navajo Nation and a graduate of Cornell University Law School; Ms. 
Alcorn is a member of the Assiniboime Sioux Nation, a graduate of 
Brigham Young University Campus in Hawaii and plans to attend law 
school this fall.
  Mr. Speaker, as I have always said to my colleagues in the years past 
and even now--the salvation of Native American tribes throughout 
American lies in education. Mr. Stearns and Ms. Alcorn are the finest 
examples of the young and upcoming generation of the Native Americans 
who I am confident will contribute significantly to the needs of Native 
Americans throughout America, and to the needs of our nation.
  Again I thank the gentleman from California for his leadership and 
foresight for activation of this Advisory Council that is sorely needed 
to address the needs of some 100 native American tribes that reside in 
California.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Miller).
  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have brought 
this bill to the floor today. My bill extends by 2 years the life of 
the California Advisory Council on Indian Policy, which was created by 
legislation back in the 102nd Congress. The bill was unanimously 
reported out of the full Committee on Resources.
  The Council was created to provide us with a report recommending 
remedial measures to address the special problems facing California 
Indians and Indian tribes. The problems include the need to restore 
California's terminated tribes' lost lands, and to provide tools for 
economic self-sufficiency, and improve health and educational needs.
  Mr. Speaker, I will submit the remainder of my statement for the 
Record, but I want to thank the chairman of the committee for giving 
the attention of this committee to this legislation; and I also want to 
thank the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) for his 
attention to this matter.
  The Council has now submitted its report. Along the way it picked up 
an inordinate amount of expertise on these issues and my bill would 
give the Council the chance to share its invaluable knowledge with 
Congress and other parties as we move forward to the implementation 
phase.
  Thus, my bill directs the Council to consult and work with Congress, 
the Secretaries of the Interior and Health and Human Services, the 
California Indian tribes, and the State in expediting the 
implementation of the recommendations contained in the Council's 1997 
report.
  This is an important measure. There are over one-hundred tribes in 
California. Over the course of history, those tribes lost over eighteen 
million acres as a result of eighteen broken treaties. California 
Indians own less land, have less money and funding, and less access to 
health care and education than tribes in other states. California also 
has the highest urban Indian population of any state. Yet the federal 
Bureau of Indian Affairs provides services to only one-sixth of the 
Indian population. California is also one of a handful of states that 
was allowed to extend state jurisdiction on Indian lands. In the 1950s, 
thirty-eight tribes were terminated. Fortunately, twenty-seven have 
been restored.
  Six years ago, I spoke on the floor about the original legislation 
that created the Council and authorized the report. I said that ``this 
report will provide a blueprint for the future of California Indians. 
We will use the recommendations of the council as we approach 
California Indian policy in the 1990s and on into the next century.'' 
That time has come.
  And that is why I believe it is important to continue to rely on the 
guidance and wisdom of the Council as we review its recommendations and 
fashion legislation that will allow us to keep many of the promises we 
have made to the state's first citizens. I look forward to a new era of 
relations with the California tribes and urge my colleagues to support 
this bill.
  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. Speaker, my colleague, Mr. Gibbons, and I rise in 
opposition to H.R. 3069, the Advisory Council on California Indian 
Policy Extension Act. This legislation would extend the Advisory 
Council until 2000 and encourage the Council to work with Congress and 
federal agencies to implement the proposals of its 1997 report. 
Although we understand the need for Native Americans of California to 
improve Indian health services, education and housing programs, we 
strongly disagree with some of the provisions included in the Advisory 
Council's initial report.
  The Council suggests amendments to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
and action by the Secretary of the Interior to facilitate Indian gaming 
operations and circumvent local and federal regulations in California. 
The track record of Indian gaming operations in California has been far 
from pristine. To encourage even less regulation and a decreased role 
of local governments would not be prudent.
  We believe that providing additional federal funding to this Council, 
whose legislative recommendations include a lessening of oversight and 
local involvement, is bad fiscal policy and poor domestic policy.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. 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 Alaska (Mr. Young) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 3069.
  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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