[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 127 (Monday, September 27, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H8786-H8787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   PROVIDING FOR MINERAL LEASING OF CERTAIN INDIAN LANDS IN OKLAHOMA

  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 944) to amend Public Law 105-188 to provide for the 
mineral leasing of certain Indian lands in Oklahoma.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                 S. 944

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

     SECTION 1. MINERAL LEASING OF CERTAIN INDIAN LANDS IN 
                   OKLAHOMA.

       Public Law 105-188 (112 Stat. 620 and 621) is amended--
       (1) in the title, by inserting ``and certain former Indian 
     reservations in Oklahoma'' after ``Fort Berthold Indian 
     Reservation''; and
       (2) in section 1--
       (A) by striking the section heading and inserting the 
     following:

     ``SECTION 1. LEASES OF CERTAIN ALLOTTED LANDS.'';

     and
       (B) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by striking clause (i) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(i) is located within--

       ``(I) the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota; 
     or
       ``(II) a former Indian reservation located in Oklahoma of--

       ``(aa) the Comanche Indian Tribe;
       ``(bb) the Kiowa Indian Tribe;
       ``(cc) the Apache Tribe;
       ``(dd) the Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma;
       ``(ee) the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, 
     Waco, and Tawakonie) located in Oklahoma;
       ``(ff) the Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma; or
       ``(gg) the Caddo Indian Tribe; and''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Saxton) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. 
Christensen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton).
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. SAXTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 944, legislation 
that would amend Public Law 105-188 to provide for the mineral leasing 
of certain Indian lands in Oklahoma.
  Public Law 105-188 authorizes the Secretary of Interior to approve 
any mineral lease which affects an individually owned Indian tract of 
land within the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota if the 
majority of the Indian owners of the land consent and if the Secretary 
determines that the lease is in the best interest of the Indian owners. 
The lease would be binding on all owners of the leased track, and all 
owners would share proportionally in the proceeds from the lease.
  S. 944 would expand this law to include Indian lands within the 
former reservations of the Comanche, Kiowa, Apache, Fort Sill Apache, 
Wichita, Keechi, Waco, and Tawakonie Indian Tribes in Oklahoma.
  S. 944 supersedes a 1909 law which requires unanimous consent before 
these individually owned Indian lands can be leased for oil or gas 
development. This is an almost impossible standard to meet because 
ownership of these lands has become very fractionalized over time. In 
one proposed project in Oklahoma, over 619 Indian owners have been 
identified, with more yet to come.
  The resultant economic loss to individual Indian owners as well as to 
Indian tribes has been significant. S. 944 would facilitate oil and gas 
exploration on these individual Indian-owned lands, which will provide 
much needed funds for the Indian owners of these tracts.
  Unanimous consent is not required for leases of other natural 
resources on Indian lands such as timber and hard rock minerals. The 
administration supports S. 944 as do all the Indian tribes specified in 
the bill.
  I urge my colleagues to support passage of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
her remarks.)
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, S. 944 would permit the execution of 
mineral extraction leases on individual Indian trust lands when more 
than 50 percent of owners agree to the lease. This bill will only 
affect about 8 tribes in the State of Oklahoma.
  Under current law, more than 50 percent of owners need to approve a 
lease for agriculture or forestry purposes; however, 100 percent of 
owners need to approve a lease for mineral exploration. Due to the 
century-old Federal allotment policy, Indian-owned parcels of land can 
have dozens or, as we have heard, even more than that of owners. In 
many cases, not all owners can be found, while others may be tied up in 
a lengthy probate process.
  This bill was passed by the Senate in August of this year and is 
supported by the Department of Interior. The gentleman from California 
(Mr. George Miller), the senior Democratic member of the Committee on 
Resources, collected letters of support from each of the tribes whose 
members are included in this bill.
  Similar legislation was passed last Congress with respect to mineral 
leases on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota, and I 
ask my colleagues to support passage of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas).
  Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, as the House sponsor of this 
legislation, I rise in strong support of its passage. Simply put, this 
legislation will allow native American landowners to fully realize the 
benefits of their land.
  Under current law, Indian lands possessed by more than one person 
will require the consent of 100 percent of the owners before mineral 
development can go forward. In many cases, this fractionated property 
is owned by more than 100 people. This makes it difficult, if not 
impossible, to locate all of the owners. Once found, potential 
developers must obtain their unanimous consent. As my colleagues can 
imagine, this has the effect of driving off development.
  Last year, Congress lowered this requirement for the Three Affiliated 
Tribes of Fort Berthold Indian reservation for 50 percent. This brings 
the requirement in line with the regulations for non-Indian lands. 
Because of this, these tribes have seen development of many properties 
that were lying unused. This has been a great economic benefit to the 
reservation.
  This bill will extend last year's legislation to seven Oklahoma 
tribes: the Comanche, Kiowa, Apache, Fort Sill Apache, Delaware, and 
the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes.
  In Oklahoma, oil and gas development provides a significant part of 
the income that many Indian landowners receive. This legislation will 
have an

[[Page H8787]]

 immediate impact to the tribal members that are affected by making 
their allotted lands more competitive for oil and gas leasing. This 
will give a huge boost to the economies of this area of southwest 
Oklahoma and provide a tremendous economic benefit to the various 
tribes.
  This legislation will not only provide an economic benefit to those 
tribes, it will allow them to use the land and resources that are 
rightfully theirs.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the Senate bill, S. 944.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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