[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 154 (Thursday, December 14, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H12088-H12089]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              NAVAJO NATION TRUST LAND LEASING ACT OF 2000

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take 
from the Speaker's table the Senate concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 
161) to correct the enrollment of H.R. 5528 and ask for its immediate 
consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate concurrent resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Alaska?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate concurrent resolution, as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 161

       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That the Clerk of the House of Representatives, 
     in the enrollment of the bill (H.R. 5528) to authorize the 
     construction of a Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Place in Fort 
     Pierre, South Dakota, and for other purposes, shall make the 
     following correction:
       (1) Strike title XII and insert the following:

              TITLE XII--NAVAJO NATION TRUST LAND LEASING

     SEC. 1201. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Navajo Nation Trust Land 
     Leasing Act of 2000''.

     SEC. 1202. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF 
                   PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--Recognizing the special relationship between 
     the United States and the Navajo Nation and its members, and 
     the Federal responsibility to the Navajo people, Congress 
     finds that--
       (1) the third clause of section 8, Article I of the United 
     States Constitution provides that ``The Congress shall have 
     Power . . . to regulate Commerce . . . with Indian tribes'', 
     and, through this and other constitutional authority, 
     Congress has plenary power over Indian affairs;
       (2) Congress, through statutes, treaties, and the general 
     course of dealing with Indian tribes, has assumed the 
     responsibility for the protection and preservation of Indian 
     tribes and their resources;
       (3) the United States has a trust obligation to guard and 
     preserve the sovereignty of Indian tribes in order to foster 
     strong tribal governments, Indian self-determination, and 
     economic self-sufficiency;
       (4) pursuant to the first section of the Act of August 9, 
     1955 (25 U.S.C. 415), Congress conferred upon the Secretary 
     of the Interior the power to promulgate regulations governing 
     tribal leases and to approve tribal leases for tribes 
     according to regulations promulgated by the Secretary;
       (5) the Secretary of the Interior has promulgated the 
     regulations described in paragraph (4) at part 162 of title 
     25, Code of Federal Regulations;
       (6) the requirement that the Secretary approve leases for 
     the development of Navajo trust lands has added a level of 
     review and regulation that does not apply to the development 
     of non-Indian land; and
       (7) in the global economy of the 21st Century, it is 
     crucial that individual leases of Navajo trust lands not be 
     subject to Secretarial approval and that the Navajo Nation be 
     able to make immediate decisions over the use of Navajo trust 
     lands.
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this title are as follows:
       (1) To establish a streamlined process for the Navajo 
     Nation to lease trust lands without having to obtain the 
     approval of the Secretary of the Interior for individual 
     leases, except leases for exploration, development, or 
     extraction of any mineral resources.
       (2) To authorize the Navajo Nation, pursuant to tribal 
     regulations, which must be approved by the Secretary, to 
     lease Navajo trust lands without the approval of the 
     Secretary of the Interior for the individual leases, except 
     leases for exploration, development, or extraction of any 
     mineral resources.
       (3) To revitalize the distressed Navajo Reservation by 
     promoting political self-determination, and encouraging 
     economic self-sufficiency, including economic development 
     that increases productivity and the standard of living for 
     members of the Navajo Nation.
       (4) To maintain, strengthen, and protect the Navajo 
     Nation's leasing power over Navajo trust lands.
       (5) To ensure that the United States is faithfully 
     executing its trust obligation to the Navajo Nation by 
     maintaining federal supervision through oversight of and 
     record keeping related to leases of Navajo Nation tribal 
     trust lands.

     SEC. 1203. LEASE OF RESTRICTED LANDS FOR THE NAVAJO NATION.

       The first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 
     415) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (d)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and inserting 
     a semicolon; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) the term `individually owned Navajo Indian allotted 
     land' means a single parcel of land that--
       ``(A) is located within the jurisdiction of the Navajo 
     Nation;
       ``(B) is held in trust or restricted status by the United 
     States for the benefit of Navajo Indians or members of 
     another Indian tribe; and
       ``(C) was--
       ``(i) allotted to a Navajo Indian; or
       ``(ii) taken into trust or restricted status by the United 
     States for an individual Indian;
       ``(4) the term `interested party' means an Indian or non-
     Indian individual or corporation, or tribal or non-tribal 
     government whose interests could be adversely affected by a 
     tribal trust land leasing decision made by the Navajo Nation;
       ``(5) the term `Navajo Nation' means the Navajo Nation 
     government that is in existence on the date of enactment of 
     this Act or its successor;
       ``(6) the term `petition' means a written request submitted 
     to the Secretary for the review of an action (or inaction) of 
     the Navajo Nation that is claimed to be in violation of the 
     approved tribal leasing regulations;
       ``(7) the term `Secretary' means the Secretary of the 
     Interior; and
       ``(8) the term `tribal regulations' means the Navajo Nation 
     regulations enacted in accordance with Navajo Nation law and 
     approved by the Secretary.''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(e)(1) Any leases by the Navajo Nation for purposes 
     authorized under subsection (a), and any amendments thereto, 
     except a lease for the exploration, development, or 
     extraction of any mineral resources, shall not require the 
     approval of the Secretary if the lease is executed under the 
     tribal regulations approved by the Secretary under this 
     subsection and the term of the lease does not exceed--
       ``(A) in the case of a business or agricultural lease, 25 
     years, except that any such lease may include an option to 
     renew for up to 2 additional terms, each of which may not 
     exceed 25 years; and
       ``(B) in the case of a lease for public, religious, 
     educational, recreational, or residential purposes, 75 years 
     if such a term is provided for by the Navajo Nation through 
     the promulgation of regulations.
       ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to individually owned 
     Navajo Indian allotted land.
       ``(3) The Secretary shall have the authority to approve or 
     disapprove tribal regulations referred to under paragraph 
     (1). The Secretary shall approve such tribal regulations if 
     such regulations are consistent with the regulations of the 
     Secretary under subsection (a), and any amendments thereto, 
     and provide for an environmental review process. The 
     Secretary shall review and approve or disapprove the 
     regulations of the Navajo Nation within 120 days of the 
     submission of such regulations to the Secretary. Any 
     disapproval of such regulations by the Secretary shall be 
     accompanied by written documentation that sets forth the 
     basis for the disapproval. Such 120-day period may be 
     extended by the Secretary after consultation with the Navajo 
     Nation.
       ``(4) If the Navajo Nation has executed a lease pursuant to 
     tribal regulations under paragraph (1), the Navajo Nation 
     shall provide the Secretary with--
       ``(A) a copy of the lease and all amendments and renewals 
     thereto; and
       ``(B) in the case of regulations or a lease that permits 
     payment to be made directly to the Navajo Nation, 
     documentation of the lease payments sufficient to enable the 
     Secretary to discharge the trust responsibility of the United 
     States under paragraph (5).
       ``(5) The United States shall not be liable for losses 
     sustained by any party to a lease executed pursuant to tribal 
     regulations under paragraph (1), including the Navajo Nation. 
     Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to diminish the 
     authority of the Secretary to take appropriate actions, 
     including the cancellation of a lease, in furtherance of the 
     trust obligation of the United States to the Navajo Nation.
       ``(6)(A) An interested party may, after exhaustion of 
     tribal remedies, submit, in a timely manner, a petition to 
     the Secretary to review the compliance of the Navajo Nation 
     with any regulations approved under this subsection. If upon 
     such review the Secretary determines that the regulations 
     were violated, the Secretary may take such action as may be 
     necessary to remedy the violation, including rescinding the 
     approval of the tribal regulations and reassuming 
     responsibility for the approval of leases for Navajo Nation 
     tribal trust lands.
       ``(B) If the Secretary seeks to remedy a violation 
     described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall--
       ``(i) make a written determination with respect to the 
     regulations that have been violated;
       ``(ii) provide the Navajo Nation with a written notice of 
     the alleged violation together with such written 
     determination; and
       ``(iii) prior to the exercise of any remedy or the 
     rescission of the approval of the regulation involved and the 
     reassumption of the lease approval responsibility, provide 
     the

[[Page H12089]]

     Navajo Nation with a hearing on the record and a reasonable 
     opportunity to cure the alleged violation.''.

  The Senate concurrent resolution was concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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