[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 26, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S6929]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                            By Mr. DOMENICI:

  S. 1106. A bill to provide a tax credit for the production of oil or 
gas from deposits held in trust for, or held with restrictions against 
alienation by, Indian tribes and Indian individuals; to the Committee 
on Finance.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, today I am proud to introduce 
legislation that would provide a Federal tax credit for oil and natural 
gas produced from Indian lands. This legislation will serve two 
important purposes. It will provide an immediate boost to tribal 
economies, and it will provide additional domestic sources of energy to 
ease our growing energy crisis.
  Even though Indian lands offer a fertile source of oil and natural 
gas, many disincentives to exploration and production exist. For 
example, the Supreme Court permits the double taxation of oil and 
natural gas produced from tribal lands, which unfairly subjects 
producers to both State and tribal taxation. Furthermore, tribal 
economies are not sufficiently diversified to allow for tribal tax 
incentives for oil and natural gas development. Finally, Congress has 
enacted innumerable incentives for energy development on Federal lands, 
which has made production from this land far more profitable. As a 
result, Indian lands are too often overlooked as a source of domestic 
energy.
  This legislation would remedy these disadvantages by providing 
Federal tax credits for oil and natural gas production on tribal lands. 
These tax credits would be available to both the tribe as royalty owner 
and the producer. Tribes would benefit in two ways: they could broaden 
their tax base from substantially increased oil and gas production; and 
they could market their share of the tax credit to generate additional 
revenue. These additional revenues would allow tribes to strengthen 
their infrastructure and improve the vital services that they provide 
to their citizens.
  Unfortunately, the recent economic prosperity has not been extended 
to many Indian tribes. This is the reason why these tax incentives are 
so crucial. They will provide a much-needed shot in the arm to tribal 
economic development and will compensate for the discriminatory double 
taxation that hinders energy production. In recent years, many people 
have criticized the growth of the gaming industry on reservations. 
However, these critics have failed to suggest viable alternatives for 
tribal economic development. This legislation would supply strong 
opportunity for entrepreneurship in a vital national industry and would 
bring many more tribes into the economic mainstream.
  Finally, this legislation would have the added benefit of creating an 
additional source of domestic energy. In our efforts to craft a 
comprehensive energy policy for the United States, we have been 
searching for additional sources of domestic energy. In this search, we 
must not overlook tribal oil and gas production. America's energy 
supply is a patchwork of various domestic and international sources, 
and the addition of tribal lands will only strengthen the seams of this 
patchwork and decrease our risky reliance on foreign sources.
  Therefore, I am proud today to introduce this legislation to boost 
the production of oil and natural gas on Indian lands and to strengthen 
our domestic energy supply.

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