[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 28 (Friday, February 14, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2537-S2538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. DOLE:
  S. 420. A bill to provide for the acknowledgment of the Lumbee Tribe 
of North Carolina, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Indian 
Affairs.
  Mrs. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the attached legislation ``Lumbee Acknowledgment Act of 2003,'' be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 420

       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 ``Lumbee Acknowledgment Act of 
     2003''.

     SEC. 2. LUMBEE ACKNOWLEDGMENT.

       The Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254, chapter 375), is 
     amended to read as follows:

     ``SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       ``This Act may be cited as the `Lumbee Acknowledgment Act'.

     ``SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       ``Congress finds that--
       ``(1) many Indians living in Robeson County, North 
     Carolina, and adjoining counties in the State are descendants 
     of a once large and prosperous tribe that occupied the land 
     along the Lumbee River at the time when the earliest European 
     settlements were established in the area;
       ``(2) when the members of that tribe first made contact 
     with the settlers, the members were a well-established and 
     distinctive people living in European-style houses, tilling 
     the soil, owning slaves and livestock, and practicing many of 
     the arts and crafts of European civilization;
       ``(3) tribal legend, a distinctive appearance and manner of 
     speech, and the frequent recurrence among tribal members of 
     family names (such as Bullard, Chavis, Drinkwater, Locklear, 
     Lowery, Oxendine, and Sampson) that were found on the roster 
     of the earliest English settlements, provide evidence that 
     the Indians now living in the area may trace their ancestry 
     back to both--
       ``(A) European settlers; and
       ``(B) certain coastal tribes of Indians in the State, 
     principally the Cheraw Tribe;
       ``(4) the Lumbee Tribe has remained a distinct Indian 
     community since European settlers first made contact with the 
     community;
       ``(5) the members of the Tribe--
       ``(A) are naturally and understandably proud of their 
     heritage; and
       ``(B) seek to establish their social status and preserve 
     their ancestry;
       ``(6) the State has acknowledged the Lumbee Indians as an 
     Indian tribe since 1885;
       ``(7) in 1956, Congress acknowledged the Lumbee Indians as 
     an Indian tribe but withheld from the Tribe the benefits, 
     privileges, and immunities to which the Tribe and members of 
     the Tribe would have been entitled by virtue of status as an 
     acknowledged Indian tribe; and
       ``(8)(A) the Tribe is entitled to full Federal 
     acknowledgment; and
       ``(B) the programs, services, and benefits that accompany 
     that status should be extended to the Tribe and members of 
     the Tribe.

     ``SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       ``In this Act:
       ``(1) Acknowledgment.--The term `acknowledgment' means 
     acknowledgment by the United States that--
       ``(A) an Indian group is an Indian tribe; and
       ``(B) the members of the Indian group are eligible for the 
     programs, services, and benefits (including privileges and 
     immunities) provided by the United States to members of 
     Indian tribes because of the status of those members as 
     Indians.
       ``(2) Indian.--The term `Indian' means a member of an 
     Indian tribe or Indian group.
       ``(3) Indian group.--The term `Indian group' means any 
     Indian band, pueblo, village, or community that is not 
     acknowledged.
       ``(4) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian tribe' has the 
     meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
     Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
       ``(5) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       ``(6) Service population.--The term `service population' 
     means the population of the Tribe eligible to receive the 
     programs, services, and benefits described in section 5(a), 
     as determined by the Secretary under section 5(c).
       ``(7) State.--The term `State' means the State of North 
     Carolina.
       ``(8) Tribal roll.--The term `tribal roll' means a list of 
     individuals who have been determined by the Tribe to meet the 
     membership requirements of the Tribe established in the 
     constitution of the Tribe adopted November 11, 2000.
       ``(9) Tribe.--The term `Tribe' means the Lumbee Tribe of 
     North Carolina, located in Robeson County, North Carolina, 
     and adjoining counties in the State.

     ``SEC. 4. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF LUMBEE TRIBE.

       ``(a) Acknowledgment.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Tribe is acknowledged.
       ``(2) Applicable law.--All laws (including regulations) of 
     the United States of general applicability to Indians and 
     Indian tribes shall apply to the Tribe and members of the 
     Tribe.
       ``(b) Petition.--Any Indian group located in Robeson 
     County, North Carolina (or any adjoining county), the members 
     of which are not members of the Tribe as determined by the 
     Secretary under section 5(c), may submit to the Secretary a 
     petition in accordance with part 83 of title 25, Code of 
     Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), for 
     acknowledgement.

     ``SEC. 5. SERVICES.

       ``(a) In General.--Beginning on the date of enactment of 
     this section, the Tribe and members of the Tribe are eligible 
     for all programs, services, and benefits (including

[[Page S2538]]

     privileges and immunities) provided by the Federal Government 
     to Indian tribes and members of Indian tribes.
       ``(b) Reservation.--
       ``(1) Programs, services, and benefits.--For the purpose of 
     providing any program, service, or benefit described in 
     subsection (a) to the Tribe or a member of the Tribe, the 
     Tribe, and any member of the Tribe residing in the county of 
     Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, or Scotland in the State, shall be 
     considered to be residing on or near an Indian reservation.
       ``(2) Federal law.--Beginning on the date of enactment of 
     this section, Robeson County, North Carolina, shall be 
     considered to be the reservation of the Tribe for the purpose 
     of any Federal law applicable to the Tribe.
       ``(3) No effect on fee ownership.--Nothing in this 
     subsection affects the ownership status of any fee land 
     within the State, or the status of any right or easement in 
     the State, in existence as of the date of enactment of this 
     section.
       ``(c) Determination of Service Population.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this section, the Secretary shall--
       ``(A) using the tribal roll in existence as of the date of 
     enactment of this section, verify the population of the 
     Tribe; and
       ``(B) determine the population of the Tribe eligible to 
     receive the programs, services, and benefits described in 
     subsection (a).
       ``(2) Verification.--The Secretary shall base a 
     verification under paragraph (1)(A) only on a confirmation of 
     compliance of members of the Tribe with membership criteria 
     established in the constitution of the Tribe adopted November 
     11, 2000.
       ``(d) Needs of Tribe.--
       ``(1) In general.--On determination of the service 
     population, the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and 
     Human Services shall develop, in consultation with the 
     Tribe--
       ``(A) a determination of the needs of the Tribe; and
       ``(B) a recommended budget required to serve the Tribe.
       ``(2) Submission of budget request.--For each fiscal year 
     after determination of the service population, the Secretary 
     or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as 
     appropriate, shall submit to the President a recommended 
     budget for programs, services, and benefits provided by the 
     United States to members of the Tribe because of the status 
     of those members as Indians (including funding 
     recommendations for the Tribe that are based on the 
     determination and budget described in paragraph (1)) for 
     inclusion in the annual budget submitted by the President to 
     Congress in accordance with section 1108 of title 31, United 
     States Code.

     ``SEC. 6. JURISDICTION.

       ``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), 
     the State shall exercise jurisdiction over all criminal 
     offenses that are committed on, and all civil actions that 
     arise on, land located in the State that is owned by, or held 
     in trust by the United States for the benefit of, the Tribe 
     or any member of the Tribe.
       ``(b) Transfer of Jurisdiction.--
       ``(1) In general.--After consultation with the Attorney 
     General, the Secretary may accept, on behalf of the United 
     States, any transfer by the State to the United States of all 
     or any portion of the jurisdiction of the State described in 
     subsection (a).
       ``(2) Agreement.--A transfer of jurisdiction under 
     paragraph (1)--
       ``(A) shall be subject to an agreement entered into by the 
     Tribe and the State relating to the transfer; and
       ``(B) shall not take effect until at least 2 years after 
     the date on which the agreement is entered into.
       ``(c) No Effect on Indian Child Welfare Act Agreements.--
     Nothing in this section affects the application of section 
     109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1919).

     ``SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are 
     necessary to carry out this Act.''.
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