[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 121 (Thursday, September 30, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1749-E1750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               BENNETT FREEZE REHABILITATION ACT OF 2004

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. RICK RENZI

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 29, 2004

  Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Bennett Freeze 
Rehabilitation Act of 2004.
  The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American reservation in the 
United States with some of the poorest living conditions in the world. 
Currently, more than 8,000 people are living in an area called the 
Bennett Freeze. Only 10 percent of those living in the Bennett Freeze 
have running water and only 3 percent have electricity.
  In 1966, former Bureau of Indian Affairs Commissioner Robert Bennett 
administratively issued the Bennett Freeze to restrict the Navajo 
Nation from constructing and repairing their dwellings on land that was 
subject to a land dispute with the Hopi Tribe.
  In 1992, the Bennett Freeze was temporarily lifted. At this time, 
more than $20 million was proposed to rehabilitate the Bennett Freeze 
area. Shortly after the Bennett Freeze was lifted, however, a Federal 
judge reinstated the Freeze.
  In the last few years, the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe have been 
involved in extensive settlement negotiations. I am hopeful that the 
hard work by both the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe will result in 
an end to the Bennett Freeze. I commend the work of President Joe 
Shirley and Hopi Chairman Wayne Taylor for their leadership on this 
issue.
  Mr. Speaker, the Bennett Freeze Rehabilitation Act of 2004 will 
repeal the Bennett Freeze

[[Page E1750]]

and ensure that a source of funding is available to assist the families 
living in the Bennett Freeze area.
  The Bennett Freeze Rehabilitation Act of 2004 creates a program to 
provide reconstruction and rehabilitation money for the Bennett Freeze 
area. This includes housing construction and renovation, infrastructure 
improvements and economic development initiatives.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Bennett Freeze 
Rehabilitation Act of 2004. It is time that Congress corrects a true 
injustice to the Navajo people living in the Bennett Freeze area.

                          ____________________