[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 132 (Wednesday, November 17, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H9844-H9845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THREE AFFILIATED TRIBES HEALTH FACILITY COMPENSATION ACT
Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
Senate bill (S. 1146) to implement the recommendations of the Garrison
Unit Joint Tribal Advisory Committee by providing authorization for the
construction of a rural health care facility on the Fort Berthold
Indian Reservation, North Dakota.
The Clerk read as follows:
S. 1146
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 ``Three Affiliated Tribes
Health Facility Compensation Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) in 1949, the United States assumed jurisdiction over
more than 150,000 prime acres on the Fort Berthold Indian
Reservation, North Dakota, for the construction of the
Garrison Dam and Reservoir;
(2) the reservoir flooded and destroyed vital
infrastructure on the reservation, including a hospital of
the Indian Health Service;
(3) the United States made a commitment to the Three
Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation to
replace the lost infrastructure;
(4) on May 10, 1985, the Secretary of the Interior
established the Garrison Unit Joint Tribal Advisory Committee
to examine the effects of the Garrison Dam and Reservoir on
the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation;
(5) the final report of the Committee issued on May 23,
1986, acknowledged the obligation of the Federal Government
to replace the infrastructure destroyed by the Federal
action;
(6) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate--
(A) acknowledged the recommendations of the final report of
the Committee in Senate Report No. 102-250; and
(B) stated that every effort should be made by the
Administration and Congress to provide additional Federal
funding to replace the lost infrastructure; and
(7) on August 30, 2001, the Chairman of the Three
Affiliated Tribes testified before the Committee on Indian
Affairs of the Senate that the promise to replace the lost
infrastructure, particularly the hospital, still had not been
kept.
[[Page H9845]]
SEC. 3. RURAL HEALTH CARE FACILITY, FORT BERTHOLD INDIAN
RESERVATION, NORTH DAKOTA.
The Three Affiliated Tribes and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Equitable Compensation Act is amended--
(1) in section 3504 (106 Stat. 4732), by adding at the end
the following:
``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to
carry out this section.''; and
(2) by striking section 3511 (106 Stat. 4739) and inserting
the following:
``SEC. 3511. RURAL HEALTH CARE FACILITY, FORT BERTHOLD INDIAN
RESERVATION, NORTH DAKOTA.
``There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary
of Health and Human Services $20,000,000 for the construction
of, and such sums as are necessary for other expenses
relating to, a rural health care facility on the Fort
Berthold Indian Reservation of the Three Affiliated Tribes,
North Dakota.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs.
Christensen) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons).
General Leave
Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on the bill now under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Nevada?
There was no objection.
Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, Senate 1146 was sponsored by the gentleman from North
Dakota, Senator Kent Conrad. It was reported by unanimous consent of
the House Resources Committee on June 3, 2004.
This legislation fulfills a government commitment to replace a U.S.
Public Health Service hospital serving the members of the Three
Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation. In the late 1940s,
the hospital was destroyed in a flood resulting from the construction
of the Garrison Dam and Reservoir Project by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation. The flood forced the
relocation of many Indian families, and it is long overdue that
Congress fulfills all components of its pledge to compensate the tribe.
I urge the speedy adoption of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, in 1948, then Chairman George Gillette of the Three
Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold, North Dakota, wept as a contract
was signed to sell over 150,000 acres of tribal land to the U.S.
Government to build the Garrison Dam. Through his grief, Chairman
Gillette stated, ``We will sign this contract with a heavy heart. With
a few scratches of the pen, we will sell the best part of our
reservation. Right now, the future does not look good for us.''
Chairman Gillette was correct as 80 percent of the tribe was forcibly
relocated, 94 percent of their agricultural land was destroyed and
their hospital flooded. Today, 56 years later, Chairman Gillette can
now smile as we finally authorize this health care facility.
Over this period of time, there has been one reason or another not to
fulfill this promise made to the tribes. In fact, we are only here
today because of the hard work and determined persistence of several
people. The North Dakota delegation, led by Senator Conrad, the sponsor
of this bill, has worked tirelessly to get this passed. Senators Conrad
and Dorgan and our colleague, the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr.
Pomeroy), deserve much of the credit. I also want to thank the
gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo) for allowing this bill to come to
the floor today.
I would truly be remiss, however, if I did not credit Tex Hall,
chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold, and Ranking
Member Rahall of the Committee on Resources for all of their efforts to
get us here today. Certainly there is a connection through the years
from Chairman Gillette to Chairman Hall which has kept the drumbeat
alive and steady not to give up the fight for this facility. Ranking
Member Rahall heard that drum and took heed, making this bill a high
priority. You see, Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from West Virginia knows
all too well how promises made when resources are desired can quickly
turn into devastated lands and broken promises. With that empathy, the
gentleman from West Virginia kept pushing to get this bill heard today
and I thank him.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy).
Mr. POMEROY. I thank my colleague for yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill corrects a long overdue problem. When the
Missouri River was dammed in North Dakota as part of the Pick-Sloan
water project, the resulting flood created a lake about the size of
Rhode Island. The lake is still with us. A number of communities were
flooded out in the course of creating the reservoir. One of them,
Elbowoods, was a community that was part of the Three Affiliated Tribes
Reservation in western North Dakota. Elbowoods had a hospital, a 28-
bed, 35,000 square foot hospital, a most significant medical facility
in that rural part of North Dakota, certainly the most significant
medical facility serving the reservation.
In order to persuade the Three Affiliated Tribes, Mandan, Hidatsa and
Arikare nations, to vote in favor of the dam and give up 156,000 acres
under this reservoir, the Federal Government made a commitment to
replace the hospital. The tribes in western North Dakota are still
waiting. This authorization will authorize up to $20 million for the
construction of this medical facility.
My colleagues, I am very familiar with this area. I have been there
many, many times. I am acquainted with their medical facilities. They
are grossly inadequate. This is an area where there are significant
health needs and grossly inadequate facilities in which to meet them
and a 50-year promise unmet by the Federal Government.
I certainly want to thank those that have made it possible for this
bill to come to the floor, the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo)
and, of course, as was mentioned by the preceding speaker, the very
aggressive, ongoing efforts by the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr.
Rahall) to get this matter considered.
As I told the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), this matter is
deeply important to me as a representative of North Dakota because I
feel so strongly about the injustice of what was done with the flooding
out of this hospital, promising another one and then never getting it
done; so I am really deeply grateful that this has been allowed for
consideration under the suspension calendar. I urge the unanimous
adoption of it in the course of our deliberations.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
It marks a historic point in the Committee on Resources, having just
passed its more than 200th piece of legislation under suspension in the
House for the year which sets a record for not only the committee but I
believe for the House in terms of legislation passed.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the Senate bill, S. 1146.
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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