[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 27, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H7662-H7663]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RATIFYING CONVEYANCE OF A PORTION OF THE JICARILLA APACHE RESERVATION 
               TO RIO ARRIBA COUNTY, STATE OF NEW MEXICO

  Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4876) to ratify a conveyance of a portion of the Jicarilla 
Apache Reservation to Rio Arriba County, State of New Mexico, pursuant 
to the settlement of litigation between the Jicarilla Apache Nation and 
Rio Arriba County, State of New Mexico, to authorize issuance of a 
patent for said lands, and to change the exterior boundary of the 
Jicarilla Apache Reservation accordingly, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4876

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

        For the purposes of this act, the following definitions 
     apply:
       (1) Jicarilla apache nation.--The term ``Jicarilla Apache 
     Nation'' means the Jicarilla Apache Nation, a tribe of 
     American Indians recognized by the United States and 
     organized under section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 
     U.S.C. 476; popularly known as the Indian Reorganization 
     Act).
       (2) 1988 reservation addition.--The term ``1988 Reservation 
     Addition'' means those lands known locally as the Theis Ranch 
     that were added to the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in the 
     state of New Mexico by the proclamation of the Secretary of 
     the Interior issued on September 1, 1988 pursuant to 
     authority granted by section 7 of the Act of June 18, 1934 
     (25 U.S.C. 467; popularly known as the Indian Reorganization 
     Act), and published in the Federal Register on September 26, 
     1988 at 53 F.R. 37355-56.
       (3) Settlement agreement.--The term ``Settlement 
     Agreement'' means the agreement executed by the President of 
     the Jicarilla Apache Nation on May 6, 2003 and executed by 
     the Chairman of the Rio Arriba Board of County Commissioners 
     on May 15, 2003 and approved by the Department of the 
     Interior on June 18, 2003 to settle the Lawsuit.
       (4) Lawsuit.--The term ``Lawsuit'' means the case 
     identified as Jicarilla Apache Tribe v. Board of County 
     Commissioners, County of Rio Arriba, No. RA 87-2225(C), State 
     of New Mexico District Court, First Judicial District, filed 
     in October 1987.
       (5) Rio arriba county.--The term ``Rio Arriba County'' 
     means the political subdivision of the state of New Mexico 
     described in Section 4-21-1 and Section 4-21-2, New Mexico 
     Statutes Annotated 1978 (Original Pamphlet).
       (6) Settlement lands.--The term ``Settlement Lands'' means 
     Tract A and Tract B as described in the plat of the 
     ``Dependent Resurvey and Survey of Tract within Theis Ranch'' 
     within the Tierra Amarilla Grant, New Mexico prepared by Leo 
     P. Kelley, Cadastral Surveyor, United States Department of 
     the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, dated January 7, 
     2004, and recorded in the office of the Rio Arriba County 
     Clerk on March 8, 2004, in Cabinet C-1, Page 199, Document 
     No. 242411, consisting of 70.75 acres more or less. Title to 
     the Settlement Lands is held by the United States in trust 
     for the Jicarilla Apache Nation.
       (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (8) Disputed county road.--The term ``Disputed County 
     Road'' means the county road passing through the 1988 
     Reservation Addition along the course identified in the 
     judgment entered by the New Mexico District Court in the 
     Lawsuit on December 10, 2001 and the decision entered on 
     December 11, 2001, which judgment and decision have been 
     appealed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

     SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) The lands constituting the 1988 Reservation Addition to 
     the Jicarilla Apache Reservation were purchased by the 
     Jicarilla Apache Nation in June 1985 and were conveyed to the 
     United States by a trust deed accepted by the Secretary of 
     the Interior in March 1988 pursuant to authority granted by 
     section 5 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 465; 
     popularly known as the Indian Reorganization Act).
       (2) The lands constituting the 1988 Reservation Addition 
     were added to the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in September 
     1988 by proclamation of the Secretary of the Interior 
     pursuant to authority granted by section 7 of the Act of June 
     18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 467; popularly known as the Indian 
     Reorganization Act).
       (3) There is pending before the Court of Appeals of the 
     State of New Mexico a lawsuit, filed in October 1987, that 
     involves a claim that a county road passing through the 1988 
     Reservation Addition had been established by prescription 
     prior to acquisition of the land by the Jicarilla Apache 
     Nation in 1985.
       (4) The parties to that lawsuit, the Jicarilla Apache 
     Nation and the County of Rio Arriba, have executed a 
     Settlement Agreement, approved by the Secretary of the 
     Interior, to resolve all claims relating to the disputed 
     county road, which agreement requires ratifying legislation 
     by the Congress of the United States.
       (5) The parties to the Settlement Agreement desire to 
     settle the claims relating to the disputed county road on the 
     terms agreed to by the parties, and it is in the best 
     interests of the parties to resolve the claims through the 
     Settlement Agreement and this implementing legislation.

     SEC. 3. CONDITION ON EFFECT OF SECTION.

       (a) In General.--Section 4 of this Act shall not take 
     effect until the Secretary finds the following events have 
     occurred:
       (1) The Board of Commissioners of Rio Arriba County has 
     enacted a resolution permanently abandoning the disputed 
     county road and has submitted a copy of that resolution to 
     the Secretary.
       (2) The Jicarilla Apache Nation has executed a quitclaim 
     deed to Rio Arriba County for the Settlement Lands subject to 
     the exceptions identified in the Settlement Agreement and has 
     submitted a copy of the quitclaim deed to the Secretary.
       (b) Publication of Findings.--If the Secretary finds that 
     the conditions set forth in subsection (a) have occurred, the 
     Secretary shall publish such findings in the Federal 
     Register.

     SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF CONVEYANCE; ISSUANCE OF PATENT.

       (a) Conditional Ratification and Approval.--This Act 
     ratifies and approves the Jicarilla Apache Nation's quitclaim 
     deed for the Settlement Lands to Rio Arriba County, but such 
     ratification and approval shall be effective only upon 
     satisfaction of all conditions in section 3, and only as of 
     the date that the Secretary's findings are published in the 
     Federal Register pursuant to section 3.
       (b) Patent.--Following publication of the notice described 
     in section 3, the Secretary shall issue to Rio Arriba County 
     a patent for the Settlement Lands, subject to the exceptions 
     and restrictive covenants described subsection (c).
       (c) Conditions of Patent.--The patent to be issued by the 
     Secretary under subsection (b) shall be subject to all valid 
     existing rights of third parties, including but not limited 
     to easements of record, and shall include the following 
     perpetual restrictive covenant running with the Settlement 
     Lands for the benefit of the lands comprising the Jicarilla 
     Apache Reservation adjacent to the Settlement Lands: ``Tract 
     A shall be used only for governmental purposes and shall not 
     be used for a prison, jail or other facility for 
     incarcerating persons accused or convicted of a crime. For 
     purposes of this restrictive covenant, `governmental 
     purposes' shall include the provision of governmental 
     services to the public by Rio Arriba County and the 
     development and operation of private businesses to the extent 
     permitted by applicable State law.''.

     SEC. 5. BOUNDARY CHANGE.

        Upon issuance of the patent authorized by section 4, the 
     lands conveyed to Rio Arriba County in the patent shall cease 
     to be a part of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation and the 
     exterior boundary of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation shall 
     be deemed relocated accordingly.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Gohmert) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 4876 settles a lawsuit between the Jicarilla 
Apache tribe and the county of Rio Arriba in the State of New Mexico. 
In 1987, the tribe challenged the validity of a county road located on 
land owned by the Apache tribe. In 2003, the tribe and the county 
entered into a settlement agreement to resolve all claims that were 
raised in the lawsuit. Accordingly, H.R. 4876 ratifies this settlement 
agreement and authorizes the conveyance of a portion of the Apache 
reservation to the county. Changes to the exterior boundary of the 
reservation will be made accordingly. As a result, this long-standing, 
nearly 20-year-old lawsuit will be resolved.

[[Page H7663]]

  I urge support for the bill.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield at this time such time 
as he may consume to the chief sponsor of this legislation, my good 
friend from the State of New Mexico, Mr. Tom Udall.
  (Mr. UDALL of New Mexico asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Madam Speaker, this legislation will bring 
long overdue resolution to a dispute between the Jicarilla Apache 
Nation and Rio Arriba County in the State of New Mexico. Both parties 
and the Secretary of the Interior have already executed the terms 
agreed to within the settlement agreement. All that stands between the 
parties to this dispute and the long-overdue resolution is 
congressional approval.
  This legislation upholds Congress' trust responsibility to the 
Jicarilla Nation by placing restrictive covenants on the trust land 
transferred to the county. As a result of the transferred land's 
proximity to the reservation, certain uses of the transferred land 
would have a detrimental effect on the remaining reservation. 
Therefore, this legislation allows the county to use the land only for 
governmental purposes and specifically prohibits the county from using 
the land for prisons, jails, or other incarcerated persons, and other 
purposes.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support passage of this 
important legislation. Both the Nation and the county have waited years 
for this agreement to be implemented.
  The dispute concerns the ownership of a road on a parcel of land 
formerly referred to as the Theis Ranch. The Theis Ranch property 
became part of the Jicarilla Nation Reservation in September of 1988.
  A lawsuit was filed in October 1987 to determine the ownership status 
of a disputed road. In the original lawsuit, Rio Arriba County sought 
to establish that the County acquired the disputed road by prescription 
and, therefore, that the County was the road's rightful owner. However, 
the Jicarilla Nation contended that the Nation owned the road because 
the road was, and continues to be, within the boundaries of the 
expanded 1988 Jicarilla Reservation. On December 10, 2001, the District 
Court found in favor of the Jicarilla Nation, determining that the 
disputed road traversed the Jicarilla Reservation in several locations. 
Rio Arriba County appealed the District Court decision, and the appeal 
is currently pending before the Court of Appeals of the State of New 
Mexico.
  In an effort to settle the road dispute amicably, the Jicarilla 
Nation and Rio Arriba County entered into mediation. The parties 
successfully reached a settlement. Representatives of the Secretary of 
the Interior approved the settlement on June 18, 2003. The settlement 
agreement, which would be implemented by this legislation, provided 
that the Jicarilla Nation would transfer approximately 70.5 acres of 
land located with the expanded 1988 Jicarilla Reservation to Rio Arriba 
County. In exchange for the Jicarilla Nation's land conveyance, Rio 
Arriba County agreed to permanently abandon any and all claims to the 
disputed road.
  The settlement also provides that the terms of the agreement do not 
take effect until all parties complete their respective promises in the 
agreement and the United States, pursuant to federal law, approves of 
the conveyance of this particular Jicarilla trust land to Rio Arriba 
County.
  Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I just want to take a moment to again commend my 
colleague from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) for his determination in getting 
this legislation before us today. Some of the more difficult and 
contentious issues that we deal with in this place are often issues 
involving property lines, jurisdictions of towns, private landowners, 
and Indian tribes. Mr. Udall has never shied away from such matters, 
especially when they affect the Indian tribes in New Mexico, and I 
commend him for his leadership on this issue and encourage adoption of 
this legislation.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, we are also grateful to Mr. Udall from 
New Mexico for his hard work in resolving this dispute. As a former 
judge, there is nothing that looks better than when all the parties can 
come together and agree, and I appreciate the gentleman's hard work in 
making that happen.
  Madam Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 4876.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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